Welcome to the Slant, where you'll find reviews and original writings by the members of Martin Library's Teen Advisory Board.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Book Review: Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings (Megan McCafferty)

by Alex D.

Sloppy Firsts

This is a great book, about Jessica, a 16 year-old high school student. Early in the book, her best friend, Hope, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, leaving her lonely and hopeless. Not to mention that her family doesn’t even understand her, with her mother bothering her to be the next homecoming queen and her father pressuring her to win track meets.

With the clueless crew still lurking around, Jessica knows her old group of friends isn’t the same as it used to be. Her trust is then betrayed when a New Yorker befriends her and sells their high school stories for a book deal.

After helping her friend Marcus pass a drug test, they begin keeping in contact and realize that this newfound friendship is Jessica’s first love. Marcus disappears for a while and shows up as a clean, honors student. But will his new attitude and appearance save their relationship?


Second Helpings

A year later Jessica is back at Pineville High. With the same wannabe friends, and indecision to or to not date Marcus. As a senior, she starts thinking about what colleges she wants to go to. Convinced that she wants to attend the best colleges in the middle of no where, she visits New York and realized all the colleges she applied to aren’t right for her. Columbia is where she is supposed to be.

Receiving a letter saying she got a full ride scholarship to an amazing school, she still waits to get her Columbia acceptance letter. However getting in is the least of her problems. Its convincing her parents to go there that is the hard part, especially when the September 11th attacks occur at ground zero.

Will Jessica end up going full ride? Will Marcus and her finally break the ice and date? Will her parents let her live in New York City?

No comments: