Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty

Things are looking up for Jessica Darling. She has finally left her New Jersey hometown/hellhole for Columbia University in New York City; she's more into her boyfriend, Marcus Flutie than ever (so what if he's at a Buddhist college in California?); and she's making new friends who just might qualify as stand-ins for her beloved best friend, Hope.
But Jessica realizes that her bliss might not last after she lands an internship at an uber-hip Brooklyn-based magazine. As she and Marcus hit the rocks, will she fall for her GOPunk, neoconservative RA...or the hot grad student she's assisting on a summer project...or the oh-so-sensitive emo boy down the hall? Will she even make it now that her parents have cut her off financially? And what do the cryptic one-word postcards from Marcus really mean?
(Summary from back of book)

I would call the Jessica Darling series my guilty pleasure series but it's not all that guilty. There's wonderfully fluffy parts and then there are parts that make me want to go running to my mother and cry for hours.

Something like this:
Jane was right about one thing: Marcus's T-shirts were a schtick. But so is everything we do when we exercis the free will that Kieran held so dear. And we're all guilty. We convince ourselves that these choices declare WHO WE ARE to whe world, and we hope that others - or just one person - will see these on-the-surface signs and somehow, suddenly understand WHO WE ARE down to the depths of our souls. But the cruel reality is that these choices serve a different purpose altogether. They act as cheery distractions from the only tragic Truth-with-a-capital-T that matters: We all die alone.

I think the thing that's most provocative about Jessica Darling is how much she seems like me. Everything she does, everything people tell her, every experience that she goes through resonates with me. And I think that's one of the most amazing things about these books. Because I know that I'm not the only one who sees a bit of myself in her. I think every reader does. She's a universal kind of gal. Everyone wishes they were Jessica Darling.

One of the things that still bugs me about this series though is how much I didn't like the first book. It just doesn't make any sense how the two next books could be so awesome. Maybe I just wasn't in the mindset of the books when I read that one. Because they do require a certain mindset - a type of mentality. Maybe it really was amazing but I didn't get anything out of it because I was too busy being cynical and teenager-y. I don't know. I guess all that matters is that I'm with it now. And I'm loving that I'm with it.

This third book had a different tone than the previous two. Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings took place in high school after Jessica's best friend Hope moved away. For those books she was really sullen and moody and sarcastic. She was also sort of big-headed. Graduating from high school changed her drastically. I don't know if it's "for the better" but it's a change for sure. Jessica grew up. In Charmed Thirds she's much more contemplative and humble. The real world smacked her in the face and she knows it.

The way that she changed might be one of my favorite things about the series so far. Megan McCafferty is able to write with a different tone in each book so that you can see how Jessica is maturing and becoming a different person. That takes some mad skill - to be able to adapt your writing style with a character through a course of almost ten years. Pretty fabulous stuff.

And the cherry on top of this already grand book? Marcus Flutie. *sigh* That is all.

So the rare A+ for this novel. I adored it. Thank god I have Fourth Comings sitting on my shelf staring at me with puppy-dog eyes, begging to be read. Expect a review of that one real soon.

Review of Sloppy Firsts
Review of Second Helpings

April 11, 2006 // Three Rivers Press // 384 pages
Goodreads // Amazon // IndieBound

Booking Through Thursday #37 - Preferences

Which do you prefer? (Quick answers)

Reading something frivolous? Or something serious?
Serious

Paperbacks? Or hardcovers?
Paperbacks

Fiction? Or Nonfiction?
Fiction

Poetry? Or Prose?
Prose

Biographies? Or Autobiographies?
Autobiographies

History? Or Historical Fiction?
Historical Fiction

Series? Or Stand-alones?
Stand-alones

Classics? Or best-sellers?
Classics

Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose?
Straight-forward and basic please

Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness?
Stream-of-Consciousness

Long books? Or Short?
Long

Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated?
Non-illustrated

Borrowed? Or Owned?
Owned

New? Or Used?
Used

Bits 'n Pieces - Megan McCafferty

books // website // blog

Mountains or beaches?

Beaches. Even after all those years working on the boardwalk.

Favorite music artist?

When I was 11, Michael Jackson. Then I hit puberty and got too fickle for favorites.

Have you ever gotten a tattoo?

No.

Would you rather end hunger or hatred?

Hunger. I'm a pragmatist.

What does your perfect day look like?

I like to believe it's in my future.

What movies could you watch over and over again and still love?

Dazed and Confused, Dangerous Liaisons and Sixteen Candles.

When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween?

I usually wore my spangly, sequined leotards from my dance recitals and said I was a Broadway star or princess or fairy or something sparkly like that. My mom always made me wear a turtleneck underneath which totally ruined the look.

What is the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you?

I can't tell you. But it involved a cappella.

If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?

Barry Manilow. He was born Barry Alan Pincus. Look how well it worked for him.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?
Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.
(Summary from back of book)

When I was in New York City last month I was lucky enough to be able to see the musical, Wicked on Broadway. It's roughly based off of this novel but I'd heard from a few of my friends who read the book that the two works have almost nothing in common. Ingtrigue.

I picked up a copy to see what all the fuss was about. Also, I just really like the idea of what people see on the surface not being the reality. How perceptions are often mislead and how people are often misunderstood. I like the thought of never being able to know the whole truth. Like there's always guesswork involved and it's all we can do to try and figure out at least some of the facts.

So with that said, even though it wasn't all that similar to the musical, I adored this book. It's much darker and more political and sexual than the play but that kind of stuff worked in prose form. It wouldn't have worked as well on stage. I don't think people would want to sit there and think all of this through but when they're reading, they have the time to do that. Having that little edge of controversy and dissention there really helped to add an urgency and a seriousness to the events in the book.

Also, the characters were so amazing. Maguire knows how to give characters layers and personalities so that you never know what's going to come out of them next. Elphaba and Nessarose and Fiyero were some of the most complex people that I have ever read about. It was honestly a work of art.

The other thing that I enjoyed about Wicked is how nothing ever turns out perfect. In the play there's always little light moments and everyone ends up relatively happy but in the book it's more realistic. There's death and danger and hatred and lies and the author shies away from none of that. It's all there laid out on the table for you to make of it what you will.

Gregory Maguire knows how to capture a reader's interest. He definitely captured mine. I would recommend Wicked to anyone who's seen the play or anyone who's looking for a little excitement.

This is a monumental book.

A

I interview you

Questions from Ms. Steph Bowe

You can travel anywhere in the world instantly in a matter transporter. Where do you go?

GREECE. So I can live in a little white-washed house and swim in blue water and eat oranges and become raven-haired and olive-skinned.

You can read only one book for the rest of your life. Which book is it?

Either Wicked by Gregory Maguire or The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I think they're both endlessly interesting. You could read them a bajillion times and still never pick up every nugget of awesome that the author deposited in there.

Do you believe in magic?

How else would Harry Potter have been able to defeat Voldemort?

You can combine any two animals into one creature. Which two animals do you choose and why?

A horse and a fish. Like this Neopet:Yeah. I still connect things in "the real world" to the marvelous world of Neopets. Don't judge me.

Zombie apocalypse scenario: You have about five minutes before a horde of zombies break down your door and eat your brain. Death – or zombification – is inevitable. You can make only one call. Who do you call, and what do you say? (For this question, you can imagine you have the phone number of everyone on the planet, including famous people.)

I don't want to answer this. It's too hard.
I'd probably call Barack Obama just because he's the voice I would want to have resonating in my head as I met my death. I'd probably do a lot of huffing and squealing. And tell him that I loved him. That would be a good way to die.

Follow these instructions:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” Please include your email address.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

You know you want to.