{{Short description|Series of young adult novels by Megan McCafferty}} {{Infobox book series | name = Jessica Darling | books = Sloppy Firsts &nbsp;•&nbsp; Second Helpings &nbsp;•&nbsp; Charmed Thirds &nbsp;•&nbsp; Fourth Comings &nbsp;•&nbsp; Perfect Fifths | author = Megan McCafferty | image = JessicaDarlingNovels.png | caption = | cover_artist = | country = United States | language = English | genre = Young adult fiction | publisher = Three Rivers Press<br>Crown | pub_date = 2001-present | media_type = Print (paperback and hardcover) }} The '''''Jessica Darling''''' books are a ''New York Times'' bestselling series of five young adult novels by Megan McCafferty, published between 2001 and 2009.<ref name="RH profile">{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=19641|title=Authors: Megan McCafferty|publisher=RandomHouse.com|access-date=May 31, 2009}}</ref> Told from the diary-style perspective of character Jessica Darling, the series chronicles her misadventures through high school, college, and beyond.<ref name="McC.com Books">{{cite web|url=http://www.meganmccafferty.com/books/|title=Megan McCafferty: Books|publisher=MeganMcCafferty.com|access-date=May 31, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531140015/http://www.meganmccafferty.com/books/|archive-date=May 31, 2009}}</ref> McCafferty also published a Jessica Darling short story called "Fifteen Going On ..." in a 2004 anthology she edited called ''Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday''.<ref name="Amazon Sixteen">{{cite book |title='''Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday'': Reviews and Product Details |date=May 25, 2004 |isbn=140005270X |last1=McCafferty |first1=Megan }}</ref>

In 2006, Harvard student Kaavya Viswanathan was accused of plagiarizing the first two Jessica Darling novels in 2006, as well as the works of other writers, in her highly publicized debut novel ''How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life''.<ref name="Crimson 2006-04-23">{{cite web |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=512948 |title=Student's Novel Faces Plagiarism Controversy |first=David |last=Zhou |work=The Harvard Crimson |publisher=TheCrimson.com |date=April 23, 2006 |access-date=May 31, 2009}}</ref><ref name="NYT 2006-04-25">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/25/books/25book.html |title=Harvard Novelist Says Copying Was Unintentional |first=Dinitia |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=April 25, 2006 |access-date=May 31, 2006}}</ref><ref name="Crimson 2006-05-02 Similar">{{cite web |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513213 |title=''Opal'' Similar to More Books |first=David |last=Zhou |author2=Paras D. Bhayani |work=The Harvard Crimson |publisher=TheCrimson.com |date=May 2, 2006 |access-date=May 31, 2009 |archive-date=February 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080223115144/http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513213 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Novels== <!-- Expansion: Each novel to have its own short section --> # ''Sloppy Firsts'' (August 28, 2001)<ref name="Amazon Firsts">{{cite book |title=''Sloppy Firsts'' (Hardcover): Reviews and Product Details |isbn=0609807900 |last1=McCafferty |first1=Megan |year=2001 }}</ref> # ''Second Helpings'' (April 22, 2003)<ref name="Amazon Second">{{cite book |title=''Second Helpings'' (Hardcover): Reviews and Product Details |isbn=0609807919 |last1=McCafferty |first1=Megan |year=2003 }}</ref> # ''Charmed Thirds'' (April 11, 2006)<ref name="Amazon Thirds">{{cite book |title=''Charmed Thirds'' (Hardcover): Reviews and Product Details |isbn=1400080428 |last1=McCafferty |first1=Megan |year=2006 }}</ref> # ''Fourth Comings'' (August 7, 2007)<ref name="Amazon Fourth">{{cite book |title=''Fourth Comings'' (Hardcover): Reviews and Product Details |isbn=978-0307346506 |last1=McCafferty |first1=Megan |date=7 August 2007 }}</ref> # ''Perfect Fifths'' (April 14, 2009)<ref name="Amazon Fifths">{{cite book |title=''Perfect Fifths'' (Hardcover): Reviews and Product Details |isbn=978-0307346520 |last1=McCafferty |first1=Megan |year=2009 }}</ref>

