“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
Under the right (terrible) circumstances, everything in BUMPED and THUMPED could happen. Two recent headlines show how it’s already happening. Readers, I present to you: real-life MiNet and FunBumps.
I’m so happy to be attending the 2011 NCTE/ALAN Conference in Chicago. I’ll be wandering the convention floor (inevitably overwhelmed by it all) from Saturday, November 19th until Tuesday, November 22nd. Here are specifics on where I’ll be and when: Continue reading NCTE/ALAN in Chicago!→
I was having so much fun celebrating the 10th Anniversary of SLOPPY FIRSTS that I totally forgot to share this fantastic review of my most recent novel:
“BUMPED is a hilarious book, building on some of today’s obsessions: MTV’s 16& Pregnant, celebrity bump watches, and aggressive marketing to teens…Melody’s world is one where both teen boys and girls, are encouraged and rewarded to get pregnant. Not to be parents; drugs and societal pressure help prevent the teens from bonding with the ‘delivery.’ I love this world-building; some of it is deliciously ‘oh come on’ over the top and other parts are ‘oh…I can see that happening.’ ” –School Library Journal
BUMPED received the highest possible 5 1/2 Gold Star rating from Romantic Times book reviews!
“BUMPED is wonderfully original, with an extremely well thought-out dystopian society, the details of which the reader deduces through context and dialogue, rather than via a dull prologue. The protagonists begin as manifestations of two extreme points, but morph into stunningly human portrayals of conflict and a search for autonomy. McCafferty’s future echoes just enough of current events to seem chillingly possible.”
“Intelligent, witty, and wry BUMPED has given teens the opportunity to learn about moral issues without being preached at, encouraging them to embrace abstinence or glorifying teenaged pregnancy. It speaks to the consequences of both while at the same time exploring the emotional trappings of love and marriage. It’s ingenious and entertaining and thought provoking enough to spark deep and meaningful conversation.” GalleySmith
Get in on the conversation today! Download this brilliant BUMPED Discussion Guide to encourage discussion and debate. (SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!)
“It’s like the Uglies series on crack…Strange, ridiculous, but brilliant.” Hobbitsies
Thanks to all of you who have already bought BUMPED. Remember: I want to thank you by giving away autographed stuff. Here’s what to do:
1. Buy a copy of BUMPED. I’m bothered by reports from readers who say they’ve had trouble finding it at their local bookstore. For reasons unclear to me, some stores may not be stocking it until May 1st. In any case, PLEASE ASK FOR IT. That’s the only way the seller will know there’s a demand for it.
2. Take a picture of yourself posing with the hardcover or the cover picture on your e-reader. (ARCs or NetGalley don’t count. Sorry.)
3. Make that picture your Twitter or Facebook icon, or post it on your blog.
4. Tweet, update your status, or blog about how BUMPED is on sale NOW and whatever else you’d like to say about it.
5. Email megan@meganmccafferty.com with your mailing address and the link to your photo/post with “BUMPED BOOKMARK” as the subject heading.
I’ve been so thrilled by responses like this:
“BUMPED is going to make a lot of people very upset, and that is an AWESOME thing…There is nothing depressing about this tale as it is packed with McCafferty’s trademark snarky wit and sympathetic characters. Sure, the alternate-reality near-future in which the characters live is a bit bleak, but honestly, it’s only a more extreme version of our present society. This is part of the diabolical appeal of the book and the part that will surely lead to lots of controversy: amid all the humor and exaggeration is a bitingly honest commentary on modern society and our current values.” Cloudy With a Chance of Books