I wanted to love this book so much. The Mall (by the same author) was one of my favorite books last year. It was fun and the main character was so relatable. But "not so" in this case (if you read the book, you'll get it). I couldn't connect with the main character very much as she spent the whole book whining about her life, her friends, and how her best friend moved away and her life was over. It took so long to even understand what the plot of this book was. As such I struggled.

Sadly, I just did not finish this book. The subject matter and writing just were not my cup of tea, and so I decided not to finish it.

I know this is a rerelease, but some of the vocab from 2001 (the r word) does not hold up. I hope they go back and edit some words out.

This is a book I just couldn’t get into. I got to page 100 and even that was painful. This book just isn’t for me. 3 stars for a neutral rating.

Sloppy First gives us a glimpse into the life of Jessica a high school whose best friend moves away. We learn about how that effects her and her schooling through journal entries and letters that she writes her best friend.

I loved the way the book was set up and I also found what was happening to Jessica to be relatable to my own high school experience. Especially because it was set in the early 2000’s when I was still in high school. I still however believe it could be relatable to today’s students because the things that Jessica and the other students go through and discuss are still things that they are going through today and topics that they are still discussing today.

I found this book very enjoyable because of its relatability but also the voice from which Jessica spoke through was very entertaining.

I love this book and feel like it is very authentic voice for a 16-year-old. Jessica Darling is hilarious and sharp witted. Made me feel like I was right back in high school. Can’t wait to read the other books in the series.

This has been on my to-read pile for a long while, so I was happy to see a revamped version available! I don't know what teens now will think about the book, and even I was a little bit after its original time, but it still threw me some nostalgia! Not that I would ever want to go back to high school, but it made me remember a few parts that weren't so bad. Even when Jessica, the narrator via her journals and letters to her best friend who just moved, has bad moments, it was easy to understand her and her anxieties. She was fairly relatable, even more-so when you put yourself back in the shoes of a high-schooler.

I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series now! It was a fun, fast read.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I read this book many years ago. I gave it 3 stars then. I reread it thinking maybe it was overhauled in some way that might be more appealing to me. But honestly I think I was more frustrated with it. There's a lot of body shaming, hateful attitudes towards women and race issues that don't fly well in this day and age.

I loved this book the first time I read it back in high school, and I love it now. While reading this as an adult I have a slightly different perspective and relate stronger to the protagonist as my high school and college years are behind me. I devoured this book just as quickly as the last time I read it. Nostalgia overload.

Disclaimer: I got this ARC in exchange for an honest review from @NetGalley. This is probably an unpopular opinion, but it's my honest perspective on this book. No hate to the author.

I loved that it was in a diary format. It kind of reminded me of The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot. It's set in the 2000's which reminds me of the days when Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were acting. There's an abundance of cultural references and I wasn't that into the main love interest. Usually, that's what piques my interest as a reader. The book also has a lot of racial stereotypes that wouldn't fly with a diverse group of readers. Although it's not for me, if you enjoyed it feel free to comment with what you liked.

*Review will be posted on my blog on 4/26/21*

Likes:
*I read this when it was first published years ago and at that time, I thought Jessica’s voice was very strong, even though at most times she is really unlikable. But I like a problematic character and she has a lot going on in her family and her best friend moving away.

*It doesn’t shy away from high school students having sex, using drugs, and all the gossiping.

*This is written like how one would speak because it’s like a diary – it was funny to me 20 years ago because I was a young adult back when it came out! Today as I read it, as an adult, it was a little too loud and too much for me. There is a lot going on in Jessica’s head, and we are in her thoughts 24/7. I found a lot of it nostalgic and some of it, wondering if teens today could even relate?

*The main thing I loved about this series and it still stands today as the thing that sucked me into this series is the Jessica and Marcus love story. It’s definitely dramatic and it still got to me as I re-read this book. It’s a slow burn with not much happening in this first book until the end of it.

Random Notes:
*Triggers: drug use, grief

*Reading this twenty years later, I feel like so much of the first half could be cut out – get to Marcus and Jessica quicker! I have no time to be in Jessica’s thoughts.

*Ha! I saw my Goodreads star review I gave this years ago (I didn’t have Goodreads in 2001 so I posted it in 2014) and I gave it a 3 star rating like I’m giving it today.

