Second Helpings

I will do my best to refrain my flailing and fangirling in this review, but it's going to be really difficult, because this series gives me so many feels. SO. MANY. FEELS. Seriously, if you like contemporaries at all and are not easily offended, then you really need to read the Jessica Darling series posthaste. Second Helpings follows Jessica through her senior year of high school, and had me even more on the edge of my seat than the first one.

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, show more 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? show less

Jessica Darling wants nothing to do with Marcus Flutie after his betrayal, but he seems determined to make her life as awkward as possible by helping his best friend Len Levy win her over. Not to mention, Marcus seems to be in cahoots with her colorful grandmother at the nursing home when it comes to Jessica's love life and college plans. As she tries to survive her senior year at Pineville High, Jessica combats a mediocre relationship with a boy not of her dreams, a dream college that far exceeds her family's budget, and the temptation of going over to the dark side known as Marcus Flutie.

second helpings grew on me. I didn't love it at first, but the more I think about this book and the more I find myself quoting the infamous "you, show more yes, you" all the time to Mr. Z, the more I realize that Megan McCafferty has affected - or is it infected? - my mind. The tug-of-war between Jessica and Marcus is absolutely perfect in their imperfections, and I could not wait to see which one of them would finally yank the other over to their side. second helpings may not have impressed me at first, but it has definitely left a lasting impression on my own romantic whimsies.
http://www.librarything.com/addbooks# show less

We open Megan McCafferty's Second Helpings to discover that in a fit of self-loathing, high school senior Jessica has destroyed the diary which stood as a shrine to her obsession with one Marcus Flutie — the text of Sloppy Firsts. After their non-relationship came to a very abrupt end on New Year’s Eve at the end of the first novel, I wasn’t quite sure where we would find Jess and Marcus at the onset of this installment . . . and we found them nowhere, really. As Jess is away for the summer at a creative writing camp and ardently refusing to think and/or talk about Marcus as anyone other than He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned, we run through the summer with Jessica and Call Me Chantelle, Jess’s promiscuous and vapid bunkmate.

Then show more school starts up again. Jessica is grappling with her classmates taking the SATs, applying to colleges and worrying about AP tests — but she stands apart from all of that, so secure in her own intelligence and abilities that school just seems to be . . . whatever. In any other character, this would really irk me — but we know, as readers, that Jessica isn’t like all the other seniors. So I was willing to accept that fact that we wouldn’t be reading about her studying long hours or panicking about biology tests. She’s the certified Class Braniac, right?

And she’s also the Class Loudmouth — known for her scathing editorials and loud opinions regarding the dense, clueless people with whom she shares a class. When an e-mail begins popping up in the inboxes of Pineville High’s seniors — aptly called Pinevile Low – everyone assumes she’s behind the embarrassing, supposedly secret gossip that’s now become fodder for everyone around her. But she isn’t. Isn’t she?

Add in the fact that Jessica now has her heart set on attending Columbia in New York City – recent site of the 9/11 terrorist attack — and the knowledge that her parents will never, ever want her to attend, especially when she’s been offered scholarships to a bevy of other schools, and Jess is ready to panic.

Oh, yeah. And Marcus Flutie, the semi-reformed (but still nonconformist) bad boy she was thisclose to just flat-out falling into crazed love with is now trying to hook her up with his best friend (and fellow Class Brainiac) Len Levy.

I know, it’s a lot going on. Definitely a lot. But I can tell you that I tore through this book as though I had seconds to live — and I had to make peace with the Marcus-and-Jess situation before it was too late. I was far from disappointed! Megan McCafferty’s books are funny, poignant, realistic and just . . . good. Really, really good.

Run out and get books one and two, and then you’ll be like me — running to Borders at 9:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, sweaty coupon in hand, looking around like a crazed beast for Charmed Thirds, the next installment in this addictive series. show less

Summary: Jessica Darling is a senior now, and she's making the hard choices about where to go to college and what she wants out of life. She's still dealing with the fallout of a broken heart, dating her academic rival, and dealing with an anonymous and accurate school gossip ezine. Once again, the reader is privy to Jessica's thoughts through her diary.

