Perfect Fifths

I've returned to Wilkes-Barre for the last two weeks of the semester and it welcomed me with gray skies and stormy weather. Yesterday was my first day back to class (the one class I have) and also the much anticipated release of Megan McCafferty's fifth and final novel of the Jessica Darling Series, Perfect Fifths.

The series goes as follows: Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings, Charmed Thirds, Fourth Comings, and now Perfect Fifths. This series focuses on Jessica Darling and her life and relationships from high school to college and in the recent book, her life after that. Jessica is a sassy female who unavoidably falls for bad boy Marcus Flutie: a renowned substance abuser and manwhore (although when he gets involved with Jessica, he changes his ways). Through out the series, Jessica and Marcus have their ups and downs - cheating, communicating only in the form of post cards, haunted by past history and proposals - until the fourth book brings an end to their love story. I wasn't aware of the publish date for Fourth Comings so when I happened to notice it out the corner of my eye in B&N, I immediately picked up a copy. I stayed up until 5 in the morning (it was a Friday) and after I shut the book, I cried myself to sleep. I know this means I should probably talk to someone and is definitely an indication I have a problem - emotional turmoil over fictional characters - but it related so much to my own personal breakup. Don't worry, I was better about this one. Instead of staying up until 5, I stayed up until 1 (it was a school night) and did not cry. This has proven to be unwise since yesterday morning I was on the road at 530 in the morning after only getting a poor excuse of sleep. There will be no time for naps today and I'm nodding off in class like a narcoleptic. But anyway, this book was.. well, perfect, "perfect in its imperfection." There is no other way to describe it, no adjective good enough that can begin to pinpoint the feelings it invoked (well I can name one: nostalgia, again for the same ex) and how happy (although sad it is the last) to finish and shut the book. All is well that ends well (much like the Twilight Series) and the writing, the characters, the love were all the same. My heart ached for both characters, their harsh realities and personal revelations. I was fully submerged in the novel and eager to see how it would end. Perfect Fifths melted my insides into butter, into a pool of buttery goodness.

As I was reading, recognizing familiar locations like Nassau Street and Newark Liberty International Airport - it dawned on me that Marcus Flutie is the mortal Edward Cullen. He is everything a girl wants, everything a girl wants a man to feel about her, to speak to her, miss her, kiss her.. (etc). In past books, he sported inch long dreads, a terrorist like Beard and practiced meditation but since being a student at Princeton, has given into pop culture, cutting his dreads, the beard and getting wire-rimmed glasses to aid his nearsightedness. As I was reading, I was wondering what actor (if any) would be suitable to play him. Zac Efron maybe? He might be too pretty. Marcus is sort of a nerd and when I think nerdy, but cute, I think Adam Brody. I don't know how he'd look in dreads though. Who knows but I love Marcus. I love Jessica and I love Megan McCafferty for completing the series and my heart.