Charmed Thirds: A Jessica Darling Novel (Jessica Darling Novels) Review

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Charmed Thirds: A Jessica Darling Novel (Jessica Darling Novels) ReviewThe brilliance of the first two books in this trilogy was that the reader was responsible for a lot-we were required to "get" Jessica unlike her parents, her peers, and ever her closest friends. And Mccafferty wrote with such precision and wit that Jessica became endeared, a hero, but she never strayed from the perfunctory happenstance of all pubescent life. We "got" Jessica, bought her hook, line, and sinker. The wholeness of Jessica's character-her worrisome, analytical nature juxtaposed to her flaws-made her more real and true than most characters in teen lit books, not merely a compilation of adorable quirks and journals filled with angst over prom dates and zits.
The first books worked because they spent time developing Jessica and made her existence both incredibly cool (She's snarky and likes John Hughes films! She listens to The Smiths! She writes editorials for her school newspaper! She likes nerds!) and incredibly tragic. Though from a rational standpoint, a poem stuffed into one's backpack is not the stuff of Hamlet, Mcafferty made it true anguish. We were so wrapped up in the endearing Jessica and so confused about Marcus Flutie's intentions that it was-- perhaps the sign of a truly genuine story-- as if the events were unfolding in our own lives. The lip-nip was ours, likewise the heartache of Len Levy. The annoyingness of the Clueless Crew. We felt it all, and wanted to scrawl, "Life sucks and then your die," on our book covers, too.
I waited with baited breath for the final installment in the Jessica Darling Epic, and trudged through the pages with alarm. J. (a laughable collegiate moniker) is now a woman. And not the woman I wanted her to be. Somewhere along the way she picked up the habit of leaving huge chunks of time out of her journals and letters- instead reporting sexual trysts and ridiculous scenarios (her parents bang-a-langin' in the living room upon her visit home, to her utter horror) whenever she felt the urge. There is nothing cohesive about the book. J's new personality is both uncharming and totally annoying. The sweetness and sincerity are gone now, and what's left is the making of an OC archetype. Worse still, of course, the writing grew from unrelentingly realistic to slapstick one-dimensional. Why even include the Clueless Two and Co. if there has been no change at all? As a reader, I'm offended that the writer who once expected me to understand, to "get", the complicated psyche of her heroine now paints a story so clumsily and manically. Subplots come and go, characters apparently fall of the face of the earth, only to reappear chapters later in some offhand parenthesized comment.
There is simply, absolutely, unequivocally, nothing charming about this latest attempt at a novel. Save yourselves.Charmed Thirds: A Jessica Darling Novel (Jessica Darling Novels) Overview

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Perfect Fifths: A Jessica Darling Novel (Jessica Darling Novels) Review

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Perfect Fifths: A Jessica Darling Novel (Jessica Darling Novels) ReviewIt boggles me that this book is getting five stars. While I would love to put five stars, I honestly can't. The Jessica Darling series is my favorite book series, and I love the first four books dearly. When I heard the fifth and final book was being released, I was excited, because as I trusted McCafferty in past novels, I felt she would do Jessica and Marcus justice, as well as give us some sort of closure for the many curveballs that have been thrown our way throughout the series.
Instead however, what I got was essentially a blank canvas where McCafferty felt it was her time to test out all these different creative ideas. Endless pages of solely dialogue and random stage inserts like [Pause.] seem careless and lazy, and unnecessary chapters filled with nonsensical haikus and poetry is unneeded and sloppy. Readers flock to these books to get in depth insight on what the characters think and feel, not to get out-there word combinations set up in stanzas for the reader to interpret.
Also, too much time was spent dealing with character introduced in this novel, and who we have no care about. I read from page 91 to 202 in one sitting, and literally felt like I had gotten nothing out of the chapters. All of it was nonsense, and did not seem like in character conversations for Jessica and Marcus. It was too much name dropping and not enough character development for the characters who matter the most (Jessica and Marcus). The end was bland, and while for a moment I had a glimmer of hope in the writing to where I felt like I was reading Jessica and Marcus as they had been portrayed in other hopes, it suddenly ends because well the novel ends. Too much time was spent not building up to anything, and dealing with characters that are not worth the time that was given to them. Honestly, read the first 20 pages, then skip to the last 50 and you will somewhat have the story you want to hear.
It pains me that I had to write such a negative review, nor have I ever even left a review on Amazon, but I was truly disappointed with Perfect Fifths to the point where I needed this to be heard. In all honestly, I wish McCafferty had just left us hanging with the fourth novel, because this fifth novel seems like a carelessly put together writing experiment that does not give the characters of Marcus and Jessica the attention, attraction, and closure they deserve, as well as leaves readers with no closure for themselves. In fact, with all the new information in this novel (which was unnecessary unless she was continuing the series), there is enough material for another book that would do the characters and the readers justice. Unfortunately, instead of finding closure, this novel will have you wanting more - not in a good way - just to actually see Jessica and Marcus deal with their problems and past, and get the proper reconnection that readers were expecting; not just a slightly static story that spent too much time on nonsense, and not enough time on the heart of the story.
I'm sorry Megan McCafferty, and I love all your other books, but unfortunately, I have to give you one star for this. I apologize for saying this, but you have let me down.Perfect Fifths: A Jessica Darling Novel (Jessica Darling Novels) Overview

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Fourth Comings: A Jessica Darling Novel Review

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Fourth Comings: A Jessica Darling Novel ReviewLike most reviewers, I am a passionate fan of the Jessica Darling books. I loved the first book and adored the second book even more. I was unhappy with Charmed Thirds, and I went into this book expecting to be disappointed and unhappy with the ending. Maybe that's why in the beginning of the book I was annoyed with the actual writing style. I eventually got over that and did find some parts to enjoy. I liked that Jessica spent time with her parents and had a nice talk with her father. Learning about her parents' early relationship gave some insight into why her mother is the way she is. The part where Jessica describes her sister and her sister's friends' lives as MILFs who want OTB (only the best) for their children was good. But I found myself wishing something would actually happen with or to Jessica. Since the whole book covers only one week's time, I suppose that was an unrealistic hope. Only when Jessica learned the secret about her best friend Hope and Marcus's hidden past did I feel a little bit of the old magic coming back.
Maybe I'm shallow, but a big part of what I loved about the first two books was Marcus, and the latest two books don't include him much. Jessica thinks about him constantly and addresses him in her letter/journal, but he's not there to answer back. We aren't treated to the banter between the two of them that was so great in the beginning. Not that he's talked much lately anyway. He's turned into this practically mute, non-Buddhist, preachy type who I would probably find annoying to be around.
My favorite parts of this book were where Jessica referenced something from the high school years, and that's not a good thing. I could just re-read the first two books if that's what I wanted. I haven't found much to love in the latest two books. I do still admire the writing and I think McCafferty has been consistent in the way she writes Jessica. But for me, it just doesn't work without Marcus. I suppose it is Megan McCafferty's vision to tell Jessica's story and not a sappy romance novel. Like real life, maybe Jessica doesn't live happily ever after with her high school boyfriend. But we're led to believe that Jessica and Marcus have a one-in-a-million kind of connection, and I think that could and should last forever. I hear McCafferty's writing a fifth and final installment in the series. I just hope she gives the fans what they long for, a happily-ever-after ending for the couple we love.Fourth Comings: A Jessica Darling Novel Overview

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