Book Review: Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty

Pages: 304

Genre: Adult Fiction

Pub. Date: August 7, 2007

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

*If you haven't read this series, check out my review of Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings, or Charmed Thirds.  

Goodreads says, "Is the real world ready for Jessica Darling? At first it seems she’s living the New York City dream. She’s subletting an apartment with her best friend, working for a magazine that actually cares about her psychology degree, and still deeply in love with the charismatic Marcus Flutie. But reality is more complicated than dreamy clichés. When Marcus proposes—giving her only one week to answer—Jessica must decide if she’s ready to give up a world of late-night literary soirees, art openings, and downtown drunken karaoke to move back to New Jersey and be with the one man who’s gripped her heart for years. Jessica ponders this and other life choices with her signature snark and hyper-intense insight, making it the most tumultuous and memorable week of her twenty-something life."

In the fourth book in the Jessica Darling series, readers find her living in New York city with Hope and two other roommates.  She is still with Marcus, despite their drastic ups and downs; in fact, he even proposes in his usual non-conventional way.  She loves Marcus, but that would mean giving up New York City to go back to Princeton as he is enrolled there as a freshman, which is another hard fact that she must come to terms with.  Jessica doesn't have long to decide and recognizes that this is a monumental life choice.  Megan McCafferty's Fourth Comings is an insightful read that many can relate to, but in comparison to the other Jessica Darling novels, this one lacked that something special that I've come to expect from this series..


I loved how things have come full circle for Jessica in Fourth Comings as Hope is one of her roommates in her New York City apartment.  I liked getting to know Hope better as she was a focal point in the other novels in the series, but the readers would rarely hear from her directly.  Also, my heart nearly skipped a beat when Marcus proposed to Jessica, but I could see why she would struggle with this decision as she needs to get her life on track before she up and leaves everything for him.  It's a tough and real decision. I liked following Jessica through this journey and watching her navigate through uncharted territory.  Readers can always count on her hilarious commentary.


For me, this one lacked a lot of plot. It was mostly Jessica journaling about her feelings, which I liked, but it got old after awhile, because not a lot was happening.  Don't get me wrong, it was extremely realistic, but I was hoping for more.  On the other hand, I liked the whole "what now?" feelings that Jessica had after college.  It's a hard time in any college graduate's life and I think McCafferty does a wonderful job capturing those mixed emotions.


I know I said I am obsessed with this series and I still am, but I'd have to say that Fourth Comings is my least favorite.  That doesn't mean I won't be picking up the final book, Perfect Fifths, as McCafferty left me hanging at the end of this one and I need to know what happens next, because after following Jessica from high school to college to post college life, readers are bound to become truly invested.  I'm holding out for a happy ending.

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*Read an excerpt