“BUMPED and THUMPED—in addition to being incredibly fun—also make some great points about how teen pregnancy is treated in our culture. This series (and the Jessica Darling books) are highly recommended.” KellyVision
“The messages here are fantastic, feminist, powerful, and really damn pertinent and relevant to today’s world.” Stacked
“A fantastic conclusion to a crazy, refreshing, inventive dystopian series.” Book Chow Down
“These aren’t books you can finish and file away in the back of your mind. These books are intended to make you think and think you will! Highly recommended for mature readers.” The Reading Zone
“THUMPED is truly a unique story and a great follow-up to BUMPED. The world of a troubled society obsessed with teen pregnancy is quite disturbing but terrifyingly realistic. She offers a lot to think about where our society is heading and how people would react when it comes to that point. I was captivated from the first book and still mesmerized with the second. The ending, fulfilling and a great finish, prompted the message in this book: sex should be significant and not be influenced by outside forces. Megan is a brilliant writer and thinker. She is a master of passing meaningful messages without having to beat it to your head. BUMPED is truly satisfying and I am sure she will continue to satisfy with her upcoming works.” Book Nerd
“The sarcasm was hilarious, the drama was awing, and the whole thing was thought provoking. Megan McCafferty skillfully covered many grounds in such a few pages; there was parenthood, consensual and non-consensual sex, pro/anti-procreating, religion, promiscuity, and SO much more! A FUN AND GREAT MUST READ SEQUEL!!” Spades High Reads
“THUMPED is funny, brilliant and amazingly unique.” Wovenmyst, YA mag
Thanks to these book bloggers for helping me celebrate today’s publication of THUMPED (in hardcover) and BUMPED (in paperback):
“[T]his series proves just how thought provoking the YA genre can be. It is about sisterhood. It is a commentary on the celebrity-obsessed world we live in and how the media can blow it all out of proportion. It is about parenting and enjoying the simple things. It is about doing the right thing even when it’s the most complicated and it seems like everyone is against you. Most of all it is about FEELING something in an age where we are connected through disconnect. READ THIS NOW.” Estelle, Rather Be Reading
“By the novel’s conclusion [THUMPED] was all very “stirring”–as the girls decide what to do with their reproductive futures, facing the melancholy truth of their universe, and ours, I found myself getting very choked up. If YA dystopians have garnered any consistent criticism, it’s that they’re not socially relevant enough. McCafferty’s novels stand as an answer to that. Her world might not be our world in a literal sense, but for all intents and purposes the conflicts faced by both Melody and Harmony are identical to the conflicts faced by women and girls today. These are important questions–and these are important books.” Intergalactic Academy
“I love the world Megan McCafferty created in these books; it’s so unique and original. The thing that stands out to me the most is that while these are dystopian books, the whole story has a light, fun feel to it — it never gets too heavy, but still evokes emotion during the intense moments.I love the characters she created with Harmony and Melody. Even though they’re identical twins, they are so different from each other, and their separate voices come across on the page.” Michelle Madow
“The messages of having sex for love instead of just having sex for sex, as well as getting married for love instead of getting married to be married are really important, and I think that McCafferty definitely makes the most of her ridiculous and hilarious setting in order to deliver these messages. As well as the final message as delivered in the Big Reveal – ‘love in any form is important – be it straight, gay, or other.’ I really appreciated these messages and I hope that teens get as much out of it as I did (even though I’m 27).” Birth of a New Witch
“THUMPED is probably going to offend a lot of people if it isn’t read with a satirical frame of mind. There are a lot of things I laughed at that others would most DEFINITELY find political, controversial, and offensive. This book pokes at the rules of religion, politics, sexuality, today’s media, and the female body. It’s set in a world that’s both different and interestingly similar to our own. Outside the story and characters, there are morals and standards that are breaking down boundaries and crossing the line, but what does it REALLY say in reflection to our own society?”I Eat Words
“Recognizing that Ms. McCafferty’s sex-centric world with its Reproductive Professionals and its bumping contracts has a direct link to our reality if we follow the line of thinking from this future all the way back to our pasts is part of what makes both Bumped and Thumped so uncomfortably fascinating. However much we’d like to deny the potential for this society to exist, the connecting thread our minds can’t help but draw between future and past simply refuses to be disregarded as pure fiction. Though Bumped and Thumped may be too over the top and too outrageous for some, it can be said that anyone reading will certainly not walk away from these books without an opinion on them–either positive or negative–thus making them worth reading for no other reason than they inspire a great deal of thought, introspection, and conversation.” Supernatural Snark
BUMPED satirizes what happens when extreme thinking crowds out moderate approaches to social problems. I wrote it hoping to inspire readers to think about the parallels between futuristic fiction and real life…and it already has! But rather than take my word for it, I’ll let book bloggers speak for me:
“BUMPED was one heck of a hilarious book…This is satire done well…What McCafferty does is trust us to go with it and experience the absurdity right along with both the characters. She wants us as readers to draw upon our knowledge and experience of future and dystopian worlds and see what it’s like when every single one of them collides…It’s insane. It’s hilarious. It’s spot on. And in this strange way, it works so well.” Stacked
“BUMPED is a highly intelligent novel that takes a close psychological look at a culture of extremes, vividly illustrating the dangers of going too far in either direction…BUMPED will make readers uncomfortable, and it will make them think. McCafferty isn’t afraid to take risks, and the result is something truly indescribable. Readers may love it or hate it, but they’ll certainly never forget it.” The Bookish Type
