"Knowing that I've just done something that will take decades off my parents' lives with worry, you'll excuse me for not getting into the fa-la-la-la-la Yuletide spirit this year....The only difference between Christmas 2001 and Christmas 2000 is that I don't have a visit from Hope to look forward to. And Bethany has already packed on some major fetal flab. Oh, and now Gladdie doesn't need to ask a bizillion questions about my boyfriend, because she's already gotten the dirt from you know who."

Jessica Darling is up in arms again in this much-anticipated, hilarious sequel to Sloppy Firsts. This time, the hyperobservant, angst-ridden teenager is going through the social and emotional ordeal of her senior year at Pineville High. Not only does the mysterious and oh-so-compelling Marcus Flutie continue to distract Jessica, but her best friend, Hope, still lives in another state, and she can't seem to escape the clutches of the Clueless Crew, her annoying so-called friends. To top it off, Jessica's parents won't get off her butt about choosing a college, and her sister Bethany's pregnancy is causing a big stir in the Darling household.

With keen intelligence, sardonic wit, and ingenious comedic timing, Megan McCafferty again re-creates the tumultuous world of today's fast-moving and sophisticated teens. Fans of Sloppy Firsts will be reunited with their favorite characters and also introduced to the fresh new faces that have entered Jess's life, including the hot creative writing teacher at her summer college prep program and her feisty, tell-it-like-it-is grandmother Gladdie. But most of all, readers will finally have the answers to all of their burgeoning questions, and then some: Will Jessica crack under the pressure of senioritis? Will her unresolved feelings for Marcus wreak havoc on her love life? Will Hope ever come back to Pineville? Fall in love with saucy, irreverent Jessica all over again in this wonderful sequel to a book that critics and readers alike hailed as the best high school novel in years.

"...Megan McCafferty expertly mine(s) hallway and dinner-table politics to entertaining and insightful effect." The Chicago Tribune

"Boy, do I wish Megan McCafferty had been writing books about high school when I was young and foolish and insecure. But even now, at my advanced age, I get a huge kick out of the bright, wickedly funny and cheerfully off-color observations of Jessica Darling." Miami Herald

"McCafferty looks at teen travails with humor as well as heart." People

"Smart, tentative, and funny, Jessica is a likeable and wry observer of the competitive, gossipy high school world...Perfect reading for teens trying to navigate friendships, relationships, and post-high-school decisions." Booklist

"Sassy and packed with more plot twists than a Real World marathon: likely to be snapped up eagerly by teen and pre-teen McCafferty fans." Kirkus

"McCafferty's debut novel became a crossover hit, equally touching teenagers and adults nostalgic about their youth. There's no reason why this witty sequel...shouldn't also reach the head of the class." Boston Herald

"[A]dults will also enjoy Jessica's winning observations." Publishers Weekly

"Just read it!" ElleGirl

Critics and readers alike fell in love with Sloppy Firsts, Megan McCafferty's first novel and the debut of the saucy, irreverent Jessica Darling. Well, Jessica is a senior now at Pineville High and the mysterious and oh-so-compelling Marcus Flutie continues to distract her, her best friend Hope still lives in another state, and her group of so-called friends continues to offend most of her sensibilities. But everything is much more serious because high school will soon be history and she has to get her life in order before college. Do she and Marcus ever get together? Does Hope come back to Pineville? Fall in love with Jessica all over again in this wonderful sequel to the best high school novel in years.

Megan McCafferty has written for Cosmopolitan, CosmoGirl!, Glamour, Seventeen, ELLEgirl, Twist, Fitness, and Shape. She lives in New Jersey.