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 show more 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. show less

How can you not love reading the hidden thoughts of another person? I must be extremely nosy because the thought of reading someone else’s journal just makes me excited beyond words. I guess what makes this so appealing is just the chance that perhaps there is someone else out there who can relate to you. At times Jessica Darling is that person for me. I understand her difficulty finding her place and I can remember so well her college dilemma. I first read this novel when I was a tad younger than Jessica and at that time I loved the story because it seemed so scandalous and exciting to me. Reading it now I still find it slightly scandalous however, I see a different side to Jessica. I guess the reason why is because now I have been show more through these types of situations myself.

I kind of feel like this is the “Alice” series for the girls who have grown out of Alice. Reading the pages makes you feel as if you have just discovered a new friend and you can’t help but want travel along with her as she makes her place in the world. Since it is in journal format there is a bias to everything and not every character is incredibly developed, but for me that is okay. The story isn’t really about everyone else anyway. My only issue with Jessica is that she seems so wishy-washy in her morals. As someone who is very opinionated and very decided with where I stand, I sometimes find that quality slightly obnoxious. However, she is still very young so I’m sure that plays a large role.

Overall, I thought this book was a great read and now I’m off to read “Charming Thirds.” show less

"Second Helpings" is a very successful, very highly rated, so-so book. Written in 2003, it's the second in a five book series starring Jessica Darling; in this one she's a high school senior, focused on ridding herself of a horrible teenage malady. No not zits, not baby fat, not poor grades - but virginity. Sex is every student's past time at Pineville High. Everyone is doing it. The moral issue here is not whether or not one should have sex, but not to have it too much, nor with too many people. That would be in violation of an unwritten student code. The punishment - being labeled a slut, or skank, or pervert in the case of boys. In the spirit of full disclosure I admit to being a grandfather, and obviously things have changed a bit show more since I went to high school. I know the statistics though, and the numbers say this book is beyond reality. That or seemingly 90+% of kids are doing the nasty regularly in mid New Jersey. Strangely, there is very little attention in "Second Helpings" paid to booze and drugs. Of course it pops up here and there, but in this regard it appears the author has swung the other way, maybe to 'protect' her characters. The message seems to be sex is OK, it's the most popular sport at PHS. There are no abortions, pregnancies, STD's , AIDS/HIV.....

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. show less

In the equally charming sequel to Sloppy Firsts, Jessica Darling is back and chattier than ever. Second Helpings follows Jess as she goes through the dramas of summer camp, senior year, and the looming terrors of college. Jess seems to undergo any and all trials that a senior in high school wants to avoid (class superlatives, team sports, an overbearing mother) as well as pressure from her parents about college.

For a work originally published in the early 2000s, this book stands the test of time. Almost 20 years later, and Jess's struggles (while perhaps a tad more dramatic than real life) are ones that stand the test of time. It was super interesting to see how McCafferty covered the topic of 9/11, especially as Second Helpings was show more originally published soon after the event. McCafferty notes that she wanted to release the Jessica Darling series that a new generation can relate to, and I, for one, think she did a great job of doing so. The audiobook version of this book is performed super accurately, with the narrator possessing the voice I could imagine Jess having. Overall, this book encapsulates the teenage experience well and made me feel like I was back in high school (without that crazy pressure that accompanies being in high school). This book is perfect for fans of the content and nostalgia of the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and the nostalgia and drama of the Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal.

Overall rating: 3.5/5 (rounded to 4)

Second Helpings is available for purchase now. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf. Also, be sure to check out Megan McCafferty’s website!
I was lucky enough to be able to listen to this Advanced Reader's Copy through my partnership with NetGalley. All opinions are my own. show less