Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Plot: 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. (Summary from goodreads.com)

My opinion: I was really excited to dive into this one, and maybe my expectations were sat a bit too high. There were things I enjoyed and things I did not enjoy with the novel. Perhaps it was the point of the novel, but I found it rather creepy. Both the world where Melody lives, where teenage girls are baby machines and Harmony's Godside, where the people are being brainwashed by religion. I hope no-one takes offense now, but I have a really hard time with religious mumbo jumbo, disregarding of religion.

In the beginning, it was difficult for me to keep track of which MC was narrating at the time and I had to go back to the start of each chapter to see and then turn to the blurb on the back to see which was which. The end did not appeal to me at all since there really wasn't any, just an almost cliff-hanger to the next books (if there even is one coming... if not, the end is even more disappointing). 

The premise though, was interesting and though-provoking for sure, and I really liked Zen. He seemed like the only sane person in a loony bin. For all its flaws, I did find the novel intriguing enough to keep on reading and finished it rather quickly.