Diary of a Book Addict: Book Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty
- Genre: Young Adult Dystopian/Satire
- Hardcover: 336 pages?
- Publisher: Balzer + Bray
- Release Date: (April 26, 2011)?
- Series: Bumped (Book 1) ?
- Source: Local Library
Blurb: 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 New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty comes a strikingly original look at friendship, love, and sisterhood?in a future that is eerily believable.
Review:?
I had so many reservations about reading Bumped. A: I had seen so many mixed reviews on it, many of which more to the negative slant. B: the concept sounded interesting, but I wasn’t sure if I would find it funny/interesting or be offended. C: I had never read a novel by Anne McCafferty before, and it can always be a little tough to try out someone new. I decided to try out Bumped because I just couldn’t get the idea behind the book behind my head and, ultimately, it was being billed as a satire on teen pregnancy and how modern society has given it something of a celebrity status by giving the issue so much attention (pregnancy pacts, reality TV shows, etc).
Set in a futuristic world where a virus has rendered anyone beyond the age of twenty incapable of bearing children, Bumped explores the story of identical twin sisters who were separated a birth and now reunited named Harmony and Melody. Harmony was raised in a highly religious community that exists outside of the rest of the society, and believes strongly in the group’s religious ideals. Melody, on the other hand, has bought into her society’s beliefs on how glamorous teen pregnancy is. Because only teens can have children, older couples typically contract a young woman to have a baby for them (offering rewards as outlandish as full college tuition, cars and trust funds) and select a young man to “bump” with her -usually for genetically desirable reasons. When Melody lands a big contract, she’s not sure going through with it is as glamorous as society wants her to think.
I am so conflicted about how I felt about Bumped. Something things outright disgusted me, while others made me laugh, made me think, and even bordered on being slightly offensive. First, the over-sexualization of teenagers (especially girls) depicted in this society is incredibly disturbing and unsettling, as is the society’s celebrity treatment of “high profile bumps,” along with the lengths people go to with the “bumps” -agencies have sprung up to represent teens and help them get the most out of their “bumps” and advocate for more money, etc. The sad thing is that I can see how this has been pulled from modern culture, and how it isn’t as far off as I would like it to be -but something about this was hard for me to read. Thankfully, there were moments of such ridiculousness that I had to laugh at the absurdity of everything.
But I would warn readers -this is definitely a book for older teens and adults due to its explicit content and frank discussions of teen sexuality. I would also note that this book can be offensive for some readers.
So..did I like Bumped? Would I recommend it to other people? Would I read the sequel?
Honestly…I’m not sure. This book certainly made a statement, but who knows if it was the right way to go about it. Maybe as I let Bumped sink in I’ll enjoy it more, but for right now I’m not really excited, nor do I particularly dislike it…
Source: http://bookaddictdiary.blogspot.com/2011/06/book-review-bumped-by-megan-mccafferty.html
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Tags: anne mccafferty, Book, megan mccafferty