Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Apr 2003
368 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Paperback Original.
"Knowing that I've just done something that will take decades off my parents' lives with worry, you'll excuse me for not getting into the fa-la-la-la-la Yuletide spirit this year.... The only difference between Christmas 2001 and Christmas 2000 is that I don't have a visit from Hope to look forward to. And Bethany has already packed on some major fetal flab. Oh, and now Gladdie doesn't need to ask a bizillion questions about my boyfriend, because she's
already gotten the dirt from you know who."
Jessica Darling is up in arms again in this much-anticipated, hilarious sequel to
Sloppy Firsts. This time, the hyperobservant, angst-ridden teenager is going through the social and emotional ordeal of her senior year at Pineville High. Not only does the mysterious and oh-so-compelling Marcus Flutie continue to distract Jessica, but her best friend, Hope, still lives in another state, and she can't seem to escape the clutches of the Clueless Crew, her annoying so-called friends. To top it off, Jessica's parents won't get off her butt about choosing a college, and her sister Bethany's pregnancy is causing a big stir in the Darling household.
With keen intelligence, sardonic wit, and ingenious comedic timing, Megan McCafferty again recreates the tumultuous world of today's fast-moving and sophisticated teens. Fans of
Sloppy Firsts will be reunited with their favorite characters and also introduced to the fresh new faces that have entered
Jess's life, including the hot creative writing teacher at her summer college prep program and her feisty, tell-it-like-it-is grandmother
Gladdie. But most of all, readers will finally have the answers to all of their burgeoning questions, and then some: Will Jessica crack
under the pressure of senioritis? Will her unresolved feelings for Marcus wreak havoc on her love life? Will Hope ever come back to
Pineville? Fall in love with saucy, irreverent Jessica all over again in this wonderful sequel to a book that critics and readers alike
hailed as the best high school novel in years.
"Jessica is a captivating, intelligent, acidly funny - but always believably adolescent-narrator ... Though the happy ending seems targeted to a YA crowd, adults will also enjoy Jessica's winning observations." - Publishers Weekly
"Smart, tentative, and funny, Jessica is a likable and wry observer of the competitive, gossipy high-school world." - Booklist
"Jessica's one-time experimentation with ecstasy and self-admitted crude language might concern more conservative librarians or clueless parents; hide it in the adult section if you must, but the right readers will find-and appreciate-this gem." - VOYA
"Sassy and packed with more plot twists than a Real World marathon: likely to be snapped up eagerly by teen and preteen McCafferty fans." - Kirkus
This information about Second Helpings was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Megan McCafferty is the author of Sloppy Firsts (2001), an ALA Top 10 Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, an ALA Popular Paperback, and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. Its sequel, Second Helpings (2003) was also selected to the NYPL list, and was a Booklist Editor’s Pick for one of the best novels of 2003. Charmed Thirds (2006) was an instant New York Times bestseller and a NYPL pick. Fourth Comings (2007) and Perfect Fifths (2009) also made the New York Times, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, Booksense, Barnes and Noble, Borders and other national bestseller lists.
McCafferty edited a short story anthology called Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday (2004). She has contributed to several fiction and nonfiction anthologies including
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