“BUMPED is bothersome and intentionally uncomfortable, the disturbing nature of its society presented in a lighter way due to the aforementioned humor but all the more unnerving as a result of this approach…It’s a book that will certainly inspire a wealth of differing opinions, ensuring that it will never be placed on a shelf and forgotten but will rather slither into our subconscious long after we’ve read it, raising new questions and eliciting new emotions with each remembrance.” Supernatural Snark
“This book is intense. Really intense. After seeing a lot of reviews I thought I knew what to expect from Bumped. But honestly, nothing can prepare you for a story like this. Its shocking. Its exciting. Its frustrating. Its REALLY frustating. But most of all BUMPED is the kind of story that sticks with you and makes you question the life that you live…Whether you love it, or hate it there is no question that you will remember BUMPED.” That Hapa Chick
“I think that a lot of people will either love or hate this book. It deals subtly and not so subtly with issues that push people’s buttons…There will be shouts of ‘This book supports teen pregnancy!’ but if you have a brain at all you will clearly see that it does the exact opposite. I ask that you read this book and see for yourself which side you will fall on…Even if you dislike it I guarantee that it will be unlike any book you have ever read before and it will definitely give you some things to think about.” Pure Imagination
“BUMPED is a fantastic dystopian novel that will stand out from the many others that are being released this year. It tackles controversial issues with wit and humor, but still manages the reader to think, What if? BUMPED is definitely my new favorite series and I am counting down the days for the next book.” Muggle-Born.net
“I thought about Bumped long after I finished reading it. I talked about the book to several people, who are now anxiously awaiting it’s April 26th release date. I will say, however, that the book is not for everyone. It might be one that people either love or hate, but it is undeniable that it will be talked about for a very long time. There are several themes that will spark great discussion such as the media’s hypocritical viewpoints of sexuality, in particular teen sexuality, pregnancy, the increasingly blurry lines of where reality and celebrity meet and end. It also touches upon our crazy need to design the perfect person, inject ourselves with medicine to take away/mask our flaws and humanity. All of these issues are current in our society, which is what makes a book like Bumped so important because it makes us feel uncomfortable and forces us to think about things that we would like to push in the back our minds.” Books in the Spotlight
So…what will YOU think of BUMPED? (Of course, I hope you love it.) Get in on the debate April 26th.
P.S. I’ll be thanking readers who purchase BUMPED in its first week on sale with autographed swag. Details to come!
With just two weeks until the April 26th publication of BUMPED (but what are official publication days in a world where you can pre-order at any time?) these book bloggers are making me more excited than ever to share it with you all:
“BUMPED doesn’t just color outside the lines a little bit; it paints its picture in 3D…It is a must read for every teenager entering high school and for anyone who has ever felt like they didn’t fit in.” Sera Rivers
“This was a fantastic book. I’ve been completely burned out on YA lately, especially YA dystopia, but I decided to make an exception for BUMPED. I’m so glad I did. McCafferty took an idea that is frowned upon in our society (teen pregnancy) and made a world that treats it like its salvation. It shows just how strongly circumstance is attached to our ideas of right and wrong.” The Zen Leaf
“I love that Megan takes on the hot-button issues, injects some sarcasm and humor, and still manages to make her reader think, and I mean really think, about the issues at hand…This may be a classic case of a book that is so perfect for YA readers that many adult gatekeepers think it is too much for them. McCafferty does a fantastic job and I highly recommend BUMPED.” The Reading Zone
“The world of BUMPED is cleverly drawn and realistic, and what I loved best about the book was the scary way in which I could really see this happening. As a sensible-minded woman living in 2011, I can’t say that parts of the story didn’t horrify me — but I think that was the point…It’s slightly deranged and creepy, sure, but also somehow . . . plausible. And fascinating. And addictive. That’s what made it work.” Write Meg!
“It’s interesting, fresh, and plays brilliantly on the growing dystopia trend. It takes real problems that we have now and twists them into something grotesque that captivates us so completely that we can’t look away. I cannot wait to read the next in the series and I can only imagine that it will be even better than this.” The Lady Critic’s Library
“Fundamentally, BUMPED isn’t about capitalism or cults – it’s about the abuses that take place when the youngest and most vulnerable members of society have all vestige of choice stripped from them and instead the older and the upper-class decide how to best use them as human commodities sacrificed to ideology and greed.” Ana Mardoll’s Ramblings
“Reminiscent of Atwood’s THE HANDMAID’S TALE, BUMPED is a fast-paced dystopian novel that distills issues of love, friendship, faith, loyalty, and family to their essence. McCafferty blends drama and humor effortlessly, populating a disconcerting world with refreshingly complicated characters. A cliffhanger ending will have readers clamoring for the sequel.” Points West
P.S. If you’re in the New Jersey area, I’ve got events at Barnes & Noble in Princeton (Marketfair) on 4/26 at @7PM and at Barnes & Noble in Brick on 5/4 @7PM. I hope to see many of you there! (And for those who can’t get my autograph in person, I’ll announce an opportunity to get signed swag very soon…)
BUMPED goes on sale three weeks from today (April 26th! Need I parenthetically remind you that you can always pre-order it now?) but for several weeks running it was the number one most requested title on NetGalley. I’m thrilled by the enthusiastic responses from book bloggers who are under no obligation whatsoever to say such amazing things about it:
“I loved the word choice, the scene construction, the cast of characters, the themes…everything just came together into a damn near perfect reading experience.” (5 out of 5 Zombie Chickens)Presenting Lenore
“Bumped is a richly developed book with layer upon layer of meaning, peppered with humour about a ridiculous world that McCafferty herself is not afraid to mock. A book that deals with the issue of teen pregnancy in a way that I don’t think I could ever forget. If I had to choose one author to read for the rest of my life, right now, right this second, I would pick her. And probably if you asked me again next week, my answer would be the same.”The Crooked ShelfContinue reading Book Bloggers Love BUMPED→