Final Thoughts:
Twenty years later, I can still say I read this whole series because of Jessica and Marcus’ love story. I can’t say I remember how it ended? But I do remember being on this journey with Jessica at a time when she was going to college in the series (I was just out of college), so this story is full of nostalgia for me. This is an all out, in Jessica Darling’s head, coming-of-age teen young adult story. Jessica is lost, she hates her parents, sad that her best friend moved, navigating the jungle that is the high school social scene, and falling for Marcus Flutie, of all people. Will young adult relate to it in this day and age? Not sure ~ it was a mess then and still a mess now, but it was one I totally related to back in the early 2000’s.

If I could get back the time I spent reading this, I would. I honestly can't think of a single redeeming factor for this book, there was so much I hated about it.

The main reason for my hate were the characters. More specifically, our main character, Jessica Darling. She is the epitome of the "not like other girls" trope. She hates her friends, and isn't catty like them. She's sexually empowered, even though she spends 60% of this book thirsting over a boy who didn't know she existed. Unlike her friends, she doesn't sleep around.

Please explain to me how this is okay. Hoe exactly am I supposed to like a character like this? I totally get the dynamic of a high school friend group, I'm going through that right now. But, Jessica had some of the most vile thoughts. She was constantly slut shaming her friends, insulting them, or making comments about their weight. Yet somehow, we're supposed to think she's better than them? Instead, I spent the entire book wanting to kick her.

Even worse is her love situation. Every other page is her bemoaning the fact that she doesn't have a boyfriend. She's constantly comparing herself to her friends, and lamenting how undesirable she is. Depsite this, she manages to pull three different guys, including the star football player... If this doesn't just prove how special she is, I don't know what is.

Whats even worse is that she had no chemistry with any of the love interests. Every single one had the personality of a piece of cardboard, it was that bad. I still don't know what they saw in Jessica, as she had no despicable traits. Anyway, the romance didn't go anywhere, so it was pointless

When I picked this up, I was expecting a fluffy romance. I would've been happy with that. I also would've been happy with a high school school coming-of-age book. What I wasn't happy with was this book without a plot. I'm already living through high school, I don't need to read a book about an unlikable character doing the exact same things I am.

And finally, this book was so unbelievable. I will admit that my high school isn't a typical one, so I'm not completely certain what a "normal" high school is like. I can confidently say that this is one of the most unrealistic books I've ever read though. The characters were caricatures and the teachers were nonexistent.

Despite this having flowing reviews, its safe to say I'm not a fan. I have no idea what the rest of the series is about, and I will not be reading it.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

The newly added foreword in this book is hard to top when it comes to reviews. You see, Rebecca Serle, perfectly captures that feeling of growing up with Jessica Darling. Her foreword added to this story, it was the perfect appetizer that for one who has already read and loved McCafferty's Jessica Darling series, made me eager to rip back into the story.

Right away you're pulled in. Jessica's letter to Hope, her best friend who has just moved away, is full of fun and wit and wry writing. It lets you know that Jessica is all of those things and you can see her in yourself and your best friends. You want to read her story and get to know her better because she seems just like someone you already like.

In Sloppy Firsts, Jessica Darling is embarking on new territory, she's in high school and a little adrift without her best friend. Her mom is obsessed with planning her older sister's perfect wedding and her dad is obsessed with Jessica's track meets. It's a story about a girl who feels out of place and is just trying to find what feels good and right. Jessica is exactly as naively self-absorbed as you expect any 16-year-old to be, but McCafferty is able to write her without too many cringe-worthy moments. I don't know about you, but I remember a time when I was also convinced my problems were larger than life and that my parents couldn't possibly understand me.

And then we meet Marcus Flutie. He's known as a stoner skateboarder who is always getting into trouble and that's not really the kind of person Jessica has time for. Marcus comes across as laid back and unflappable and he certainly unsettles Jessica. But he keeps ending up right in the middle of her path, much to her annoyance.

It's a coming of age YA story that is still relevant in today's high schools, because high school is high school is high school after all.

This book is just as engaging as the beautiful cover and synopsis make it out to be. I loved being in Jessica's head and the drama of her teenage life; the journal style really pulled me in and made me forget I was reading and instead I felt I was actually involved in the story. Jessica goes through such human moments and learns from and about herself along the way, which was really meaningful to read. A really engaging and funny contemporary.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Sloppy Firsts in exchange for an honest review.

Sloppy Firsts was originally released 2 decades ago and it really is a product of its time. While I think McCafferty does an excellent job of developing a strong, unique teenage voice, I had trouble seeing past all the ways this really didn't age well. There's a lot of women hate, body shaming, and not-so-great racial content and while I think it is indicative of the way teenagers approached those topics in the early 2000s, that doesn't mean we're obligated to let it fly now.

