Stephanie S. (skywriter319) -
Helpful Score: 5
It's been three years since Jessica refused Marcus' marriage proposal, and both of them have moved on with their lives. Jessica now works for the Do Better High School Storytellers Project, traveling across the country to work for ten weeks with groups of girls on finding a voice through writing. She has even found a mini-me in the dregs of Pineville, a cynical teenager with the unfortunate name of Sunny Dae, who gives Jessica meaning to her work. Meanwhile, Marcus has embraced college life, immersing himself in academia and humanitarian projects--and even an affair with an older woman--while elevating his campus reputation as the Sexy Enigmatic Older Man (for lack of a better term) to a sky-high level.
But have they really, truly moved on from each other? A literal collision at the airport as Jessica is latelatelate for a flight to a Caribbean wedding (guess whose!), and Jessica has run Marcus over, barreled straight back into his life as though she never left it. As IF she ever left his life, mind, or heart.
Now, stuck in one another's company at the airport, Marcus and Jessica are forced to come face to face with their past and everything that they have been imperfect in for the last ten years of their lives. Now comes a resolution to a spellbinding series that is "perfect in its imperfection."
It's unlikely that ardent Jessica Darling fans will be disappointed in this last book in the series, not after they have gone with Jessica through her periods of mistakes, growth, regressions, and maturing. PERFECT FIFTHS may start out a little slow, but through a clever and definitely spellbinding use of not-so-very-usual narrative tactics, we readers are taken through an ever deeper discussion and reflection on Marcus and Jessica's bumpy decade-long relationship. We get to relive our favorite moments from the series. Barry Manilow gets extensive "play." All of the characters that we have grown to love in their complex imperfection (even the truly wince-worthy ones, such as Sara) come back, in one form or another, like this is the fantastical finale to a colorful and dramatic musical.
But it is, of course, the characters of Marcus and Jessica that steal the show. Here is where we cut away all the adolescent and young adult B.S. they've been working through in the previous four books. Here is where they--and we readers--discover their true, eternal natures, the ones that their previous behaviors and thoughts were leading up to. This is why the phrase "perfect in their imperfection" is, well, perfect in this situation: what we learn of Marcus and Jessica in PERFECT FIFTHS complements yet improves our previous knowledge of them, and if you didn't love them before, you'll loooove them now. I've never been one to fangirl on male characters, but if you don't fall in loooove with the Marcus Flutie that he becomes in this book, then there is no hope for you at all.
Long story short, PERFECT FIFTHS is un-miss-able, a wonderfully cohesive montage of the previous books in the series, a brilliant ending to a towering achievement. I look forward impatiently to reading Megan's future works outside of this series, as I think you all will too.
But have they really, truly moved on from each other? A literal collision at the airport as Jessica is latelatelate for a flight to a Caribbean wedding (guess whose!), and Jessica has run Marcus over, barreled straight back into his life as though she never left it. As IF she ever left his life, mind, or heart.
Now, stuck in one another's company at the airport, Marcus and Jessica are forced to come face to face with their past and everything that they have been imperfect in for the last ten years of their lives. Now comes a resolution to a spellbinding series that is "perfect in its imperfection."
It's unlikely that ardent Jessica Darling fans will be disappointed in this last book in the series, not after they have gone with Jessica through her periods of mistakes, growth, regressions, and maturing. PERFECT FIFTHS may start out a little slow, but through a clever and definitely spellbinding use of not-so-very-usual narrative tactics, we readers are taken through an ever deeper discussion and reflection on Marcus and Jessica's bumpy decade-long relationship. We get to relive our favorite moments from the series. Barry Manilow gets extensive "play." All of the characters that we have grown to love in their complex imperfection (even the truly wince-worthy ones, such as Sara) come back, in one form or another, like this is the fantastical finale to a colorful and dramatic musical.
But it is, of course, the characters of Marcus and Jessica that steal the show. Here is where we cut away all the adolescent and young adult B.S. they've been working through in the previous four books. Here is where they--and we readers--discover their true, eternal natures, the ones that their previous behaviors and thoughts were leading up to. This is why the phrase "perfect in their imperfection" is, well, perfect in this situation: what we learn of Marcus and Jessica in PERFECT FIFTHS complements yet improves our previous knowledge of them, and if you didn't love them before, you'll loooove them now. I've never been one to fangirl on male characters, but if you don't fall in loooove with the Marcus Flutie that he becomes in this book, then there is no hope for you at all.
Long story short, PERFECT FIFTHS is un-miss-able, a wonderfully cohesive montage of the previous books in the series, a brilliant ending to a towering achievement. I look forward impatiently to reading Megan's future works outside of this series, as I think you all will too.
