Megan McCafferty

When her best friend moves away, sixteen-year-old Jessica is devastated and finds it difficult to deal with the girls at school, her obsessive parents, and her lack of a love life.

a novel

Sloppy firsts

The first book in the beloved, New York Times bestselling series - now with a new foreword by New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Serle Jessica Darling is devastated when her best friend moves away from Pineville, New Jersey. With Hope gone, Jessica has no one she can really talk to. She doesn’t relate to the boy-and-shopping obsessed girls at school, or her dad’s obsession with track meets, and her mom is too busy planning big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding. Jessica is lost more than ever, and her nonexistent love life is only making things worse. Fresh, funny, and utterly compelling, readers fell in love with Jessica Darling’s poignant, hilarious voice and have stayed with her through her ups and downs (and her mixed-up feelings about her first love, Marcus Flutie). A modern classic, readers will be excited to return to Pineville, New Jersey and Jessica Darling’s world with Sloppy Firsts. Now with a foreword from New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Serle and a new author's note from Megan McCafferty!

A Jessica Darling Novel

Sloppy Firsts

This was my second read and I had to pluck one star from the original 4. I read Sloppy Firsts in Indonesian during high school and Jess sounded so smart and witty, and Marcus so charming back then. I loved the plot too, how the exemplary Jess do things unexpected of her and all. But it's rather dull now on my second read at 27 years of age. Was it the Indonesian translation that was that good??? Or maybe I changed. Anyhow it was good while it lasted. I'm still glad I enjoyed it that much then.

Tameka Young

After hearing about this book constantly over the last few months, I finally was able to sit down and read the adventures of Jessica Darling. I absolutely loved it! It truly felt like I was reading the journal of my 15 year old self minus the running. I was and still am so much like Jessica, overly analytical, quick witted, sarcastic...where the heck was she when I was in high school? So glad I finally joined the Jessica Darling cult, this series may be what *finally* kicks my Twilight habit!

Andrea Ayala

ok I don't know what to think about this book. I don't know if I didn't like it at all or if it has some hope. It doesn't deserve 3 stars but also not 2 so I'll guess it'll be 2.3 stars. Before I picked this book up I saw that people had rated it with 4-5 stars and I thought wow it must be good. When I started reading it I found out it was written like a journal(which I didn't like but managed to not think about it) Jessica's personality annoyed me a little bit. maybe it is because we have nothing in common, she thinks and questions everything! and I'm the total opposite I'm really carefree and a no-drama girl. Also she was too dependant of Hope I mean she moved out and I know her other ''friends'' were bitches but I don't know that much insight in her thoughts just annoyed me. Also her ''relationship'' if you can call it that with Marcus. I didn;t get it, still don't. I started liking thw book when she started writing for the newspaper but I just skipped through pages and pages of her toughts I don't know this book just wasn't to my liking. I guess some people loved it but I just didn't. Maybe I'll give the second book a shot, I don't know yet.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Jessica was likable and easy to relate to... I see lots of similarities between me at that age and her. Looking forward to reading the second installment... which I'm starting right now. :)

Kourtney

Where was this book when I was in high school? It would have been nice to know that I was not alone! I read this book in less than 1 day all because I could not put it down. Jessica pulled me into her world and showed me that my high school years weren't so bizarre...except I never peed into a yogurt container! I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever felt awkward in high school, could not understand their parents, and grappled with the unattainable crush (and ps...I loved what became of her crush during her junior year - CLASSIC!) Great story and I cannot wait to dive into the next chapter of Jessica's life!

Ashton Reed

4.5/5 stars


  ”So I’m sloppy seconds, is what you’re saying.”
“Oh no, Jessica.” He laughed. “You’re sloppy firsts.”
Have truer words ever been spoken?


I’m a newcomer to the cynical and hilarious world of Jessica Darling, but boy am I glad to have visited now! This is such an important book for teens and adults alike, for although it was originally written at the turn of the century, Jessica and her teenage struggles are still so relevant today. Thank you SO much, Wednesday Books and Netgalley, for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own!

Goodreads synopsis:
Jessica Darling is devastated when her best friend moves away from Pineville, New Jersey. With Hope gone, Jessica has no one she can really talk to. She doesn’t relate to the boy-and-shopping obsessed girls at school, or her dad’s obsession with track meets, and her mom is too busy planning big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding. Jessica is lost more than ever, and her nonexistent love life is only making things worse.

Fresh, funny, and utterly compelling, readers fell in love with Jessica Darling’s poignant, hilarious voice and have stayed with her through her ups and downs (and her mixed-up feelings about her first love, Marcus Flutie). A modern classic, readers will be excited to return to Pineville, New Jersey and Jessica Darling’s world with Sloppy Firsts.

I will be honest with you, I hadn’t heard of this book until Wednesday Books announced they would be releasing a slightly edited/modernized version this year. I truly didn’t know what to expect when I started it, and at first, I was unsure about how I was going to feel, mainly because Jessica Darling is quite the character. Her voice drips with sarcasm and cynicism in a way that, at first, felt almost depressing to me. HOWEVER, I was immediately captivated. Jessica has a strong (and decently crude) personality to be immersed (no, dunked) into, but McCafferty wrote her voice so solidly and consistently that I couldn’t help but be hooked.


  ”Look, I’m not proud of this retrograde attitude. But it requires major effort to undo sixteen years of brainwashing by the patriarchy and I don’t have that kind of energy right now.”


I understand now why Jessica Darling’s story is so beloved. I’m probably not the best representative of the common teenager, if I’m being honest, because her language felt crude and brutally honest to me. But even so, I still felt her thoughts, her internal dialogue, and her rebellion against high school hierarchy to my core. It didn’t take me long to realize how much McCafferty had endeared Jessica to me because her relatability is just that universal, and especially by the end, I was 120% invested in what Jessica Darling wanted to show me of her life.

I never read the original version, the one published in 2001, so I can’t really review what changed. But I can tell you how in love I am with this story. It’s truly a testament to the story’s strength that although I’ve never been exactly in Jessica’s shoes, I felt like I was both seeing her and seeing myself through her honest, reflective, and quite humorous takes on high school life. And even though the time period is still in the early early 2000s, it doesn’t feel separate from our time today; in fact, I was impressed by how many of Jessica’s experiences I could relate to having graduated high school only a few days ago. In essence, this book is now a beloved edition to my favorites shelf, as well, and I recommend it to anyone who is or has been a teenager (I’m pretty sure that’s you 😉).

But here’s a big cliffhanger warning!! This book ends in quite the abrupt fashion (at least to me it did) and if you don’t have the sequel at the ready, fix that!! This new edition released May 4th, 2021 (look at the adorable cover!), so you can already snag it, but the new edition of the second book releases in July! I don’t think I can wait that long so I’ll probably just read the old sequel and get back to you on how it is ;)







If you enjoyed this review, you can friend me here on Goodreads and follow me on Instagram/Pinterest @ashton_reads for more bookish content! Thanks for reading!

Sloppy firsts a novel

Reviews