Jessica Darling's It List: The (Totally Not) Guaranteed Guide to Popularity, Prettiness & Perfection

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This is another perfect back-to-school book, especially for those kids making the transition from elementary to middle school. Jessica gains a lot of wisdom about how to be a friend, but I think what she ultimately comes away with is more of a feeling that it is OKAY for friendships to change, and it’s okay for her to not understand. I’m not sure I’d necessarily continue on with the series, not because I’m too old for them, but because I’m not sure how much more I want the core Sloppy Firsts story to be reframed by what’s in these books.

That being said, the book definitely picks up and offers more of that laugh-out-loud humor that I enjoyed in the second half.But I suspect the MAIN reason why this happens is McCafferty is trying to reach out to a new generation, and these novels would in theory be set in the mid-to-late 90s when these kids weren’t even born yet.

And despite my total failure to make good on any of Bethany’s rules, and the fact that my best friend was maybe not my best friend anymore, I’m way more happy than not happy about seventh grade so far. I could see how Dori and Bridget might envy Manda’s persuasive personality or Sara’s all-knowingness. Funny, winning, and completely relatable, she makes for delightful company as she navigates her way through a new school, and it's impossible not to root for her through all her misadventures. Hachette Book Group is a leading book publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the third-largest publisher in the world. In Jessica’s case, that usually means the wrong interpretation and a lot of fumbles and embarrassing moments.I just felt like her (Jessica) vocabulary was limiting and almost elementary like, even though she was 12 or 13. I feel so lucky to have a peek into her middle school years in Megan McCafferty's sparkly new series. Middle school Jessica does have a lot in common with high school Jessica, which is probably not all that surprising given that they are the same person separated by some timey-wimey stuff known as life.