Sloppy Firsts

When I went in the high school library a few days ago, the librarian recommend Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty. I had told her that I liked to read books in a series and girly fiction. I think that in Sloppy Firsts she made me an excellent recommendation.

First of all, I would like to say that this is definitely a high school book. There is no way I would purchase this for a middle school library or place it in the Juvenile section of a public library. Discussion of drinking, drug use, and sex abound. In the context of the moral lesson or overall message of the book, I would think that most parents of high schools would want their daughters to read things from Jessica Darling's point of view. They would be mortified is the book was written from some of her friend's point of view. I think that the only reason that most teens would not like this book would be because it was published almost 10 years ago and the technology might feel a little off. One of the main characters has a beeper.

Sloppy Firsts  is a journal written from the Jessica "Notso" Darling's point of view. Her best friend, ironically named Hope, has moved away and Jessica doesn't really enjoy the company of her other friends, whom she affectionately calls the Clueless Crew. Jessica struggles with fitting into the typical high school and understanding the culture. Her "friends" think she just has a bad attitude because Hope moved away, but a closer examination would help them find the truth. I enjoyed reading Sloppy Firsts, but I don't like where it ended, with Jessica nearly friendless, except for the one day visit from Hope. I've started reading Second Helpings so that I can change this image of Jessica in my mind.

Spring Reading

I've been busy lately, but I have managed to find some time to read. Recently, I've finished 3 books, all of which I enjoyed.

First, I went down the classic literature road and select a Bronte sister book that I have never read, Agnes Grey. Agnes Grey was written by the lesser known of the sisters, Anne. Agnes is a bit of nag, and had high expectations of her pupils from the beginning, but like in most Bronte sister literature, the people that employ the governess are a little cruel. There is always one shinning star of high morality; there is always a governess falling in love with the high moral character, who usually happens to be poor.  I enjoyed reading Agnes Grey because it was brief in comparison to other similar literature and because the copy that I read had great footnotes that related the actual novel to the life of all three Bronte sisters. I would add this book to a high school library collection, because it is probably on (or near) most AP reading lists and addresses many themes that students might be required to write about on the AP Literature Exam.

Secondly , I just finished reading a book called Wentworth Hall.  I selected the book because the cover promised me that if I thought there were lots of scandals going on at the Abby, I would find this book scandals too. This tale was set in the same period as Downton Abby and I am an avid watcher. Though the story was entertaining, I will admit that even I could pick out the anachronisms here. I was entertained and found it easy to relate to, but I would not really promote this as historical fiction. It may have been set in one of the great houses of England around 1900, but I'm not sure that the relationships or actions of the characters accurately depict how the upper crust of England would have behaved at this point in time. The author, Abby Grahame, is simply trying to  capitalize on a pop culture trend and write a book that might entertain a Downton Abby watcher for a few hours (I read it on a plane trip from Buffalo to Tampa). If I were to purchase the book, I would select it for a middle or high school library and recommend it to my more avid readers.

Finally, I just finished reading the 3 book in the Bloodlines series. Bloodlines is a spin-off of the Vampire Academy series. I have been given a lot of vampire books to read in my time, probably because I named my cat after Edward Cullen. However, I usually don't read beyond the first book in most vampire series. I usually find them too predictable. This is not the case with the Vampire Academy Series or the Bloodlines spin off. The third book is called Indigo Spell, and like all the others is written by Richelle Mead. I liked Indigo Spell, because Richelle Mead really takes her readers into the thought processes of her main character, Sydney. Sydney is an Alchemist, charged with keeping the vampire world hidden from the average human. In this particular installment of the series, she is trying to overcome years of being conditioned to do what is expected of her. I think that there might be a valuable lesson to learn for most teen girls here. I also think that Mead walks very close to the edge, but never crosses, the sexual tension line that we have come to expect from vampire books. Thus, I would recommend both of these series to middle and high school librarians. I wait impatiently for each new installment.