The first two novels in the series, ''Sloppy Firsts'' and ''Second Helpings'', were first published in paperback by Three Rivers Press.<ref name="Amazon Firsts"/><ref name="Amazon Second"/> The subsequent three novels were first published in hardcover by Crown,<ref name="Amazon Thirds"/><ref name="Amazon Fourth"/><ref name="Amazon Fifths"/> with later paperback editions by Three Rivers Press.<ref name="Amazon Thirds PB">{{cite book |title=''Charmed Thirds'' (Paperback) |isbn=978-1400080434 |last1=McCafferty |first1=Megan |date=April 2007 }}</ref><ref name="Amazon Fourth PB">{{cite book |title=''Fourth Comings'' (Paperback) |isbn=978-0307346513 |last1=McCafferty |first1=Megan |year=2008 }}</ref>

A prequel series called ''Jessica Darling’s IT List'' was released between 2013 and 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-24499-2|title=Children's Book Review: ''Jessica Darling's It List: The (Totally Not) Guaranteed Guide to Popularity, Prettiness & Perfection''|website=Publishers Weekly|access-date=April 10, 2020}}</ref> A film adaptation, ''Jessica Darling's It List'', was released in 2016, starring Chloe East.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/jessica-darlings-it-list|title=''Jessica Darling's It List'' - Movie Review|date=June 15, 2016|first=Renee|last=Schonfeld|website=Common Sense Media|access-date=April 10, 2020}}</ref>

==Short story== McCafferty published a Jessica Darling short story called "Fifteen Going On ..." in a 2004 anthology called ''Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday'', which she also edited.<ref name="Amazon Sixteen"/><!-- Short plot synopsis needed -->

==Controversy== On April 23, 2006, ''The Harvard Crimson'' reported that several portions of Kaavya Viswanathan's highly publicized debut novel ''How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life'' appeared to have been plagiarized from ''Sloppy Firsts'' and ''Second Helpings'', noting over a dozen similar passages.<ref name="Crimson 2006-04-23"/><ref name="Crimson 2006-04-26">{{cite web |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513041 |title=Publisher Rejects Soph's Apology |last=Zhou |first=David |work=The Harvard Crimson |publisher=TheCrimson.com |date=April 26, 2006 |access-date=June 1, 2009}}</ref> At the time, Viswanathan's novel had reached 32nd on ''The New York Times''{{'s}} hardcover fiction bestseller list.<ref name="Crimson 2006-04-23"/> McCafferty's third Jessica Darling novel, ''Charmed Thirds'', had just been released a week after ''Opal Mehta'', and was No. 19 on the same list.<ref name="Boston 2006-04-26">{{cite web|url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2006/04/26/harvard_authors_apology_not_accepted/|title=Harvard author's apology not accepted|last=Mehegan|first=David|date=April 26, 2006|work=The Boston Globe|publisher=Boston.com|access-date=June 1, 2009}}</ref> McCafferty had been made aware of the allegations on April 11, 2006,<ref name="Crimson 2006-04-23"/> the same day ''Charmed Thirds'' was released<ref name="Amazon Thirds"/> and nearly two weeks before the story went public.<ref name="GMNews 2006-05-18">{{cite web |url=http://bulletin.gmnews.com/news/2006/0518/Front_Page/006.html |title=Author McCafferty talks shop with Brick's Lit Chicks |first=Colleen |last=Lutolf |work=Brick Township Bulletin |publisher=BulletinGMNews.com |date=May 18, 2006 |access-date=May 31, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706002933/http://bulletin.gmnews.com/news/2006/0518/Front_Page/006.html |archive-date=July 6, 2009 }}</ref> She later said that reading Viswanathan's book was like "recognizing your own child's face. My own words were just leaping out at me page after page after page."<ref name="GMNews 2006-05-18"/>

