Charmed Thirds

Against all expectations, I am smitten with the Jessica Darling series. The series is probably considered “chick-lit” by most (a term I detest due to the gendered notions of literature it evokes but that I’m using due to its popularity). But while it’s ostensibly chick-lit, there are no treatises on shopping or one-night stands. It is not brainless and vapid. Instead, it flips the chick-lit tropes. It’s actually about a girl trying to find herself in a world that wants nothing more than for her to be a vapid chick.

In Charmed Thirds Jessica goes to college. But her college experience is not the “wooo hoooo let’s get drunk and have the best four years of our lives” experience. In fact, most of her time at college is show more uncovered. McCafferty has chosen to record these four years only during Jessica’s winter and summer breaks, thankfully leaving the drudge work of college to our imaginations. What I love about Charmed Thirds is that it does not sugarcoat college. Instead it captures the uncertainty of the American college experience. It is full of malaise and the endless worries of millenials such as “What will I do?” And “Will I be good enough?”

It sounds depressing, and it very occasionally is, but Jessica’s charming voice carried me through the story. Jessica is straight-up hilarious. I laughed at loud at some of her predicaments and groaned at some of the others. Her hyperaware, overdescriptive style will be appreciated by any young neurotic. I also sympathized with her relationship with Marcus. Their relationship is a cornerstone of the series, and my oh my, in this book, it becomes even more deliciously complex. Marcus is a delectable creature in the sphere of YA boys, though his entire appeal is the fact that he resembles his fellow YA love interests in no way. Sometimes I wanted to reach into the pages and shake Marcus because he’s so frustrating. But while Marcus is difficult to understand sometimes, he really loves Jessica and his witticisms keep the relationship interesting.

Often authors who torture their characters before finally uniting them in love struggle to keep the relationship interesting after all the angst dies. Luckily, Megan McCafferty is not all authors. She shows how college breaks relationships. She shows how even two well-matched individuals can treat each other poorly. With Marcus and Jessica she’s created a messy, imperfect relationship that is brutally honest. I also like the irony of Jessica’s situation in this book. Jessica, who spends so much time judging people for their seemingly incomprehensible relationships, finds herself in a relationship that is occasionally incomprehensible to her and largely incomprehensible to everyone else. But she loves Marcus and the relationship works for her. And that’s all that matters.

Honestly the audience for these books might be small. There’s not much escapism here. Jessica’s life kinda sucks. Others might dislike Jessica for being overanalytical and cynical and thus incapable of happiness. But there is a small sliver of young women, including me of course, who will see themselves in Jessica. And in a time when it seems like you don’t know anything—about your career, friends, love life, who you are—her plights will be a source of comfort. show less

I absolutely ADORED the first two novels in this series. In the previous two novels I could really relate to Jessica but I lost all of that in “Charmed Thirds.” I really thought the voice changed tremendously between the second and third book and I know some would explain that as part of growing up. However, there was more to it than Jessica simply growing up. It just seemed to me that she really could not have grown so much when nothing happened plot-wise. She just went around in circles while everyone else moved on with their lives.
I seriously do not understand how one minute Jessica can be so sassy and stand up for herself and then the next minute she is doing everything everyone else wants to do. Are we sure she isn’t the show more bipolar character here?
I’m glad that by the end of this novel Bethany and Jessica have developed a much better relationship. It’s about time.
The Marcus-Jessica relationship is no longer charming to me. It has become something that is really unhealthy and self-destructive. Why are they even together? They don’t seem to know and I certainly don’t know either. I’m just not really rooting for them anymore. Although of course I will read the rest of the series because I want to see how it ends. It’s like a train-wreck I just can’t ignore.
Here’s to hoping there is a little more of the Jessica I know and love in “Fourth Comings!” show less

I would always love Jessica Darling (not just because of her porn star name!). A lot of mature themes are tackled in the book, e.g. love, money and SEX. It taught me a lot about GROWING UP. I've felt that I've known Jessica Darling and I've grown up with her. I'm emotionally attached to this series. There are only two downside to this one: 1) Jessica becoming sex-crazed nymphomaniac. WHy does everyone with a penis she has to fool around with? She already has Marcus, the sex god in her hands, what's wrong with her? 2) The obvious lack of Marcus. Feels like I was reading "New Moon"! Marcus is my man and he's absent for more than half of the story. As usual McCafferty decided to cramp all Marcus-Jessica stuff towards the end wherein you'll show more get BITIN and you'll feel the need to buy the next one. Nice marketing strategy! haha I can't wait to get my hands on the fourth book! show less

They keep getting worse but I suppose I'm in it for the long haul. I can never stop reading a series once I start. One thing is for sure: I will not be recommending these books to the teens I just started working with at my friend's church. I don't think the leadership would be impressed.

I dropped this one a star...maybe the series' losing steam, maybe I didn't find the poor New York struggling student story as engaging, maybe the ending was a bit rushed...maybe I'm getting crotchety in my old age. But still good and I do appreciate an author that will let her characters grow and make mistakes. It's one constant complaint I have with sub-par YA, the tie-it-with-a-ribbon happy ending. I like McCafferty is making Jessica work for it.

CHARMED THIRDS, the third book in Megan McCafferty’s bestselling series, introduces a more insightful and pensive, though not necessarily more likable, Jessica Darling. Diehard fans of the first two books will have trouble coming to terms with Jessica’s growth, though personally I think it’s fantastic.

College is supposed to be better for Jessica Darling. After all, she has escaped Pineville to attend prestigious Columbia University in the greatest city in the world, and she is still with Marcus.

However, things are not as great as it seems. Jessica and Marcus’ relationship seems to hit the rocks. She still can’t escape her high school joke of friends, even with new college friends. She has unsatisfying flings with several show more different guys. But worst of all, her parents won’t help her pay for college.

How will Jessica even survive her college years, let alone come out a better person? show less

I loved the first book and then the second, but I got bogged down a lot in this one. I'm not entirely sure why: Jessica's still got a keen eye for the absurd, but she's starting to feel like that facebook friend whose status updates are starting to all sound the same and maybe you're not sure you want to listen any more.