Waiting On Wednesday: Bumped


I just finished reading Sloppy Firsts (my raving review is coming soon) and happened to go on a little hunt for the next installment in the series and any other books Megan McCafferty may have released, I happened upon Bumped...

Posted by Megan McCafferty at her official site:
Bumped is the only reason why I haven’t been totally distraught about ending the Jessica Darling series. I’m spending the rest of 2009 and early 2010 writing it.

Here’s the official announcement via HarperCollins:
Alessandra Balzer at Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins Children’s Books acquired World English rights to New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty’s new novel in a two-book deal from Heather Schroder at ICM. Bumped is a sharply funny and provocative dystopian novel set in a world where only teens are able to have babies, and are contracted by adults to carry them to term. Megan is best known for her Jessica Darling series, which started with Sloppy Firsts and most recently ended with Perfect Fifths.

Bumped seems like it could be a little sci-fi, I don't usually tend to enjoy them as much as other books but Sloppy Firsts was so amazing that I'm really excited about the release, enough so that I felt like making up a cover for it.

My Favourite Music!

To start off my regular music post, I thought I'd begin by introducing some of my favourite artists and let me tell you... narrowing it down to just this small amount was very hard. Ever since I started reviewing books I've been neglecting my music collection and I'm also feeling a little bit guilty about that.

PARAMORE // Where do I start with Paramore... They are the band that turned it all around for me, I started to feel like there wasn't really a band out there for me. I missed the days of singling along to a song and my voice matching up with female vocals so I actually thought about delving into my old Avril Lavigne CD's then I discovered Paramore, a band that fit perfectly into the pocket of what I was already listening to but who had a female lead singer. A brilliant one at that, I know a lot of attention is focused on Hayley but tbh she is the reason this band is set apart from the rest. Her values, opinion, style... I find myself agreeing with it all. I feel like I really know this band quite well, and that probably comes from the great Australian Paramore forum I visit almost every day.

SAY ANYTHING // So many of my favourite bands admire this guy, Max. The skills simply surpass every band in their genre. He has a loyal stream of followers and I am one of them. It's like a fan of the scene has gone along and taken all the best bits shoved it into a bag and let it explode, I especially love the crowd crafted sing-a-long section of songs.

TEGAN & SARA // This band popped out of nowhere when I was in a bit of a rut, I'd spent a lot of my time getting into the scene and coming out the other end with (some great) but mainly male dominated independent rock bands. Thats just my way of saying, it doesn't matter what you're into if you really give tegan and sara a go, I'm sure you'll like them.

I got into them really, really quickly. It was just after The Con came out and the chance to see them live popped up by chance around the time of my birthday. Let me tell you seeing a band you're just starting to love is a really brilliant idea, I also discovered some songs at the show that I now love to pieces. It's also worth mentioning they are probably the best damn thing I've ever seen live.

I'm so lame but I'm incredibly devoted to this band that I am avoiding the free download links for their new album, Sainthood and waiting until I'm able to purchase it instore. It's actually out now, I just haven't seen it anywhere yet. You don't need to worry about that, they have plenty of previous material that is brilliant, I recommend picking up The Con first.

MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK // This band has been a grower for me, I'm sure I probably just started out liking one or two MCS songs and as time has passed, I've slowly enjoyed them more and more. I find it incredibly interesting that my all-time fave song, Antonia isn't actually as popular with the fans as it should be.

When I saw them live, I was again surprised but this time by the crowd knowing every single lyric to every single song. I had no idea they had such a strong Australian fan-base. It made me smile extremely wide while also feeling a little bit guilty as I had been listening to this band for quite some time, why wasn't I able to join in?

A few things I noticed while writing this post:
  • Seeing a band live is a crucial part of being a fan (for me) and leaves me to wonder why I have been struggling with the idea of going to shows of late.
  • A lot of my favourites have an album that is about to come out or has just come out recently. And I have just started to actually purchase the CD's; this comes from feeling like I felt my way around the music scene and know what I can rely on to produce an album I will be happy with.
  • I will happily ramble on about my favourite bands for as long as possible.
If you'd like some recommendations or for me to make you a mixtape, hit me up in the comments. What do you think about me making a monthly mixtape and sharing it at this blog, is that legal to do at all? Surely it's just like kids who used to pass tapes along to friends.

In My Mailbox #2

I picked up quite a few books this week, I am most excited about reading Deadly Little Secret and Sloppy Firsts. Not only did I request my library to purchase these two which made it even more of a thrill when they finally did arrive but they are hardcover which makes the pretty covers look all that much nicer.


  1. How to Breathe Underwater - Julie Orringer
  2. Sloppy Firsts - Megan McCafferty
  3. The Dead Of The Night (The Tomorrow Series, #2) - John Marsden
  4. Deadly Little Secret (Touch, #1) - Laurie Faria Stolarz
  5. Saving Grace - Katherine Spencer
  6. The Gospel According to Larry - Janet Tashjian
  7. Queen Kat, Carmel & St Jude Get A Life - Maureen McCarthy
  8. Twenties Girl: A Novel - Sophie Kinsella
  9. Numbers - Rachel Ward
  10. Solo - Alyssa Brugman
I had a good look through good reads and decided to use their rating system in order to choose which order to read these books in, but I'm pretty sure I'll have to skip past How to Breathe Underwater to get to Sloppy Firsts, it looks way too good to wait for. I am stilllllll reading Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt, it hasn't been all that entertaining so I've been putting off reading it :S

Review: Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer


Title: Life As We Knew It
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Genre: YA, Dystopia
Source: Library
Link: Goodreads
My Review: I had heard about this book, but the blurb didn't really interest me enough to be added to my TBR list, but then I happened to be at the library when I couldn't find anything to borrow and I thought I'd give this one a go. It turned out to be a good choice, before this I was a bit unsure of science fiction but I found having a teenage girl as a narrator helped me along quite a bit.

