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22 reviews for:
Jessica Darling's It List 2: The (Totally Not) Guaranteed Guide to Friends, Foes & Faux Friends
Megan McCafferty
3.59 AVERAGE
22 reviews for:
Jessica Darling's It List 2: The (Totally Not) Guaranteed Guide to Friends, Foes & Faux Friends
Megan McCafferty
3.59 AVERAGE
Loved it!
I re-read the first book and I’m glad I did just because it was fun. It-List 2 recaps what happened in book 1, which I found super helpful. I love it when authors do that! This didn’t disappoint and had just as many crazy moments as book 1. I bet teens will love to read about Jessica Darling!
I re-read the first book and I’m glad I did just because it was fun. It-List 2 recaps what happened in book 1, which I found super helpful. I love it when authors do that! This didn’t disappoint and had just as many crazy moments as book 1. I bet teens will love to read about Jessica Darling!
Reading this series is making me want to reread the original Jessica Darling series.
there are a few inconsistencies between this series and sloppy firsts (where she says she never talked to marcus flutie before) but i don't care because i love notso darling so very very much.
This second book in Jessica Darling's IT lists series picks up a few months into seventh grade, right where the first book left off. When Jessica's much older sister Bethany hears about the friend issues Jessica is having, she gives her another, even more cryptic, IT list to follow. As in the first book, Jessica misunderstands the instructions and ends up with unexpected results. Most middle schoolers will be able to relate to the friend issues Jessica is having, caught between several groups, unsure of where she fits in best, and trying to stay true to herself in the process. This is a very funny read, with some important messages about navigating middle school. I recommend reading the first book before this one. For grades 5-8.
This series completely captures the confusion of middle school. It's a fun read and Jessica Darling is still full of snark.
A bit predictable and definitely cheesy at times, but genuinely laugh-out-loud funny (as in, I'm sure my neighbors think I'm insane). The only problem? Now I need to buy another copy for my classroom--there's no way I'm giving up this one! Yay for Jessica Darling, and extra-yay for Megan McCafferty!
Again, fine, but it's just not adding much to the Jessica Darling universe. Marcus Flutie is okay, although this is a re-writing of canon. It's nice seeing Jessica and Hope's relationship develop. But, we could already have predicted how Jessica and Bridget grew apart, how Bethany's life trajectory developed. This isn't giving us enough color between the lines to make it worth it.
Honestly I am only continuing in this series due to my affinity for the Jessica Darling original series. It is nice to see the characters again, albeit at a younger age. I do think that McCafferty has morphed the characters into younger versions of themselves verses the Jessica Darling series rather well. I don't find myself questioning whether this or that character would actually grow into the ones in the other series.
Jessica Darling's It List 2 is cute and at times funny but ultimately shallow, but I did not go into these books expecting depth. I do, however, think the confusion and frustration of interactions during middle school comes across rather authentically for this time period.
Jessica Darling's It List 2 is cute and at times funny but ultimately shallow, but I did not go into these books expecting depth. I do, however, think the confusion and frustration of interactions during middle school comes across rather authentically for this time period.
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Oh, Jessica Darling, crusher of my middle grade shippy heart. Snarky voice that makes me know you’re a kindred spirit. Judgmental nature that makes me wonder if you are in fact me. I love Jessica Darling, though I have not yet gotten the bravery to venture past book two in her original series. I know it’s weird to call myself a big fan when I didn’t even read half of it, but I am so deal with it. The middle grade Jessica books aren’t what the older ones are, which is both a wonderful and a sad thing.
The big downside of middle grade Jessica is the lack of shippiness. I live for ships and middle graders just do not ship as well as young adults. Plus, this is excellent too, because Jessica really doesn’t have a crush on anyone and it’s fun to watch her navigate that. Poor MG Jessica gets involved in a scandal, cast as the attempted seductress of a friend’s boyfriend, and it’s so funny because she wants no part of the boyfriend or any boy really. Also, just the drama level of the romantic relationships in the seventh grade cracks me up. Possible break ups are met with wailing, but the couples really have nothing to talk about ever. Dawwww, the past.
MG Jessica’s obviously herself. There’s no one quite like Jessica Darling. She’s still hilarious and rather bitchy in her head, but she’s not as bitter yet. It’s pretty evident how Jessica got this way, caught in between two warring groups of friends, all determined to have major drama. In this book, her friendship with Hope is really transforming beyond the acquaintance phase and into true BFF mode, which is super sweet.
