Bumped by Megan McCafferty
pages: 323
released: April 2011
publisher: Balzer & Bray
cover love: ♥♥♥♥♥
When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food. Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job. Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from. When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common. (from Goodreads)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON 12/16/2011 ON BOOKSLIKESTARS.NET
Review:
With little explanation and back story, the first few chapters of Bumped are a bit puzzling. But once you get through them and warm up to the lingo, it’s one big riot. In short: Bumped = HILARIOUS!
It’s 2036 and if you’re not pregnant by 18, the chances are you never will be. Blame a widespread virus for the infertility devastation. Teenage girls are the key to the future. Without them, mankind would ceast to exist. So basically, teens are paid to service the barren of society with bundles of joy. And Melody is just one them. She’s sixteen and hasn’t been preggo yet, while some girls her age already had two or three buns in their ovens. She’s signed a contract with a couple to give them a baby in exchange for college and other financial benefits. All she’s waiting for is her agent to find her a perfect guy for her to bump with. Melody has everything a couple would want in a surrogate. Good brains, good looks, good genes. And she’ll be able to get out of New Jersey and make something of her life. Still, she has mixed feelings about losing her virginity to a stranger and having a baby she’ll have to just give away. In the midst of waiting and debating, her identical twin sister, Harmony, arrives from Goodside, a Godly community, to stop her from sinning and turn to the Lord.
Let me say that Bumped is all about sex. Okay, it’s about other things too, but mainly sex. It takes commercialism of the subject to the next level. But, thankfully, it’s no porn-fest. Megan McCafferty does it very tastefully. I like to refer to this book as a Dystemporary. Because though its labeled as a dystopian novel, it has the distinct feel of a young adult contemporary. Bumped is the satire version of what would happen if MTV’s Sixteen and Pregnant ruled the world.
I literally laughed my ass through this book. Sometimes, I would think to myself how ridiculous the whole story was, but then again that’s what made it so great. Melody was easy for me to connect with but Harmony took some time. I blame it on her preachy introduction and her bible quoting but soon I warmed up to her too. Though she was preaching the Lord hardcore, she was the most flawed out of all them and that helped me care about her more as a person.
The sarcastic puns and slang made the book even more funny. The girls using fake baby bumps, First Curse Purses for pre-menstrual tweens and everybody has MiNet, which is like cerebral Internet/Facebook/Twitter/Texting.
I’ll say that Bumped isn’t for everybody, some will hate it, some will love it and all things in-between. It touches on topics that some might feel you shouldn’t poke fun at. Personally, I could say the same thing and yet, at the same time, I cannot say that didn’t enjoy reading Bumped. It definitely caught me off guard but glad it did. While writing this review, I decided to give it the Be Different button. Because it has such a kooky plot and attributes, it deserves it. I can’t wait to be Thumped by its sequel.
4
