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"Second Helpings continues Megan McCafferty's New York Times bestselling series - now with a new foreword by New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Serle Jessica Darling is in her senior year of high school and things can't seem to get worse: her best friend, Hope, still lives in another state, and the mysterious and oh-so-compelling Marcus Flutie continues to be a distraction she doesn't need. Not to mention her parents won't get off her back about choosing a college, and her older sister's pregnancy is causing quite a bit of drama in the Darling household. The second book in Megan McCafferty's critically acclaimed Jessica Darling series is fun, irreverent, and shows that being a teenager is never easy (or boring). Now with a foreword from New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Serle and a new author's note from Megan McCafferty!"--… (more)
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Meanwhile, Jessica's trying to be a good girlfriend to Len Levy, her rival for valedictorian and Marcus Flutie's best friend. Which means that He Whose Name Shall Not Be Mentioned is around. A lot. And still sending mixed messages. On top of that, Marcus works at the "old fogues" home where Jessica's grandmother, the spirited and beloved Gladdie, lives. Will Jessica be able to experience some semblance of a happy ending to her high school years?
As with the previous book in the series, SECOND HELPINGS is a deliciously funny account of high school. Adults will be glad they don't have to go through the ordeal again, while high schoolers will want Jessica as their best friend. Megan McCafferty's books are well on their way to immortalization.
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Review: After getting to know Jessica Darling in Sloppy Firsts, I was really rooting for her in this novel. I desperately wanted her to make the right choice for college. There is still plenty of candor, insight and humor, but Jessica's reactions to the September 11th attacks still surprised me. I'm curious to know how these events affected McCafferty's story: were they an impetus or did they help shift the story to accommodate timeliness? It's impossible not to compare the two novels, and Second Helpings takes everything wonderful from Sloppy Firsts and makes it better. Jessica is smart, funny, ironic and vulnerable, and all of these things make her absolutely delightful to read about.
I absolutely loved this book. The first one was good, but I was afraid I wasn’t going to love the series like I had hoped for. The second one did it for me. I seriously laughed out loud at parts of this book. Jessica is a great character. She is extremely funny, witty and smart. She is the kind of girl I wish I would have been in school, not waited until I got older to pop out of my shell.
When I read, I try to get in tune with the character. At times, it was easy to get inside Jessica Darling’s head. She likes to write, she’s funny, that stuff I got. The part that was hard for me was while I am reading this book about a senior in high school, I know that she graduated high school a few years before me (September 11 references), so I felt like although I am reading about a high schooler, I felt like I am reading the story of someone older than me. Sorry if that doesn’t make sense, it was hard getting out
I am really looking forward to following the next few years of Jessica’s life. I read an interview with author, Megan McCafferty who says that in this series, we follow a whole decade of Jessica. I am eager to see where she goes with her life and what she becomes. I like closure! I am also biting my nails, not sure what is going to happen with her love life. She finally gets what she wants and it is going to be taken away from her, to the complete opposite side of the country.
I give Second Helpings 5 bookmarks.
As I mentioned in my review for Sloppy Firsts, I love Jessica. She is so well-characterized that I feel like I know her up and down. I can tell you her strengths, her weaknesses, and how she fails to see herself properly, as most people do in high school. Jessica grows up a lot in this book, learning to go for what she really wants and to see herself more objectively. In Sloppy Firsts, Jessica did a lot of things to please others, but now she's focused on herself.
One thing (out of many) that I love about this series is that it's so obvious that Jessica doesn't know what she wants. Though, from my perspective, I can tell the right choice from the wrong one, I know Jessica so well that I understand when she missteps. She works out her difficulties in her journal, rehashing them over and over again, trying to process her feelings, particularly about boys. Relationships are confusing, and it can be really difficult to tell how you actually feel about someone, especially if they're also your friend. McCafferty shows that all teen relationships don't last forever, and that romance isn't easy or found at first sight.
In my previous review, I mentioned that I was still a bit unsure about Marcus Flutie. Let the record show that I am no longer unsure. Before I got too far into Second Helpings, I was shipping Jessica and Marcus something fierce. Basically, in book one, he didn't really overcome his sketchy past enough to be someone I could really endorse as a hero, but, by now, he's made good, now using his talents for good rather than substance abuse. He and Jessica have such a strong mental connection, and chemistry like whoa. Also, it's hilarious how, for two forthright, honest people, they have a huge amount of trouble admitting their feelings for one another.
Though I've decided not to rate down for this because I just loved this book so much, this edition had a surprising number of typos. Also, that ending was mean. Just mean. I am very afraid that I will not like the next book, mostly because I have no idea what will happen and I have nerves just thinking about all the bad, but realistic, decisions I will need to watch Jessica make. MAKE GOOD CHOICES, JESSICA.
To reiterate, you should probably be reading this series. Do it. So you can flail with me. Please?
I'm not even entirely sure why I chose to read the sequel to a book that I thought was quite sub-par. It's my own fault, really.
The narrator [Jessica Darling] is highly
Thumbs way, way down.
The characters were OK, but it was sometimes difficult to keep them straight. The differentiators were mostly physical appearance, whom they were "dating", and whether they were nice or mean. The plot was OK, the main point of tension was whether or not Jess and her not-so-secret love would ever get together. But this is one of those typical romance series entries that finally has a happy ending of sorts, then there are clouds on the horizon on the last pages to get you to read book number next. Jessica's parents are dopes, of course, but there is a lame attempt to make Dad real with a poignant scene toward the end. The prose is good, the author seems to know how some teenage minds think, but bottomline, these kids are focused mostly on popularity, and they come across as very shallow. There are funny moments and some insightful ones. There are also lists, lists, lists. Some were clever, but after a while they also got boring and way overdone. Jessica is very much a me, me, me - and it got tiring.
Most of my reading is adult fiction and history but I also read a bit of other genres, e.g. science fiction, YA. I haven't read much YA but I know there are other books out there that are a lot more real than this; "Eleanor and Park" comes to mind as one example. "Second Helpings" is ok as escapist, fantasy reading but I think the reader must be mature enough to understand that. I wouldn't want my freshman grandson reading it.