The focus of book two, as the much too long title indicates, is friendship. Jessica’s on the borders of popularity, with four of her best friends being mega-popular, six if she counts the soccer friends but she usually does forget to. The thing is that Jessica’s not actually sure if she likes most of her friends. She does really like the soccer girls, but she kind of forgets them. So much of middle school friendship is about location, as Jessica realizes. She sees the other girls a lot and so they’re friends. Or frenemies. Or something. By the end of this book, she’s starting to really learn something about friendship and who she wants to spend her time with, but it’s going to take some more.
The Marcus Flutie moments are adorably Marcus, of course. He is by turns obnoxious, weird, adorable, and a genius. The real star of the book, though, is Gladdie, Jessica’s sassy grandmother. I’m pretty sure that Gladdie’s the person most like Jessica. She’s fabulous and should be around all the time.
What I’m struggling with here is relating this book to the teen Jessica. I can’t remember details well enough to say how things align, but I do feel like they’re a bit off. MG Jessica mostly fits, but I have trouble with the It Lists around which the plots are built. I could definitely see Jessica wanting the first one, but I have trouble seeing her taking the second list seriously. Asking for it, sure, but actually using it hoping for real assistance? I’m doubtful. Wanting a THIRD list is even more surprising. Not a huge deal in terms of entertainment, but I did cock my head to the side every time the lists came up.
The Jessica Darling’s It List books are fun and snarky middle grade contemporaries. If you grew up on Jessica Darling, they’re totally worth a read. Though I’m not sure if the final three JD books are worth a read and I definitely want to try the series again now that I’ve read this. Decisions.
Oh, Jessica Darling, crusher of my middle grade shippy heart. Snarky voice that makes me know you’re a kindred spirit. Judgmental nature that makes me wonder if you are in fact me. I love Jessica Darling, though I have not yet gotten the bravery to venture past book two in her original series. I know it’s weird to call myself a big fan when I didn’t even read half of it, but I am so deal with it. The middle grade Jessica books aren’t what the older ones are, which is both a wonderful and a sad thing.
The big downside of middle grade Jessica is the lack of shippiness. I live for ships and middle graders just do not ship as well as young adults. Plus, this is excellent too, because Jessica really doesn’t have a crush on anyone and it’s fun to watch her navigate that. Poor MG Jessica gets involved in a scandal, cast as the attempted seductress of a friend’s boyfriend, and it’s so funny because she wants no part of the boyfriend or any boy really. Also, just the drama level of the romantic relationships in the seventh grade cracks me up. Possible break ups are met with wailing, but the couples really have nothing to talk about ever. Dawwww, the past.
MG Jessica’s obviously herself. There’s no one quite like Jessica Darling. She’s still hilarious and rather bitchy in her head, but she’s not as bitter yet. It’s pretty evident how Jessica got this way, caught in between two warring groups of friends, all determined to have major drama. In this book, her friendship with Hope is really transforming beyond the acquaintance phase and into true BFF mode, which is super sweet.
The focus of book two, as the much too long title indicates, is friendship. Jessica’s on the borders of popularity, with four of her best friends being mega-popular, six if she counts the soccer friends but she usually does forget to. The thing is that Jessica’s not actually sure if she likes most of her friends. She does really like the soccer girls, but she kind of forgets them. So much of middle school friendship is about location, as Jessica realizes. She sees the other girls a lot and so they’re friends. Or frenemies. Or something. By the end of this book, she’s starting to really learn something about friendship and who she wants to spend her time with, but it’s going to take some more.
The Marcus Flutie moments are adorably Marcus, of course. He is by turns obnoxious, weird, adorable, and a genius. The real star of the book, though, is Gladdie, Jessica’s sassy grandmother. I’m pretty sure that Gladdie’s the person most like Jessica. She’s fabulous and should be around all the time.
What I’m struggling with here is relating this book to the teen Jessica. I can’t remember details well enough to say how things align, but I do feel like they’re a bit off. MG Jessica mostly fits, but I have trouble with the It Lists around which the plots are built. I could definitely see Jessica wanting the first one, but I have trouble seeing her taking the second list seriously. Asking for it, sure, but actually using it hoping for real assistance? I’m doubtful. Wanting a THIRD list is even more surprising. Not a huge deal in terms of entertainment, but I did cock my head to the side every time the lists came up.
The Jessica Darling’s It List books are fun and snarky middle grade contemporaries. If you grew up on Jessica Darling, they’re totally worth a read. Though I’m not sure if the final three JD books are worth a read and I definitely want to try the series again now that I’ve read this. Decisions.