Book Review: Bumped - Megan McCafferty

BUMPED:

Published: April 26, 2011 

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 323 pages

Source: Books-A-Million

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 foods.

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 entire 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 matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, the 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.

"Bumped disappointed me on extreme levels. I expected so much more, but I didn't get satisfied with it."

Going into Bumped, I expected a new dystopian novel that would give me a breath of fresh air from all the high-paced dystopian novels I've read in the past. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

Enter the world of Bumped. Harmony and Melody are twins, and Harmony has just showed up on Melody's doorstep. In this world, everybody over the age of eighteen is infertile and cannot have children, so they pay teenagers to have their children. Melody is getting ready to have a baby with somebody for money, but it is against Harmony's religion to get pregnant for money. But when a fatal mistake occurs, the girls lives are changed forever.

That's basically the entire storyline. I enjoyed maybe the first thirty pages or so, but after that, it all spiraled downward.

First, the writing style. No. Just, no. I think that McCafferty tried too hard to write in a teen's perspective. Some of the dialogue was too hyper and perky, and I don't think a teen would ever be that perky or hyper. I would know because I am a teen. I wasn't fond of the writing style at all. This book definitely wasn't for me. 

Secondly, the characters. I found almost all the characters annoying or just almost impossible to read about because I couldn't stand the characters. Melody was pretty annoying on major levels, whether it was her dialogue or just her actions, I honestly didn't look forward to reading the chapters that followed her.

And then Harmony was like way off the charts of insane-o. She was always trying to convert her sister to the Goodside, which is good to get some religion up in your system, but when that's the only thing you think about, I think you need to step away because apparently, it's not your place to do so.

Finally, the novel itself. I think it was my fault with this novel because I expected too much. I usually think of dystopian novels to be the best novels, and usually, they are. But sadly, this one isn't good. I was really hoping to like it, but in the end, I was totally let down. I will not be picking up the sequel.

My Rating: