Sloppy Firsts
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.