ARC, 240 pages
Release Date: September 3, 2013Published by: PoppyJessica Darling’s It List, #1
Source: Given to me from another blogger!For fans of: Contemporary, Middle Grade, LOL, Realistic Fiction
Move over, Dork Diaries! Jessica Darling, star of Megan McCafferty’s bestselling Jessica Darling series for adults, is back in a hilarious new series perfect for tween (10 to 14) girls.
I hadn’t even gotten to homeroom yet and I’d already discovered five hard truths about junior high:
1. My best friend had turned pretty.
2. She didn’t know it yet.
3. It wouldn’t be long before she did.
4. That knowledge would change everything between us.
5. And there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.
It’s the first day of seventh grade. Is Jessica Darling doomed for dorkdom?
New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty’s hilarious series opener will have you laughing, cringing, and cheering for Jessica Darling as she learns that being herself beats being popular, pretty & perfect any day.
*MY THOUGHTS*
“Omigod! Choosing the perfect lunch table is probably the most important social studying I’ll do all year.”
pg. 51 (ARC)
But fortunately, I didn’t really need to worry. From the very beginning this book was hilarious and super realistic. For it to be a MG I was lost in its pages. What made it even better for me was the way I could relate to it. See I’m a middle sister, and my older “sister” (she’s my god sister but my mom basically adopted her) just turned 40 and I’m just 24. I only vaguely remembered my sister being around and when I was starting middle school and high school I didn’t have anyone to help me either. I also have a little sister who’s about to turn 18 in Oct and I feel like I missed her most pivotal years because I was away in college. This book definitely shows the real relationship between a girl and her older sister. It doesn’t feel fake or over exaggerated in any way.
“Hey! You’re not the same boy my sister was kissing yesterday, are you?”
pg. 132 (ARC)
As you can tell by the quotes, you can see that this book is also HILARIOUS. One of the main reasons I love MG’s is because they are so funny and light and fluffy. They can get me out of a funk like no other age group. And this one was no different. I laughed out loud many times and had people giving me some weird looks, but I didn’t care. It was such a great story.
“I swear we would have kept this up all day if Scotty Glazer, G&T’s top athlete, hadn’t told Manda that ‘athletic supporters’ are more commonly known as ‘jock straps’.”
pg. 150 (ARC)
Overall, I was really impressed with this MG novel. The truth it held and the humorous situations were just what I needed to give me a good light and fluffy read before all the dark stuff I plan to read for Halloween! It also opened my eyes to McCafferty’s writing. I will be reading the YA Jessica Darling series as soon as I can get my hands on it!
