WINNER! - Best of 2009 Giveaway

I'm pleased to announce the winner to my super-duper-spectacularly-awesome Best of 2009 Giveaway!

I tend to get overly excited at times.

But! Based on a completely random number given to me via Facebook Status last night (can we think of a more reliable source?), I'm pleased to announce our winner!

Congrats to Erin M.!! Erin wished for Sloppy Firsts, by Megan McCafferty! Enjoy!

And in celebration, here is my review of Sloppy Firsts, originally posted on March 16th, 2009.
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So I finished Sloppy Firsts last Friday... Went to buy Second Helpings on Saturday, finished it yesterday afternoon... Went to buy Charmed Thirds yesterday, and went ahead and grabbed Fourth Comings because I was seeing a trend. The guys at Borders probably know me by name now.


So anyway, we meet Jessica Darling (yes she realizes her name is sickeningly cute) halfway through her sophomore year of High School. She's witty as all get out, and over-analyzes every moment of her life in her journal, which is what you get to read. It's written through her journal entries and letters she sends to her BFF who moved across the country right before her 16th birthday. Jessica reminded me so much of myself in high school, it was crazy. Well, except I could only wish to be that witty. She's smart, funny, and extremely insecure. In other words, she's very real, which is great. This is no typical teen heroine.


So this book follows her through about a year of her life, while she goes through some of the more awkward ups and downs of being 16. It seems YA lit has changed a lot since I was in High School, because Jessica and her friends actually cuss and drink and make mistakes and do things teenagers actually do! In my day, they were pure as snow. Or I wasn't reading the right YA books.





We get introduced to Marcus Flutie, who will have your heart thumping for reasons you can't quite explain. He does the same to Jessica, and torments her throughout the year. Jessica is also dealing with learning who her friends really are, and what that friendship might actually mean. It's a year of ups and downs, mostly downs - and you can't help but love all of the characters.





I loved it, I laughed out loud so many times during it. Megan Mccafferty is a very talented writer. She grabs you from the get-go and keeps you until the very end. And then she gets you to rush to Borders twice in one weekend just to see what happens to Jessica (notso) Darling.


Verdict : A. This is a very fun novel. While it's target audience is probably about 17 or 18 years old, any woman that ever went to a Public High School will love this book. It's a quick read and it will have you giggling until you cry, and you will definitely enjoy the ride. Just be sure to have the second one on hand. ;o)