Sloppy Firsts

McCafferty, Megan. Sloppy Firsts. 2001, 297 p. ISBN 978-0609807903. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

Jessica Darling’s best friend in the entire world has just moved away to Tennessee, leaving the New Jersey girl alone with “the cluless club,” those girls she secretly shuns but can’t do without. Hope’s brother had died of a drug overdose, and her parents decided it was time to move to avoid the memories and the same fate for their daughter.

Jessica spends the rest of the year missing her best friend, observing the “bubble-gum bimbo” antics of her so-called friends, and dealing with boy issues and the absence of a love life. First there’s Scotty, an athletic hunk who has been pinning for her since 8th grade. She can’t go out with him, however, as she’s focused her attentions on a senior who barely knows she exists. Then there’s Marcus Flutie, the biggest drug user at school and one of those responsible for her best friend’s brother’s death. His enigmatic remarks and casual allusions make her wonder if there could be more.

In the eight months left for the year 2000, Jessica must reconcile herself that she may well be alone in the world, but that doesn’t stop her from discovering more about herself than she ever thought possible.