Jason Mraz is my favorite singer. But part of the reason I love him is that he's not everyone's favorite. (I'm not trying to say I'm the ONLY one who likes him, because that's obviously not true. He's just a less obvious favorite than, say, Taylor Swift.)
The same goes for the Sloppy Firsts series by Megan McCafferty. Wuthering Heights is my favorite book because it is so beautifully written and is such a unique love story. I've never read anything else like it. And Harry Potter deserves a mention in my "Favorites" pantheon, but how fun is it to say that Harry Potter is your favorite series? EVERYONE says that.
Back to my point. Sloppy Firsts is a series of 5 books that I reread on a fairly regular basis (I'd say at least once a year). I've read plenty of books like this...about a girl falling in love with a boy in high school/college/her twenties. But this one sticks with me.
And at the same time, I've never been able to convince any of my friends of its awesome-ness. And maybe that's a good thing. I kind of love that it's something I feel like I have to myself.
Also, it's just amazing. I wish I could express myself in the same way that Jessica Darling is able to. I wish I could find my Marcus Flutie. I wish I could articulate my thoughts so that they make sense. I read all 5 books in less than 4 days. I literally just didn't stop reading. And for a series that I've read at least six or seven times, I'd say that's pretty impressive.
I still remember crying the first time I finished Fourth Comings because I thought it was the end of the series. And I still think it could have ended there, though I'm glad it didn't. Perfect Fifths was one of the best literary surprises of my life, to be honest. I don't think I've ever been more excited about the release of a book before.
For me, this is one of those series that almost turns me off from reading after I finish it because it's so good that nothing else can even come close to comparing. I will just wallow in borderline depression knowing that I will never read anything new about Jessica and Marcus.
Until next summer, Sloppy Firsts.
