- I’ve seen quite a bit of buzz about this one and, as I’ve been into these type of books lately, I decided to give it a go.
Summary from GoodReads:
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.
My Review:
One thing I really struggle with when it comes to futuristic novels is an overabundance of new slang words. Unfortunately, the overabundance of those words in Bumped colored my impression of that book.
So the story seems interesting – what would it be like if only teenagers could get pregnant? All those qualms, all the stereotypes, all the apprehension, the worry, the fear about teenage pregnancies would be down the drain? or not?
While I think Megan McCafferty did an interesting job exploring both sides of the equation, the secular and the religious reasons behind each side, it was lost beneath all of the ads, the jingles, the strange devices and.. I don’t know, it’s so overwhelming. I recently returned from a trip to NYC and this book reminded me very much of the sensation overload I got in the city.
In fact, this book reminded me very much of my thoughts on the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. If you enjoyed that series, this book may be right up your alley.
Check out these review(s):
