Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty
Release Date: April 14, 2009
Publisher: Crown
Age Group: Young Adult/Adult
Pages: 304
Other Books in the Series: Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings, Charmed Thirds & Fourth Comings
Captivated readers have followed Jessica through every step and misstep: from her life as a tormented, tart-tongued teenager to her years as a college grad stumbling toward adulthood. Now a young professional in her mid-twenties, Jess is off to a Caribbean wedding. As she rushes to her gate at the airport, she literally runs into her former boyfriend, Marcus Flutie. It’s the first time she's seen him since she reluctantly turned down his marriage proposal three years earlier–and emotions run high.
Marcus and Jessica have both changed dramatically, yet their connection feels as familiar as ever. Is their reunion just a fluke or has fate orchestrated this collision of their lives once again?
Told partly from Marcus’s point of view, Perfect Fifths finally lets readers inside the mind of the one person who’s both troubled and titillated Jessica Darling for years. Expect nothing less than the satisfying conclusion fans have been waiting for, one perfect in its imperfection. . . .
After being very disappointed with Fourth Comings, and not for the reason that you are probably thinking, I wasn’t sure what to expect with Perfect Fifths. I knew I would either hate it of love it.
And I must say, I doubt that many Jessica fans will be disappointed with this last installment. Though at times, I found the narration boring and slightly pretentious, maybe I’m not as intellectually advanced as Jessica and Marcus, but does anyone really refer to the Lacanian theory in general conversation? Post graduation at least? Maybe it’s just me, and the simple folk I converse with!
I appreciated the insight into the strange and often misunderstood mind of Marcus Flutie, finally! What we come to discover also helps improve what we already know of the couple from the previous four novels. Which I highly enjoyed! And any Marcus fan will as well.
Although the entire novel take place in the mere span of eighteen hours, all of our favorite characters make appearances: Bridget and Percy, Scotty and Bruiser, Len and Manda, Bethany and Marin, Paul Parlipiano, and Mac. So don’t even begin to think that they are left out of the story!
Overall, it was a perfectly imperfect ending the story of Marcus and Jessica. And now that the series is over, I’m eagerly awaiting the chance to read other works by McCafferty.