Review : Bumped

Posted by kay on May 9, 2011 12:29 am in 4 stars reads | 11 comments

Bumped by Megan McCafferty
Pages : 323
Genre : YA, Dystopia, Science-Fiction
Series : Bumped, Book 1
My Rating :

What it’s about :

Melody and Harmony are sixteen-years-old twins. Identical except for Harmony’s freckles, the two have grown up in two completely different worlds. Separated at birth, Harmony has been raised in the faith in Goodside, while in Otherside Melody has been prepared all her life for the most important role of her life, the role of Surrogette. For in the twins’ world, a malicious virus makes most people over 18 infertile, and young teens in the age of conceiving are the most important members of the society.

When Harmony appears on Melody’s doorstep, the twins are in for a big shock. They are as different as can be, and their lives will never be the same again…

My Thoughts :

For the first 50 pages or so of Bumped, I wasn’t sure I would like it : McCafferty created a whole new language for the novel, which is used both in the characters’ talk and in their day to day narration. There are new expressions (for instance, they often use the expression “for seriously” instead of “for real”), new technologies and products (MyNet, MyVu, FunBump), new commercial venues (Babies R U, the Avatarcade), etc. The author introduced theses words from the start, and there’s no guide on what is what; it’s the reader’s task to try and make sense of it. And for those first 50 pages, it did feel like a bit much. I kept wondering : what does this mean? And what is that? I remembered feeling like this to a lesser extreme when reading Uglies, a book that ended up among my favorites, so I decided to give Bumped a chance.

After that difficult start, I became more familiar with the language and was able to appreciate more of the characters and their world. I was quickly hooked to the two girls stories, two twins who couldn’t have grown up in more different worlds.

Harmony was irritatingly preachy in the beginning, but as we get to know more of her and her motivations, I found that she was more complex than I had imagined her to be. I liked that she questioned her faith, in what is not a simple teenage rebellion but an honest questioning of her beliefs. Melody lives a similar change, and though it is not her faith that hangs in the balance, she is forced too to re-consider what she has been taught all of her life. In the end, both girls have to face that the roles they have been prepped to might not be the roles they want to play… Somewhat. (Trying really hard not to spoil anything here!)

Though the two girls are at the very center of the story, there’s also a whole cast of characters that complete their lives and make it feel more real. I loved these additions, from Melody’s circle of pregnant friends to her best friend Zen. Oh Zen! Swoon-worthy, he absolutely is, but I also love that he was witty rather than broody. He’s also a solid presence for Melody when she needs it the most. My opinion about Harmony’s pick is still to be formed, though, since there is a lot more to know about him that isn’t cleared in the end.

I enjoyed Bumped more than I thought I would, and in the end, it was exactly what I had hoped Matched to be : an original yet plausible world-building, complete with complex characters, humor, mystery, and just a little love interest on the side. Turning the last page, I was left wanting more and wished I could have had the following novel to bite into!

Series reading order :

1. Bumped
2. ?