Charmed Thirds -- Megan McCafferty

I loved Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings, the first two books in this series.  (Really, due to the recent controversy, it probably isn't necessary to even mention them.  Too late.)  They were angsty but so very funny.  Jess was smart and witty and a spaz.

Charmed Thirds is the chronicle of Jess' years at Columbia.  She only actually writes during the breaks between semesters, but either way, it spans a much longer period than either of the other books.

That wasn't the major difference, though.  The Big One is much more important:

The angst/humor ratio has been reversed.  It's much heavier.  She's at college, separated from Marcus (which really is nothing new, granted).  Money is also a problem...

You know what?  I've realized that as much as I wanted to, I just didn't like it as much as the first two.  Jess was depressed for most of the book, which doesn't make for a hugely enjoyable read -- especially when you're expecting yuks.  When she wasn't totally depressed, she was complaining about something -- her parents, her sister, Marcus actually having a life that didn't revolve completely around her.

The book is well-written, smart, etc.  (The typo on page 52 ticked me off, though.  NO APOSTROPHE when 'its' is possessive!!  Get it straight!  It only happened once, though.  Once that I noticed, anyway.)  I realize that coming-of-age isn't easy.  I just wasn't expecting it to be quite so downbeat.  And -- am I the only person out there who thought Marcus was significantly less attractive on this go-round?

I really do hope I'm in the minority on this one -- after all of the KV crap, Megan McCafferty deserves some good press and some large checks.