BERKELEY – When you grow up in a town, sometimes you take for granted the parts that make it special.
Some things you encounter might stand out to you the first few times you see them, but after a while they just become part of the scenery.
Megan McCafferty grew up in Bayville and it informed her career in ways she never expected. She wrote the best-selling “Sloppy Firsts” series, which is hitting its 20th anniversary this year – a perfect time for a nostalgic look back.
The series follows Jessica Darling as she navigates the difficulties of high school and the world beyond. The author set the book in the fictional town of Pineville. Parts of Pineville read like any other suburban town. But the more you read, the more you realize it’s a New Jersey suburban town. On the Jersey shore. And it’s based on Bayville.
“I wanted to escape Bayville,” she said about growing up. “I always wanted to escape but then I spent my career writing about it.”
Her parents still live here, so she comes back often. There’s still a soft spot for her home town. She recalled spending summers working at Kohr’s in Seaside, and being a token exchange girl at Lucky Leo’s. Versions of this would wind up in the series, too.
When she started taking writing classes outside of Ocean County, she would pen little slices of life about the Jersey shore. She didn’t think anyone else would care about it but her classmates did. It was exotic to them. They had never been here, or maybe hadn’t seen it from her point of view.
Now, living in Princeton, her son has asked her why there are tourists visiting the town. It’s new to them.
The 5 Wonders
A character named Marcus Flutie gives Jessica a tour of her home town at the end of “Sloppy Firsts,” causing her to see it in a new way. The “Five Wonders of Pineville” were inspired by real-life locations. Some were places that still held their Weird NJ charm. They stand out to you until you get used to seeing them.
The “Champagne of Propane” is the giant wine bottle on Route 9. It’s currently painted white, but has been used as advertising in the past.
Of course, the dinosaur is another one. It has changed a few times over the decades, most notably a few years ago when the head, neck and tail were resculpted.
The car mounted on top of the Cosmo’s shop was another, and would be easily recognizable to locals.
The fourth was der Wunder Wiener, the hot dog cart owned by local Beachwood Councilman Gerald LaCrosse. It was destroyed by a driver a few years ago. LaCrosse is still recovering from his injuries. The cart was never shaped like a hot dog like it was in the book. That was just a bit of creative license.
The last was what McCafferty referred to as the “Old Park.” Growing up in Sylvan Lakes, this was a “park that time forgot.” It never seemed to be updated like other parks. Until, of course, it does. In real life and in the books.
She never knew what its official name was until she looked it up after the interview for this article. It is called Mallard Park.
Bridging Generations
The series will be getting a new 20th anniversary reprinting this year, introducing new readers to Jessica Darling and Pineville.
The book will have some changes from how it was originally. Some of the language used in the 2001 volume would not be appropriate in 2021. Also, it was an opportunity to alter some of the wording she wasn’t happy with the first time around.
“If we did our jobs right, you won’t notice” the changes, she said.
Will younger readers identify with a teenager from 2001?
Like “Catcher In The Rye,” which was published in book form in 1951, there are references to entertainment that was popular when the book came out. But a reader doesn’t necessarily need to know the pop culture being mentioned to equate themselves with the characters.
Some themes are timeless, and teenagers face the same feelings in every generation, whether they are Jessica Darling or Holden Caulfield.
McCafferty said she didn’t need to listen to the same music as Caulfield to connect with him as a character. She feels the same is true of Jessica – you don’t need to know about “The Real World” in order to understand what she’s going through. The pop culture references decorate her world and make if feel lived in, but they are still decoration.
The author remembered making a conscious choice between keeping the references vague or making them specific. She chose to make it a time capsule – “What it was like being a young woman coming of age in the first decade of a new century.”
When she wrote the first book, about high schoolers, she was 10 years out of high school. Her parents were teachers and she would sit in on classes and observe how teens were interacting with each other.
“I wrote the type of books I liked reading,” she said. Books with humor and heart and intelligence, and characters that are real.
These themes transcend generations. “Feeling like you don’t fit in, that your parents don’t understand you, and you’re at odds with what’s going on in your body, are timeless.”
The fact that the book still finds a home with people who are outside the target demographic shows just how universal the themes are.
The early 2000s are having a resurgence, after all. There’s a nostalgia factor for the times you grew up in. A mother and her teenage daughter could both be reading this and talking about it as they go.
“I would love the books to spark those kinds of conversations between generations,” she said.
One thing readers might notice in books written for children and young adults is that the author is writing things that they wish they heard as a child. In a way, they are writing a message to the younger version of themselves.
McCafferty agreed with this. “I put words to thoughts and feelings that young people have,” she said. When she was growing up, she really responded to stories that had a fictional character she could relate to. “It made me feel less alone.”
As an adult, you have the power to reflect upon it, make sense of it all, and share your experience.
“Sloppy Firsts” was originally published by a publisher of adult fiction because the young adult market wasn’t what it is today. That was probably for the best. It meant that her book, which has teenagers using four letter words and being curious about sex, was shelved next to books for adults rather than “The Baby-Sitter’s Club.”
This also worked out because sequels followed Jessica’s life into early adulthood. (“Second Helpings,” “Charmed Thirds,” “Fourth Comings,” and “Perfect Fifths”)
She’s currently working on two projects, one is a middle grade series with Scholastic and the other is her first book marketed for adult readers.
In addition to writing and editing for anthologies, she wrote futuristic satires “Bumped” and “Thumped.” Her most recent books, “The Mall,” and “True To Your Selfie,” were released in 2020.
She said she doesn’t intend on picking up Jessica’s life after the fifth book, but she did write a prequel series. “Jessica Darling’s It List” was made into a film in 2016.
Besides, carrying Jessica into her adult years with too many adult responsibilities might be “A little too close to home. I write to escape,” she said, laughing.
The new editions are being published by Wednesday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press. The first one has a May 4 release date. The rest will follow every few months.
McCafferty will be celebrating the relaunch during a virtual event on May 5 hosted by Towne Book Center Wine Bar & Café. The information is available here: townebc.com/event/virtual-event-megan-mccafferty-rebecca-serle
