Sloppy Firsts
by Megan McCafferty
by Megan McCafferty
SLOPPY FIRSTS by Megan McCafferty
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 8/28/01
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Reviewed by: Amanda Dissinger
Rating: 5 Stars
Ever get the feeling you’re trapped in your current life, and won’t be able to get out for, oh, all of eternity? Are you
bored with your so-called “friends," bored with your so-called good grades, bored with your so-called life? Then you’ll
identify with SLOPPY FIRSTS, the witty, moving debut novel from author Megan McCafferty.
SLOPPY FIRSTS is the story of 16-year-old Jessica Darling, a girl who feels completely out of sync with everyone
around her with the exception of her best friend, Hope. When Hope suddenly moves out of their Pineville, New Jersey,
hometown, Jess feels even more depressed than ever now that she is forced to deal with all of the people in her life that
annoy her without her best friend. Faced with vapid, materialistic girls at her high school, her dad’s desire to make her
the best track star that ever lived, and her new desire to be with the school’s resident pseudo- intellectual bad boy,
Marcus Flutie, Jessica records all of her hilarious, rambling thoughts in her journal for all readers to see.
SLOPPY FIRSTS is a creative and honest book about what normal teenagers experience in their day-to-day lives. It
will please not only young readers, but also adult women who want to relive those cringe-worthy high school years, and
look back on the memories. It’s heartbreaking, fresh, and sure to become a classic among readers who like a little
angst in their lives.
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 8/28/01
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Reviewed by: Amanda Dissinger
Rating: 5 Stars
Ever get the feeling you’re trapped in your current life, and won’t be able to get out for, oh, all of eternity? Are you
bored with your so-called “friends," bored with your so-called good grades, bored with your so-called life? Then you’ll
identify with SLOPPY FIRSTS, the witty, moving debut novel from author Megan McCafferty.
SLOPPY FIRSTS is the story of 16-year-old Jessica Darling, a girl who feels completely out of sync with everyone
around her with the exception of her best friend, Hope. When Hope suddenly moves out of their Pineville, New Jersey,
hometown, Jess feels even more depressed than ever now that she is forced to deal with all of the people in her life that
annoy her without her best friend. Faced with vapid, materialistic girls at her high school, her dad’s desire to make her
the best track star that ever lived, and her new desire to be with the school’s resident pseudo- intellectual bad boy,
Marcus Flutie, Jessica records all of her hilarious, rambling thoughts in her journal for all readers to see.
SLOPPY FIRSTS is a creative and honest book about what normal teenagers experience in their day-to-day lives. It
will please not only young readers, but also adult women who want to relive those cringe-worthy high school years, and
look back on the memories. It’s heartbreaking, fresh, and sure to become a classic among readers who like a little
angst in their lives.
