Charger Arts & Entertainment

Adolescents whine? Never!

Chelsey Littrell, Charger Staff“

My parents [stink]. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? . . . I don’t see how things could get any worse.”

Jessica Darling, a sixteen-year-old cynical yet sassy teenage girl, is devastated when her best friend, Hope, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey.

She doesn’t belong at school and feels like a stranger a home; Jessica feels lost more than ever now that the only person she could really talk to is gone. How is she suppose to deal with the “Clueless Crew,” the boy and hopping crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother frothing over big sister Bethany’s extravagant wedding, and her nonexistent love life?

Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica’s dilemma as she embarks on another year of teenage torment--from the dark days of Hope’s departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious “Dreg” who works his way into her heart.

This book is compelling, witty, funny, and overall a great read.

Some of the language and content may not be appropriate for those who are younger than fifteen.