Courtesy of the Princeton Public Library blog…a life update.
Living a creative life at the library
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New Yacht City: Hoboken
SLOPPY FIRSTS ON STAGE @ The City College of NY
Congratulations to the cast and crew of Theater CCNY’s production of SLOPPY FIRSTS. It was a beautiful full-circle moment because the show was directed by senior Daisy Bernabe-Duarte, who portrayed Jessica Darling in her high school production back in 2018. It was such a joy to spend the afternoon in Pineville! I laughed and (yes) even teared up a little. The entire cast had moments to shine but a special shout-out to Temima Hyman and Vincent Tulley who had maaaajor chemistry as Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie. If you’re involved in high school, college or community theater and want to stage your own production (and have as much fun as we’re having in these photos!) email megan@meganmccafferty.com with SLOPPY FIRSTS ON STAGE in the subject.
Fifty, “Enchanted”
A post for the Princeton Public Library that sort of sums up where I’m at and what I’m doing.
Hey, Minnesota!
I will be appearing at the adorable Red Balloon Bookshop with Kristin Nilsen, Crushologist and cohost of the phenomenal Pop Culture Preservation Society podcast to celebrate the launch of her debut MG novel, WORLDWIDE CRUSH. There will be games! There will be lots of talk about Shaun Cassidy, Barry Manilow and the phenomenon known as “nipple lightning!” Will I break out into the backseat-of-my-parents’-Chevy-NOVA-70s-AM-radio songs of my youth? Probably. So please join us on Wednesday, July 12th at 6:30 and I will be happy to overshare and sing and sign whatever copies of my books you may have! For details and registration go here.
SLOPPY FIRSTS ON SCREEN
As reported in Deadline, SLOPPY FIRSTS is in development with Nickelodeon and Awesomeness TV. This is the same team behind the brilliant PEN15 and To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. I am thrilled.
BEST FRENEMIES FOREVER
ON SALE MAY 2022
From mega-bestselling author Megan McCafferty—author of the beloved Jessica Darling series that The Wall Street Journal called “Judy Blume meets Dorothy Parker”—comes a hilarious love letter to the magic and heartache of middle school friendship.
Sophie Dailey is NOT looking forward to starting middle school. For one thing, she doesn’t look like other kids. Instead of trendy tank tops, she wears high tech shirts that block UV rays. (Sun protection is serious business!) And she definitely doesn’t sound like other kids either. (She can’t say “holla” or “hot take” without making a weird face.) Needless to say, this is probably why her best friend, Ella, ditched her for Queen Bee Morgan.
Sophie is comfortable with who she is and doesn’t want to change. But she’s also pretty lonely without Ella. Even worse, Morgan seems intent on making seventh grade miserable for Sophie, and Ella doesn’t bat an eye at the bullying. Then a new girl moves in next door to Sophie. Kaytee Ray is everything Sophie is not: fashionable and super-confident.
Sophie can’t believe Kaytee wants to spend the last days of summer with her. Determined to keep Kaytee as a friend, Sophie lies about her social status, claiming to be besties with Morgan and Ella. As long as Kaytee attends Villa Academy—a private school on the other side of town—she’ll never find out her first friend in New Jersey is a loser.
But can any friendship built on lies survive seventh grade?
TRUE TO YOUR SELFIE
“McCafferty (the Jessica Darling series) effectively captures tween speak and the allure of social media while exposing its inauthenticity.”–Publisher’s Weekly
Twelve-year-old Ella has everything she needs to take seventh grade by storm. She’s still not 100% sure why cool, confident Morgan has chosen Ella to be her newest sidekick, but Ella is flattered by the attention, even if it means giving up some of the things she’s always loved, like fantasy novels . . . and her former best friend, Sophie. But life as Morgan’s best friend is trickier than Ella imagined. And the more demanding Morgan becomes, the more Ella starts to wonder if she made the right choice.
THE MALL
“With wit and more than a little hairspray, McCafferty dives into the 1990s with this snappily written self-empowerment novel set beneath the fluorescent lights of a suburban New Jersey mall.” – Publishers Weekly
New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty returns to her roots with this YA coming of age story set in a New Jersey mall.
The year is 1991. Scrunchies, mixtapes and 90210 are, like, totally fresh. Cassie Worthy is psyched to spend the summer after graduation working at the Parkway Center Mall. In six weeks, she and her boyfriend head off to college in NYC to fulfill The Plan: higher education and happily ever after.
But you know what they say about the best laid plans…
Set entirely in a classic “monument to consumerism,” the novel follows Cassie as she finds friendship, love, and ultimately herself, in the most unexpected of places. Megan McCafferty, beloved New York Times bestselling author of the Jessica Darling series, takes readers on an epic trip back in time to The Mall.
JESSICA DARLING GETS A 20th BIRTHDAY MAKEOVER
Thank you to Kelly Jensen at Book Riot for her gorgeous essay about what the Jessica Darling series meant to her growing up. This was so much more meaningful than the standard cut-and-paste-the-press-release book announcement. I cannot be happier that the 20th anniversary of the publication of SLOPPY FIRSTS will be commemorated with reprints of the entire Jessica Darling series by the wonderfully talented team at Wednesday Books.
The new edition of SLOPPY FIRSTS goes on sale May 4, 2021. SECOND HELPINGS launches on July 6th, 2021. The rest of the books will follow over the rest of the 20th Anniversary year. The whole series has been updated to reflect 2020 sensibilities, but the essence of what makes Jessica Darling special is unchanged. Oh! And there’s a beautiful forward written by blockbuster author, producer and the not-so-secret Mrs. Marcus Flutie, Rebecca Serle.
This reprint wouldn’t have happened without the enthusiastic support of my readers all these years. I cannot wait to introduce Jessica Darling, Marcus Flutie and the world of Pineville, New Jersey to a whole new audience.