YA Friday: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Title: Bumped

Author: Megan McCafferty

Genre: YA, dystopian

Publisher: Balzer & Bray, 2011

Source: Received from NetGalley

Bumped explores a world where over 75% of the human race is infertile after the age of eighteen thanks to a progressive virus. As a result, teen pregnancy is not an epidemic that needs to be stopped but a condition that is embraced and rewarded. Melody Mayflower is a genetically desirable teen waiting to sign her first "bumping" contract in order to provide a couple with a child. However, her plans are shaken when her twin sister, Harmony, appears from the doctrine-heavy community of Goodside, where they preach the wickedness of bumping for profit and encourage families and marriage. Harmony and Melody's opinions and goals are very different, but as they get to know each other, they start to question the societies in which they were raised.

This was an interesting read for me. I went into it knowing that I had the potential to be offended due to the scandalous subject material. However, what was offensive to me was not so much the cavalier attitude about sex - although that was present to a degree - but the way Christians (described in the book as "having God") were presented. They were presented as ignorant, blindly following their beliefs and forcing individuals into loveless marriages. This is a satire, and I know that both the abstaining viewpoint of Goodside and the let-it-all-go-wild viewpoint of the bumpers-for-profit were brought to extremes to illustrate a point. However, I didn't love the underlying message that people who wait until marriage also walk around in floor-length dresses wearing veils and gloves so their skin isn't sullied by the unclean eyes of unbelievers.

End of rant. Other than the fact that I felt like Christians were being mocked a little in this book, a few other issues bothered me. First of all, I felt that the characters were a bit shallow. While both Melody and Harmony undergo personal changes that lead them to question their respective lifestyles, these changes seemed to be superficial. They begin questioning the institutions after sudden, dramatic events in their lives, and it seemed unrealistic to me that they would have such drastic alterations in their belief systems, especially Melody. While Melody is a little nervous about the idea of bumping, she seems pretty convinced of the idea - light-heartedly jealous of "Ventura Vida's adorable six-month bump," excited about the prospect of being admired and rich. Harmony is more introspective throughout the book, but the change in her seems to come mainly from physical attraction to a man. Is that really a message we want to send to teens - change your standards so you can get a guy?

I also didn't love the ending. I know that trilogies end on a cliffhanger so we will all be desperate to buy the next book. I know it's good salesmanship and profitable. But everything happened so quickly in the end of the book that it seemed too obvious that McCafferty was trying to ensnare our attention for the next book. Everything is left hanging, and everything happens too quickly to process. I know, I know, I like my loose ends tied up. I know I can't expect that in the first book of a trilogy. But if at least a few of the ends were tied, the ending would have been less jarring and the book would have felt more complete.

Now that I've aired my grievances, there were also a few aspects of the book that I enjoyed. The plot was entertaining and I wanted to keep going to find out what happened to the twins. I also think the idea to turn on the head a generally accepted position of society - that teenage pregnancy, regardless of what you may think of premarital sexual activity, is not a good idea - was brave and interesting. I found the dichotomy between Goodside and the rest of the world to be interesting, and a good example of the proverb to be moderate in all things. Encouraging unbridled sexual activity to ensure the continuation of the human race resulted in many problems, especially exploitation. Rigidly controlling lives by enforcing stringent rules also resulted in a decreased quality of life and seclusion for many women. McCafferty does a good job of bringing both these situations to light. She doesn't present either group's ideas as truly viable - these are both corrupt societies. They are opposites of each other, so doing a one-eighty turn in philosophy isn't going to solve the problem.

So overall? This isn't an awful book. I was engaged. I wanted to know what happened next. I have a favorite quote. "Harmony really puts the fun in fundamentalism." A little cheesy, but it made me LOL - literally. Ha. But it did lack depth. It was written at the level of young YA readers, but the content was definitely adult. I also felt it was offensive toward Christians at times. I probably won't recommend this book to anyone, but I did feel that I gained some insight from it.

2 stars