On April 24, 2006, Little, Brown issued a statement from Viswanathan in which the author admitted to reading McCafferty's novels but stated that any similarities between them and her own work were "completely unintentional and unconscious."<ref name="NYT 2006-04-25"/><ref name="Crimson 2009-04-24">{{cite web |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=512999 |title=Kaavya Speaks: 'I Sincerely Apologize' |author=Crimson Staff |work=The Harvard Crimson |publisher=TheCrimson.com |date=April 24, 2006 |access-date=May 31, 2009}}</ref><ref name="ABC 2006-04-26">{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/04/26/1623754.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231052316/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/04/26/1623754.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 31, 2012|title=Teen author accused of 'literary identity theft'|agency=Reuters|date=April 26, 2006|publisher=ABC News|access-date=June 1, 2009}}</ref> The next day, McCafferty's publisher Crown issued a response, calling Viswanathan's statement "deeply troubling and disingenuous" and asserting that her claim "that similarities in her phrasing were 'unconscious' or 'unintentional' is suspect."<ref name="Crimson 2006-04-26"/><ref name="Boston 2006-04-26"/><ref name="ABC 2006-04-26"/><ref name="Rediff 2006-04-26">{{cite web|url=http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/apr/26ajp.htm|title=More trouble awaits Indian writer|last=Pais|first=Arthur J.|date=April 26, 2006|publisher=In.Rediff.com|access-date=June 1, 2009}}</ref> Noting more than 40 passages from ''Opal Mehta'' containing "identical language and/or common scene or dialogue structure" from McCafferty's novels, Crown called the incident "nothing less than an act of literary identity theft" and stated that "Based on the scope and character of the similarities, it is inconceivable that this was a display of youthful innocence or an unconscious or unintentional act."<ref name="Crimson 2006-04-26"/><ref name="Boston 2006-04-26"/><ref name="ABC 2006-04-26"/><ref name="Rediff 2006-04-26"/> In an April 26, 2006 interview with ''The New York Times'', Viswanathan suggested that some of the plagiarism may have happened because she read both of McCafferty's books multiple times and has a photographic memory.<ref name="NYT 2006-04-27 Read">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/27/books/27author.html?ex=1303790400&en=48e05549837c1308&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss |title=Novelist Says She Read Copied Books Several Times |first=Dinitia |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=April 27, 2006 |access-date=June 2, 2006}}</ref><ref name="NYT 2006-4-27 Withdraw">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/27/books/27cnd-author.html |title=Publisher Withdraws ''How Opal Mehta Got Kissed'' |first=Motoko |last= Rich |author2=Dinitia Smith |work=The New York Times |date=April 27, 2006 |access-date=May 31, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Crimson 2006-04-27">{{cite web |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513112 |title=College Looking Into Plagiarism |first=David |last=Zhou |work=The Harvard Crimson |publisher=TheCrimson.com |date=April 27, 2006 |access-date=June 1, 2009}}</ref> "I remember by reading," she said. "I never take notes."<ref name="NYT 2006-04-27 Read"/><ref name="NYT 2006-4-27 Withdraw"/> She added "I've never read a novel with an Indian-American protagonist ... The plot points are reflections of my own experience. I'm an Indian-American."<ref name="NYT 2006-04-27 Read"/><ref name="NYT 2006-4-27 Withdraw"/>

In her initial statement on April 24, 2006, Viswanathan had stated that she and the publisher would be revising her novel for future printings "to eliminate any inappropriate similarities."<ref name="Crimson 2009-04-24"/><ref name="Crimson 2006-05-02 Cancel">{{cite web |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513231 |title=''Opal Mehta'' Gone for Good; Contract Cancelled |author=Crimson Staff |work=The Harvard Crimson |publisher=TheCrimson.com |date=May 2, 2006 |access-date=May 31, 2009}}</ref> Little, Brown later noted that an acknowledgment to McCafferty would be added as well,<ref name="NYT 2006-04-25"/> and recalled all copies of ''Opal Mehta'' on April 27, 2006.<ref name="NYT 2006-4-27 Withdraw"/><ref name="Crimson 2006-05-02 Cancel"/> On May 2, 2006, after further reports had come to light alleging that Viswanathan had plagiarized from other sources as well, Little, Brown released a statement saying that they would not be publishing a revised edition of ''Opal Mehta'', or a second book by Viswanathan."<ref name="Crimson 2006-05-02 Cancel"/>

McCafferty noted that "Books for teens have taken a huge beating in the media" in the aftermath of the incident.<ref name="GMNews 2006-05-18"/> "These very elitist comments about 'how all books for teens are crap; so isn't this just crap stealing from crap'. My books are not crap."<ref name="GMNews 2006-05-18"/> McCafferty noted that she was insulted by an opinion letter published in ''The New York Times'' in which one writer wrote that teen books are "undemanding literature for undemanding readers."<ref name="GMNews 2006-05-18"/> "There's so much good writing for teenagers now," she said. "People make across the board judgments."<ref name="GMNews 2006-05-18"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Portal|Children and Young Adult Literature}} * [http://www.meganmccafferty.com Megan McCafferty official site]

{{Authority control}}

Category:Young adult novel series Category:American young adult novels Darling, Jessica