Book Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Summary: In a dystopian society, a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, making teenage pregnancy prized rather than shunned. Teen girls are encouraged to have unprotected sex and have babies not for love or passion, but for profit and image. Melody and Harmony just learned they were twins, both being raised in completely different settings. Melody's parents raised her to be so perfect that they form a conception contract that will sell Melody's perfect baby, with they father of the buyer's choice. Harmony, on the other hand, grew up in a religious community, where she learned that being a wife and then a mother is the prime way to live When Harmony runs away to find her long-lost sister, both girls will experience so much more about life, love, and the future they thought they wanted. 


Review: I wanted to like this book SO bad. At first glance, it looks like it's going to be an amazing book about a future society that you hadn't even thought could be possible. A couple pages in, though, I was presented with the exact opposite story: one lacking connection and interest. The story starts off as if it's the second of a series, so we do not know any information about the characters in the book, how they go to where they are today, or the society they live in. Futuristic terms are used that are not explained, so the first half of the book is read in confusion, which makes a good plot idea not so good in story form. I found myself not caring about either Melody or Harmony in their lives because I barely got to know them or their backgrounds. Also, it was nice to have the chapters alternate between sisters, but most of the chapters were short (some only lasting three pages), so I felt like someone was sitting on the remote, constantly flipping between channels of completely different shows. Then, these chapters were separated into three different parts, but there was no change in the story, so to me, they were just random parts where the chapters were two pages apart instead of right next to each other. Lastly, the characters lacked depth. The only character I actually like was Zen, while the other characters got annoying or childlike. I think the idea of the plot about a world where teens are pressured to have sex to make and sell babies is very interesting, but I think that Megan McCafferty failed to make the whole story engaging and enjoyable. I really wish this isn't what happened, but sadly, it took a lot of work just to finish the book.