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Saturday, February 8, 2014

|12 in 12 Review| Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

12 in 12 is me committing to read 12 books in 12 months. These 12 books will be old books that I've had on my TBR since the dawn of time and have been pushed aside for all the SHINY. 
Check out my 12 in 12 intro post to learn more! For January, I've decided to read Sloppy Firsts and I LOVED IT! I hope all of my 12 in 12 books are this amazing!

Title: Sloppy Firsts
Author:
Published August 28th, 2011 
Genre: Contemporary YA
Rating: A
Goodreads summary:
“My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? ... I don’t see how things could get any worse.”

When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?

A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica’s predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment—from the dark days of Hope’s departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious “Dreg” who works his way into her heart. Like a John Hughes for the twenty-first century, Megan McCafferty taps into the inherent humor and drama of the teen experience. This poignant, hilarious novel is sure to appeal to readers who are still going through it, as well as those who are grateful that they don’t have to go back and grow up all over again.
Sloppy Firsts looked like Racquel book and it's so popular and well loved that I couldn't not read it. Unfortunately, I put it off for so long and now I'm banging my head against the wall because I was right, this is a Racquel book!

+Jessica Darling: this might have been published in 2001, but like I said in my January wrap-up, the teen voice is so spot on, it's better than some of the YA books that I read that are published today. There were clique-y and and stereotypical high school moments, but overall I'm so surprised at the voice!

The beginning is very teen angsty but it wasn't annoying. Jessica's best friend, Hope, has moved away and Jessica feels all alone in the world and well, she's depressed. No one told me this book was sad! But it works. It was just so real and on point, it felt like reading about a real life teen. I want more books like this!

+Marcus Flutie: I've head so much about the oh so infamous Marcus before going into the series but he actually makes rare appearances through out the beginning of the book. It's not only until the last 50 pages or so that he starts making regular appearances and boy were they SWOONY. I spent the last 50 pages alternating between *squeeeeling*, *swoooooning* and *giggliiiiing*. I felt so ridiculous but I couldn't help myself. Marcus Flutie, y'all, Marcus Flutie *sigh*.

+Writing: The book is written in journal form and when I discovered this, it put me off from starting the book because I didn't know how well it will work, BUT, I hardly noticed! It actually worked really well! I was afraid that the book would be all telling and not showing but McCafferty took us to the scenes and we watched them play out instead of just getting a rehash of what happened to Jessica. This makes me so happy.

So add in themes of family and family expectations, school and sports, friendships and relationships, throw in Jessica Darling and you get a funny but sometimes sad but always true retelling of a teen girl making her way through life. And I loved *every* moment of it.

Rating: [A] Amazing. Just like I knew it would be!

First:
Tonight I've been thinking about the mosaic Hope gave me the night she U-hauled ass out of Pineville.

Favorite:
"He must be really good in bed," said Manda.
"I doubt he promised sex," I said.
"Burke says he seen Marcus in the locker room and that he's got like, ten inches of New Jersey Whitesnake," said Bridget.
"What?" all four of us asked.
"He's got a huge penis."
"Oh," said Hy.
"Oh!" said Manda.
"Oh?" said Sara.
"Whoa," said I.

Teaser:
“You can only be in a bad mood for so long before you have to face up to the fact that it isn't a bad mood at all; it's just your sucky personality.” 

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