Blog Archives
Charmed Thirds
It’s typical for me to lounge with a flower between my toes.
Charmed Thirds
by Megan McCafferty
Crown
E-book from Public Library
[#54 in my 75 book challenge]
(warning…this review contains spoilers for Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings. If you haven’t read this series, hop over to this post to read my review of the first Jessica Darling novel!)
At this point in the series, Jessica is in college and things start to speed up. This book covers Jessica’s entire college career. She’s trying to study journalism at Columbia, and life is never dull. She tries to stay with Marcus while he attends a Buddhist college across the country, while juggling college finances and friendships with random amounts of success. The story doesn’t cover every semester and every moment, but we see enough of the major points in Jessica’s college career to understand what she’s going through and how she is developing as a confident, intelligent young woman.
I liked the first two books in the quintet, but this one started to feel like work. I like Jessica, but it was hard watching her do some of the things she does in this story. Sometimes I just don’t get or identify with her. I have more of a “roll with it” chill attitude about most things, but Jessica does not. She drove me nuts when she just walked away from her summer internship in particular. Since that scenario was at the beginning of the book, I guess I had a hard time getting over that one mistake.
I did enjoy watching Jessica experience different relationships with different guys for different reasons with different results. She needed to step away from Flutie for a minute in order to appreciate her chemistry with him. I really, really, really hope she ends up with him at the end of the day after they both do a little bit of growing up.
Quotes from Jessica Darling
“When I’m at school in the city, I don’t feel particularly worldly or wise. It’s only when I come back home that I remember exactly why I left.”
“High school parties exhausted me because I always felt like I was the only thinking person in a room mostly full of morons obliterating precious IQ points with every gulp of whatever booze they managed to steal out of their parents’ liquor cabinets. College parties are exhausting in a diametrically opposite way. They are full of smart, funny people who are all used to being the smartest, funniest person in the room, so they spend the whole party talking over one another, overlapping and overtaking the conversation to prove that they are the smartest, funniest person in the room, if not the entire planet.”
FINAL GRADE: C Giving this one a solid C. Remember, a C is still a good book and a book I enjoyed reading. As the middle book in the series, though, it just doesn’t stand on its own. The story is necessary, which is which I still recommend it to fans of the series. We want to know how Jessica ends up. We want to know where all of this Marcus Flutie business goes. I don’t think I’ll be able to truly appreciate Jessica and Marcus riding off into the sunset (if that even happens) if they don’t both deal with some bullshit in their younger years before settling down. Kudos to Megan McCafferty for writing a realistic character, flaws and all, and I will be reading the fourth book.
Do you think McCafferty should have quit after this book?
Second Helpings
I’m glad she shaved her legs.
Second Helpings
by Megan McCafferty
Crown
E-book from Public Library
[#54 in my 75 book challenge]
(warning…this reviews contains spoilers for Sloppy Firsts. If you haven’t read this series, hop over to this post to read my review of the first Jessica Darling novel!)
After the lip-nip heard round the world and the discussion that followed, Jessica Darling has eliminated Marcus Flutie from her life. He is now known as “He Who Shall Not Be Named.” In this second installment of the Jessica Darling Quintet, Jessica takes us through the summer after Jessica’s junior year to graduation, and Jessica is just as confused as ever. She starts out at SPECIAL, a summer program for gifted kids, and then navigates senior year with a smidge more maturity than she’s show in the past.
While she’s deciding which colleges to apply to (Columbia keeps calling her name…), trying to date boys who AREN’T Marcus Flutie, and hanging out with her grandmother at the retirement community, Jessica is also OBSESSING over her virginity. This girl is on a mission. To be honest, I kind of liked that. Yes, the obsession was a little weird, but it showcased an attitude of girls taking charge of their own sexuality. Jessica doesn’t fixate on the fantasy that some guy is going to whisk her away in a romantic cloud of beautiful love…she just wants to do it. It’s a take on teenage sexuality that isn’t present in a lot of teen chick-lit. Thumbs up to Megan McCafferty for that.
It should be noted that this quintet was originally supposed to end with this book, so things wrap up quite nicely in the final pages. I’ve already read Charmed Thirds, and I understand why some people would warn readers to stop with the second installment. You could definitely read books one and two, call it day, and move on with your life. But by the end of this book I found myself still wanting to know what life holds for the next chapter of Jessica Darling’s life. I’m invested in her, and I think I’ll see her story through to the end.
Quotes from Jessica Darling
“I don’t even like babies. I have a very low tolerance for people who sit in their own defecation.”
“I will not get obsessed with anyone who is less than perfect for me. This mandate pretty much guarantees that my hymen will continue to stay intact, so airtight that it could be used as a floatation device in case of emergency.”
FINAL GRADE: B Giving this one a solid B. It’s a great book, and part of a five-book arc that may be greater than the sum of its parts. I like watching characters mature, and sometimes the individual books are (necessary) stepping stones in that journey. Jessica Darling is the smart girl’s hero! Like Sloppy Firsts, I would recommend this book for a high school library rather than a middle school library, and would definitely recommend it to my friends looking for a smart, romantic summer read. It’s probably not going to end up on my top 10 at the end of the year (my criteria for giving an A), but it’s among the best books for sure.
Do you think McCafferty should have quit after this book?
