Jessica Darling's in college!

Things are looking up for Jessica Darling. She has finally left her New Jersey hometown/hellhole for Columbia University in New York City; she's more into her boyfriend, Marcus Flutie, than ever (so what if he's at a Buddhist college in California?); and she?s making new friends who just might qualify as stand-ins for her beloved best friend, Hope.

But Jessica soon realizes that her bliss might not last. She lands an internship at a snarky Brooklyn-based magazine, but will she fit in with the überhip staff (and will she even want to)? As she and Marcus hit the rocks, will she end up falling for her GOPunk, neoconservative RA...or the hot (and married!) Spanish grad student she's assisting on a summer project...or the oh-so-sensitive emo boy down the hall? Will she even make it through college now that her parents have cut her off financially? And what do the cryptic one-word postcards from Marcus really mean?

With hilarious insight, the hyperobservant Jessica Darling struggles through her college years — and the summers in between — while maintaining her usual mix of wit, cynicism, and candor.

"This funny, sympathetic installment in Jessica Darling's story (Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings) picks up the summer after her freshman year at Columbia University. The precocious Jersey girl, now a savvy city slicker, has picked a major (psychology), landed an internship at a hip Brooklyn magazine and managed to stay together with her high school boyfriend, reformed bad boy Marcus Flutie, for the entire school year. McCafferty follows Jessica through three years of college, chronicling her academic and extracurricular endeavors, her romantic and financial woes, all in Jessica's frank, exuberant voice. While she kisses a Republican, lusts after hot Spanish grad student Bastian and ventures a clumsy hookup with dormmate Kieran, Jessica expends a lot of energy agonizing over her long-distance relationship with Marcus, now a student at an unaccredited Buddhist university in California. The snappy writing, au courant wordplay (e.g., Jessica affectionately dubs indie-rock boys 'bright-eyed, death-cab cuties') and easy-to-relate-to plot turns will keep eager teens — and teens-at-heart — turning the pages, but designating a high school romance as the novel's primary engine leaves the story stagnant." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Entirely too smart for her own good, Jessica offers brilliant and cutting insights into the world of the adolescent about-to-be-a-woman." Chicago Sun-Times

"Just as her previous two novels perfectly captured the high-school experience, McCafferty portrays the hope, the struggles, and the heartbreak of college life through the trials and tribulations of her winsome heroine." Booklist

"Surprisingly mature and witty novel that should snag more than a few adult readers who well remember their college years." Kirkus Reviews

"Charmed Thirds is a witty, biting, and altogether true accounting of a girl's journey to young womanhood, complete with all of the cringe-inducing, hilarious moments of love, shame, and uncertainty that readers will remember from their own lives." Jennifer Weiner, author of Goodnight Nobody and Good in Bed

"Megan McCafferty rocks! Her sharp wit and keen satirical eye make her books automatic must-reads." Meg Cabot, author of the Princess Diaries series and Size 12 Is Not Fat

"McCafferty captures the college years with incredible grace and insight. Charmed Thirds is a wondrous, heroically honest trip back to a time when you were two-thirds done becoming yourself, and tumbling head over heels the rest of the way." Joseph Weisberg, author of 10th Grade

"Megan McCafferty's series about Jessica Darling (in college now) has only improved with age. Charmed Thirds is funny, smart, and irresistible." Valerie Frankel, author of The Accidental Virgin and Fringe Girl

"Megan McCafferty puts Jessica Darling through college in Charmed Thirds, and in the process turns her from a tart-tongued New Jersey high school philosopher into a heart-wrenching representation of all things uncertain. If she's not careful, she might end up with a heroine for our times." Ned Vizzini, author of Be More Chill and It's Kind of a Funny Story

Megan McCafferty is the author of the hit novels Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings, and the editor of the short story collection Sixteen. A graduate of Columbia University, she lives in New Jersey with her husband and young son. Megan is currently working on her next book in the Jessica Darling series. To find out more go to MeganMcCafferty.com.