Susan Beth Pfeffer released Life As We Knew It in 2006, the first in the Moon Crash Trilogy. She got the idea for her novel while watching the movie Meteor, she wanted to see how her characters would react in a situation that was out of her control.


Everyone seems captivated by the upcoming asteroid hitting the moon; Miranda's little brother is getting his telescope out and making a night of it with the family, even Miranda's teachers and so entranced by it they set her not one but two assignments on the topic. Miranda doesn't really see the reason for creating such a fuss but still she goes out with her family to watch the asteroid hit the moon.

Miranda's mum seems to be taking this a little too seriously when she takes the family to the supermarket and buys must need items by the trolley load, but still Miranda and her siblings go along with it just incase. 

Turns out this isn't any run of the mill space event, worldwide catastrophe enfolds with tidal waves destroying coastal cities, killing thousands even thunderstorms knock out the power at Miranda's local school. The next few months are spent living within minimal means and with so many people dying of diseases Miranda still tries to cling to normality and even goes swimming at the lake and meets a possible-boyfriend. She fights with her mother about being able to live life to the fullest during this time though Miranda's strengths are shown when she pulls through to help the family through some quite difficult times including the family coming down with a deadly case of the flu.

Miranda may not know how long they can keep living life like this but she continues to work together with her family so they at least stand a chance.

A good thing about this book is that it gets you to think about your own lifestyle, what it would be like if you ran out of food or if you were isolated from the rest of the world. I did enjoy it but found it to be a little too grim for my liking.


I would recommend this book to girls, like myself who are sceptical of the sci-fi genre. I did enjoy this book but I didn't find it anything to rave about. I will, however be continuing the trilogy.

RIP // Lip Piercing

Hi All! Today I'm devoting an entire post to the memory of my lip ring; it has now finally been removed :S After months of job interviews, I've been understandably given a heap of flack for still wearing it and it I guess it's about time to say goodbye!

When I dropped by the piercer to have my lip ring officially removed, I somehow made the decision to forego purchasing one of those little clear/invisible rings and am now stuck with none at all. Reports from the fam state I look much better without it but the juries still out.


We also have the rarity of a double lip piercing which I first spotted on a member of a local band, Avalon Drive and almost ended up getting something similar if I weren't such a chicken. 

I then spent quite a while contemplating the awesomeness of a nose piercing, they somehow manage to be totally badass while also looking slightly pretty depending on the person at hand.


What's the deal with regular book blogs? Do you guys want to hear my ramblings on non-book topics? If you feel like commenting, tell me all about the piercings you currently have, wish you could get or the ones you've also had taken out.

In My Mailbox #1

Already Read & Reviewed:
Girl Next Door - Alyssa Brugman

You can find the following at Amazon:
48 Shades of Brown - Nick Earls
Homecoming - Cynthia Voigt
How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff
I Am Not Esther - Fleur Beale
Mary Wolf - Cynthia D. Grant
Ordinary Ghosts - Eireann Corrigan
Saving Francesca - Melina Marchetta
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The December Boys - Michael Noonan
When I Was A Soldier - Valerie Zenatti

Not on Amazon, that's how UNPOPULAR they are:
At Seventeen - Celeste Walters
Scratcher - Ian Burns

Review: Girl Next Door by Alyssa Brugman

Title: Girl Next Door
Author: Alyssa Brugman
Genre: Aussie YA
Release Date: February 2009
Source: Library
Links: Goodreads

My Review: I picked this book up by chance at the library, and I'm glad I did. Jenna-Belle's story of misfortune is very relatable in the current financial crisis, I also found their to be plenty of drama and humor to keep you reading and wanting more.

Girl Next Door is Alyssa Brugman's eleventh novel for Young Adults, the first being Finding Grace which has recently been translated into Dutch and shortlisted for many awards.

Jenna-Belle just got comfortable going to a private school, living in a big house and being able to rely on her parents, that all changes when her dad attempts to start an empire, loses it all and leaves the family to pick up the pieces. Jenna has a quirky relationship with the boy-next-door Declan, who initially helps her out but then her mum comes up with a great idea to rent out a room and this provides Jenna-Belle with a make-shift parent to help her out. The unreliable Bryce Cole spends his days betting on horse races and trains Jenna in the art til her mum realises she has been removed from school for non-payment and puts a stop to it so they put Bryce Cole to good use and he shows them how to live on not very much money at all.

Jenna-Belle is very relatable and someone I can imagine being friends with in real life. I loved this book and it's many sub-plots and it helped me to form a new opinion on the homeless and how they get they to be they way. Overall I would recommend this book to teenage girls. I am nineteen years old and thoroughly enjoyed this book.

©2012 Design by Katelyn Brooke Designs