Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Bumped by Megan McCafferty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"You're knocked up. Ready to pop. Due to drop. Do the deed. Born to breed. Went forth and multiplied. Fightin' the omnicide. You're the most important person on the plaaaanet....Babiez R U!"

When I read the blurb, I didn't think I'd like this. But after I learned that this was a satirical dystopian YA novel, I decided to give it a chance.

I think the key is to realize that this book isn't taking itself so seriously. Once you let go, this book was enjoyable. The plot moves quite quickly, since it's written in first person present tense (I don't know if it's just me, but I've been noticing that more and more YA novels are written like this) and only takes place within a few days.

After finding out she has a long lost twin sister Harmony leaves her Christian community to find and save Melody. Melody wants to become a surrogate mother, because teens are the only ones who can get pregnant so it's a lucrative business to be in, but it's also a sin. And Harmony is running away from something else and decides that this is the best way to reignite her faith in her community.

They don't hit it off at first and are awkward with each other, but all that changes when Melody is picked to bump with Jondoe, a celebrity sperm donor who is all the rage at the moment. He doesn't shoot blanks, so Melody's status will skyrocket once she has sex with him. But there lies our problem, Harmony sees him and twin switching and predictability happens.

The writing is smooth, so it was fun reading this. This is the first book by Megan McCafferty that I've read and I don't think it will be that last...especially since I want to know what happens next.

Even though this is a very tongue-in-cheek novel, the dystopian world that McCafferty created is an interesting one. A virus makes everyone but teens infertile. Celebrities are those who make babies and don't shoot blanks. It's interesting. Sadly, we don't get to see a lot of the world. Not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing though. It's bad, because I wanted to know their world more. But it's good, because it kind of makes the world seem like the one we're living in now only it has better technology.

The chapters do go back and forth between Melody and Harmony and while they do have distinct voices, it did throw me off at first because once I was getting into one character, the chapter would stop and I'd go to the other twin. But after awhile you get use to it.

The world and some of the characters are over the top, but the lack of details about this world does make it eerily similar to our own. Overall, this was a fun, quick read. It does end in a bit of a cliffhanger though, so you'll have to wait for Thumped to see what happens next.  

Rating: 4 stars