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
PERFECT FIFTHS gives the reader the conclusion to the ongoing highs and lows of the relationship between Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie. For those that have been with them from the beginning, you will recall that they met in high school. Marcus was the druggie best friend of Jessica's best friend, Hope's, brother. The couple, the most unlikely in the school, get together, and they make perfect sense. The rest of the series covers the ins and outs of their relationship. FOURTH COMINGS left the reader stunned when Jessica says "No" to Marcus's marriage proposal.
So, in PERFECT FIFTHS, it only makes sense that the two will have to run into each other at some point. They're from the same town and know the same people. But currently Jessica lives in New York City and Marcus is an undergraduate at Princeton. It's in the most unlikely place that their destined reunion occurs - the airport.
Marcus and his college roommate, Natty, have returned from New Orleans. They're in the airport when Marcus hears a Jessica Darling being paged for final boarding. He can't believe it could be her, but as he's checking the departure board to see where the called flight is headed for, he's literally run into. He's too stunned to discover that the person that has run him down is, in fact, HIS Jessica Darling.
Out of breath, late for her flight, and too confused with everything going on, Jessica is struck dumb when she sees who she's about to apologize to. She mumbles a quick conversation and is off for her gate again. But it's too late, and her flight is gone. When she learns that the chances of a flight that night are next to nil, she and Marcus begin their cerebral dance once again.
Marcus has no need to remain at the airport, but PERFECT FIFTHS seems to tell more of Marcus's side of the story than the past four novels. The reader gets to see his jumbled thoughts and undying loyalty to Jessica. His friend, Natty, tries to dissuade him from staying with Jessica until her later flight, but Marcus is too far gone.
PERFECT FIFTHS takes place in the course of one day in the lives of Marcus and Jessica. It's in their time together that they recount the events of the past three years. And as the evening goes on, Jessica begins to second guess her reasons for telling him "No" so long ago.
Personally, I found PERFECT FIFTHS a satisfying ending to a wonderful series. Both Jessica and Marcus have become like long-lost friends to me. I won't spoil the ending for anyone, but I think it's the right ending for the series. Some will say it's too tidy; others may think it's the wrong one. If nothing else though, Ms. McCafferty has finally tied up the loose ends that FOURTH COMINGS left out there.
PERFECT FIFTHS gives the reader the conclusion to the ongoing highs and lows of the relationship between Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie. For those that have been with them from the beginning, you will recall that they met in high school. Marcus was the druggie best friend of Jessica's best friend, Hope's, brother. The couple, the most unlikely in the school, get together, and they make perfect sense. The rest of the series covers the ins and outs of their relationship. FOURTH COMINGS left the reader stunned when Jessica says "No" to Marcus's marriage proposal.
So, in PERFECT FIFTHS, it only makes sense that the two will have to run into each other at some point. They're from the same town and know the same people. But currently Jessica lives in New York City and Marcus is an undergraduate at Princeton. It's in the most unlikely place that their destined reunion occurs - the airport.
Marcus and his college roommate, Natty, have returned from New Orleans. They're in the airport when Marcus hears a Jessica Darling being paged for final boarding. He can't believe it could be her, but as he's checking the departure board to see where the called flight is headed for, he's literally run into. He's too stunned to discover that the person that has run him down is, in fact, HIS Jessica Darling.
Out of breath, late for her flight, and too confused with everything going on, Jessica is struck dumb when she sees who she's about to apologize to. She mumbles a quick conversation and is off for her gate again. But it's too late, and her flight is gone. When she learns that the chances of a flight that night are next to nil, she and Marcus begin their cerebral dance once again.
Marcus has no need to remain at the airport, but PERFECT FIFTHS seems to tell more of Marcus's side of the story than the past four novels. The reader gets to see his jumbled thoughts and undying loyalty to Jessica. His friend, Natty, tries to dissuade him from staying with Jessica until her later flight, but Marcus is too far gone.
PERFECT FIFTHS takes place in the course of one day in the lives of Marcus and Jessica. It's in their time together that they recount the events of the past three years. And as the evening goes on, Jessica begins to second guess her reasons for telling him "No" so long ago.
Personally, I found PERFECT FIFTHS a satisfying ending to a wonderful series. Both Jessica and Marcus have become like long-lost friends to me. I won't spoil the ending for anyone, but I think it's the right ending for the series. Some will say it's too tidy; others may think it's the wrong one. If nothing else though, Ms. McCafferty has finally tied up the loose ends that FOURTH COMINGS left out there.
