Bumped - Megan McCafferty

Bumped – Megan McCafferty

Pages: 323

Publisher: Corgi (Random House)

Release Date: 4^th August 2011

Other Titles by this Author: Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings, Charmed Thirds, Fourth Comings, Perfect Fifths

A virus has swept the world, making everyone over the age of eighteen infertile. Teenagers are now the most prized members of society, and would-be-parents desperately bid for ‘conception contracts’ with the prettiest, healthiest and cleverest girls – cash, college tuition and liposuction in exchange for a baby.

Sixteen-year-old Melody has scored an amazing contract with a rich couple. And she’s been matched with one of the hottest ‘bumping’ partners in the world – the genetically flawless Jondoe.

But her luck is about to run out.

She discovers she has a sister – an identical twin. Harmony has grown up in a strict religious community and believes her calling is to save Melody from her sinful intentions. All Melody wants is to meet Jondoe and seal the deal – but when a case of mistaken identity destroys everyone’s carefully laid plan. Melody and Harmony realize they have much more than DNA in common.

Sharp, sassy and original, this futuristic take on teen pregnancy is totally readable and scarily believable.

Bumped is a fresh and original dystopia that is scarily relevant today and Megan McCafferty pulled it off brilliantly.

We jump straight into Harmony and Melody’s lives with a split narration – which I love as I always do. And it’s shocking just how different these two girls are, especially as identical twins. Melody is so instantly likable and became my favourite of the two girls when immediately faced with the preachy and rather irritating Harmony. Though Harmony went on to surprise me and reveal that she really was a person with human desires after all, I still much preferred Melody’s chapters and would have been perfectly happy to read Bumped from her perspective alone.

Apart from the sisters, Megan McCafferty created some fabulous secondary characters. I loved Zen right from the start. I thought he was perfect for Melody I was cheering him on as he tried to jokingly charm her throughout the novel. He’s brilliant. And then there’s Jondoe who was not at all what I expected. Even though he’s the complete opposite of Zen, I kind of liked him too...

Unlike a lot of people, I didn't really have a problem with the slang; in fact, I really liked it. The theme of pregnancy that ran through the words was clever and very easy to grasp. It actually really reminded me of how the slang in Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series works perfectly with the themes of the books. I thought it was very well done and realistic to their society. And their society scares me! It’s only 25 years in the future and yet it opposes our world and its opinions on teenage pregnancy in every way. But at the same time, it’s completely plausible if a virus like that were to spread.

Bumped is going to be a sure hit with fans of dystopia who are looking for something a little different.

Sophie