Review: Second Helpings

Second Helpings (Jessica Darling #2), by Megan McCafferty. The GoodReads summary:

Jessica Darling is up in arms again in this much-anticipated, hilarious sequel to Sloppy Firsts. This time, the hyperobservant, angst-ridden teenager is going through the social and emotional ordeal of her senior year at Pineville High. Not only does the mysterious and oh-so-compelling Marcus Flutie continue to distract Jessica, but her best friend, Hope, still lives in another state, and she can’t seem to escape the clutches of the Clueless Crew, her annoying so-called friends. To top it off, Jessica’s parents won’t get off her butt about choosing a college, and her sister Bethany’s pregnancy is causing a big stir in the Darling household.

With keen intelligence, sardonic wit, and ingenious comedic timing, Megan McCafferty again re-creates the tumultuous world of today’s fast-moving and sophisticated teens. Fans of Sloppy Firsts will be reunited with their favorite characters and also introduced to the fresh new faces that have entered Jess’s life, including the hot creative writing teacher at her summer college prep program and her feisty, tell-it-like-it-is grandmother Gladdie. But most of all, readers will finally have the answers to all of their burgeoning questions, and then some: Will Jessica crack under the pressure of senioritis? Will her unresolved feelings for Marcus wreak havoc on her love life? Will Hope ever come back to Pineville? Fall in love with saucy, irreverent Jessica all over again in this wonderful sequel to a book that critics and readers alike hailed as the best high school novel in years.

So I realized that I never reviewed the first book in this series, but that’s because I read it before I started this blog. Therefore I’m declaring myself exempt from feeling guilty about posting about the second book in a series without having written anything about the first.

I was a little hesitant going into this one because, while I generally liked the first one, Jessica’s constant angst, pessimism, and brutal sarcasm got to be a little too much for me. But in the second book, it didn’t bother me as much. For one, I think there was slightly less of it, but mostly I think I could handle it because of a very good point Jessica makes: her life isn’t really as horrible as she makes it seem, but because it’s her journal, she’s only writing about the things that frustrate and stress her. Which makes sense. If any one read my journal they would probably think I was super angsty too.

So after I understood her angst and pessimism, I really got into the book. Jessica is snarky and funny, and although she’s completely frustrating at times, ultimately she’s hilarious and pretty likeable.

And Marcus Flutie . . . I think I was more in love with him in this book than I was in the first. His motives are annoying unclear at times, but he’s still such an awesome guy. Basically, I <3 Marcus 4evah.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book—I ended up liking it even better than the first in the series, and I’m definitely going to keep on reading the rest of the books. So if you like your heroines angsty but hilariously sarcastic, check out the first book, “Sloppy Firsts,” and this one, “Second Helpings” (although honestly, you could probably start with the second book without being confused for very long).