This is the third book in the Jessica Darling series, and covers a lengthy time span. It opens at the beginning of the summer after her freshman year at Columbia, when she is about to start an internship at a hip magazine. It had been so long since I read the first two books that I forgot many of the details, but old times are mentioned enough that I am mostly up to date. She is still with Marcus, but he is at a Buddhist college in California so they hardly ever get to see each other. The story is told through her diary and through letters to Marcus and her friend Hope, but only during summer and winter breaks, so a lot of time has gone by between each section.
When I started reading these books, they were YA but they are now in the adult fiction section at the bookstore. This sequel has way more adult themes; for instance, Jessica writes about sex a lot, and in rather detailed descriptions, as would any typical college diarist. It's not like it was more shocking than anything else I've read, but I feel as if I've known Jessica Darling through her high school years when she had hardly ever been kissed and now she is growing and changing.
On the other hand, she is still immature in a lot of ways. She hasn't grown up enough yet to see her parents as people, and is totally surprised when her big sister Bethany tells her things about their parents that Jessica never even bothered to find out. For someone who is so intelligent and usually so industrious, Jessica shuts down entirely under stress.
I find that what annoys me about this book has nothing to do with the actual writing but more Jessica herself, but that's because I can't help but see her as a real person, which is really a testament to McCafferty's writing.
Apparently we will be seeing Jessica's post-college life as the back book flap says the author is working on another Jessica Darling book.
