Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty

Published: April 11, 2006 by Three Rivers Press
Received: Bought from Katy Budget Books

Jessica Darling continues to grow, groove, lust, and hook up. In this witty follow-up to Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings, Jessica studies and romps through three years at New York's Columbia University. When not soaking up Ivy League ambiance, this exuberant undergraduate is busy salvaging her long-distance relationship with her high school boyfriend Marcus Flutie, now a candidate for nirvana at an unaccredited Buddhist college in California. As usual, Jessica's perceptions are somewhat less ethereal but probably more interesting to readers. A stylish teen funfest. {taken from goodreads.com}

Oh Jessica.. Jessica.. Jessica.. you are the epitome of true teenage angst & I LOVE it. Freaking LOVE. IT.  Can this series get any better?! Seriously?!  Megan McCafferty's genius has won me over again.  Her ability to evolve a character in such a way blows my mind.  Jessica Darling is at that crucial stage in her life - not just a teenager, but not quite an adult yet either.  That lovely thing called responsibility creeps in to her life & she gets a taste of what sacrifices really are.

Charmed Thirds tells the story of Jessica Darling at college, Columbia University to be exact.  Though her years spent in the city are full of college credit hours, it's the hours spent away from books that we see the most.  In keeping with the first two books, Jessica continues to write to her best friend Hope, as well as jotting down her thoughts & experiences in her trusty journal.  After all, it is her journal in which we are reading.  The journals are broken up by semesters & summers.  Her first year as a freshman is full of possibilities & questions about the unknown.  Jessica meets new people, some to be significant fixtures in the years to come, others to be passer-by's for the time being.  Her relationship with Marcus is what holds the most significant role, as it always seems to be.  In the 3 and a half years spent at Columbia (Jessica graduates a semester early being the studious student that she is), it is the lessons she learns through her heart that matter the most.  Jessica starts to deal with real world problems, on top of the stress of going to college.

Megan McCafferty manages to keep us entertained by Jessica's misfortunes. There's a scene in particular that involves Jessica coming home from college, unexpectedly arriving early, & finding her parents in an uncompromising position (literally) on their living room couch!  The description of Jessica's eye-witness is beyond hilarious.  What could be more mortifying than that?!  The punches keep coming!  And with it, I can't stop laughing!  Though the humor continues in book 3, so do the tears.  Jessica is growing up & so are those around her.  Relationships are changing, people are changing.  With out giving any spoilers away, I will just say that it's Marcus's absence that really effects Jessica the most.  He has chosen to go to school in California, while Jessica remains in New York City.  Their love is tested time & time again.

As the reader you want them to be happy.  You want them living in the same zip code!  But this is why I adore these books so much, because that is not reality.  Life is not that easy, or that fair.  Sometimes we must make sacrifices & choose different paths.  These years are so precious for Jessica right now.  They literally are the stepping stones for where she's headed next.  It's ok if she screws up, makes bad choices.  Make lots of them!  That is what college is all about.  In the end, Jessica rises above it all, as she once did when finishing her high school career.  She is able to take the good & the bad, & move on with it.  I am very, very eager to see what happens next.  Life after college is a scary, yet SO exciting place to be.  Will Marcus be with her on this next leg of the journey?  Guess I'll have to read on to find out.