It was interesting to read this as an adult. It was written twenty years ago for the age I was then. So I was the intended audience but found it twenty years late.

I identified with Jess in so many ways. Some of those are about remembering how life was different before September 11. This book is a time capsule preserving a time that now feels hard to recall. Others are the universal and timeless truths of feeling like an outsider as an adolescent. Jess looks at the world with a sharp and discerning lens and describes it in ways at times funny and at times harsh. Her writing only becomes more powerful when she turns that gaze on herself and her own actions.

As someone who was new to the story, I wished the new Introduction was an Afterword instead. In describing the series, it felt like it gave too much of a spoiler away about the love interest. But I did enjoy the context it gave. I am pleased to see this updated and packaged for a new YA audience.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this eARC.

When Jessica Darling’s best friend moved she is devastated and lonely. She has no one to talk to, her parents don’t understand her, she doesn’t relate to the girls at school, and she feels lost. This book covers a year in her life and she sorts through all of the feelings of being a teenager.

Y’all. I didn’t realize this at first but this book is a rerelease. It was originally written 20 years ago and it is still so relatable. For real, it has aged SO well. I’m amazed. I would have been obsessed with this book as a teen - seriously how did I not know about it before now?

As an adult this was a little more teen angsty at times than I go for now, but I gave it 4 stars because teenage Cat would have been here for it, and let’s be real, that is the target audience (not 30 year old Cat). And even with all of the moodiness and the angst, I am hoping the other 4 books in the series get a rerelease as well. If they do I will definitely be reading them🤞🏼

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. Sloppy Firsts will be rereleased on May 4th!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

The updated release of Sloppy Firsts reintroduces the world of YA book lovers to Jessica Darling, a teenage girl trying to navigate through high school after her best friend moves away. The book takes us through her relationships with her friends that she can't relate to, her parents who want her to be someone that she isn't, and her romantic interests that are....complicated. To Rebecca Serle's jealously, I am one of the readers meeting Jessica for the first time with this updated version of Sloppy Firsts. I absolutely loved Jessica's brutal honesty (both outward and internal monologue) and could not get enough of her snarky demeanor. The general plot of the story still reads well and is relatable, whether the reader is picking up this book for the first time or rereading it as one of their favorite books. My main criticism is that despite the afterward stating that parts of the book had been edited, I'd argue that there are some topics that still may not have aged so well. I'm looking forwarding to reading the next part of Jessica's story.

As a result of my various committee appointments and commitments I am unable to disclose my personal thoughts on this title at this time. Please see my star rating for a general overview of how I felt about this title. Additionally, you may check my GoodReads for additional information on what thoughts I’m able to share publicly. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this and any other titles you are in charge of.

I first read this book when I was in college. I immediately fell in love with Jessica Darling (so much so that I bought each sequel on their respective release dates and read them immediately and I’ve even read the MG prequels).. This updated edition has an introduction from Rebecca Serle and an afterward from Megan McCafferty. I really hope the other four will also be re-released.

But let’s start discussing Sloppy Firsts, shall we? This is the book that introduces us to Jessica Darling, her parents and sister (wedding obsessed like the family in Sixteen Candles, one of Jessica’s beloved “new classics”), her best friend Hope, her current “friends,” who she has dubbed the “Clueless Crew” and possibly best of all Marcus Flutie.

This book is technically marketed as adult fiction, probably because when it was released, there really wasn’t a thriving YA market like there is today. (Which is just as well; when it was released, I wouldn’t have read it if it were marketed as YA.)

I feel like there are two things people discuss with this book. The first, of course, is Jessica and Marcus Flutie. (Oh God, it’s highly possible that this is my literal favorite fictional relationship ever—more than Anna and Etienne, more than anything from Sarah Dessen, more than anything).

But the second—and this is even better than Jess and Marcus—is Jessica herself. She’s got this very unique, very funny, VERY sarcastic voice. (Probably her closest comparison is to Olive from the movie Easy A and maybe a dash of Veronica from Heathers, but with a healthier love life.)

Bottom line, though—this book is perfect. If you’ve ever felt like you’re in the wrong place or the wrong era, this book is for you. If you’ve ever felt even remotely like an outsider or misunderstood, this book is for you. (So basically if you’ve ever been a teenage girl—or are one now—this book is for you.)

Highly, highly, highly recommended.