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deborahharroun's review
2.0
I'm going to go against the popular vote here, but this book made me very uncomfortable. I knew the premise of the book going into it, but what I didn't expect was a YA book that talked about sex so frivolously. I can kind of understand it, under the context of the book, but if I had a teenage daughter, there is no way she would be reading this. There were several words in it that were definitely not for the teenage audience, either. About a third of the way into it, I wanted to put it away, but against better judgement, I finished it. Not my favorite, and I definitely won't be reading the next in the series!
minas_elessar's review
1.0
Didn't like the characters. Didn't like the plot. Didn't like the annoying slang words that were so, so trashy and ridiculous. I barely managed to finish reading it. I was intrigued by the description, but it wasn't what i had hoped for.
alyshadeshae's review
4.0
My full review is here on my personal website. I'll post a few excerpts here, though:
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is some of the strange slang. I don’t like it, but it makes perfect sense. And “bump” is already used to some extent for having sex. Have you ever heard of “bumping uglies?” The characters are interchangeable in spite some major differences simply because they aren’t developed very well, but I’m hopeful that this will improve in future books.
The very best thing about this book is that it’s an interesting twist on the teen pregnancy issue. What if teens had to get pregnant? I can’t wait for the next book! I’m looking forward to seeing how the mix-up plays out. Oh, and I love that the cover is a picture of an egg!!!
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is some of the strange slang. I don’t like it, but it makes perfect sense. And “bump” is already used to some extent for having sex. Have you ever heard of “bumping uglies?” The characters are interchangeable in spite some major differences simply because they aren’t developed very well, but I’m hopeful that this will improve in future books.
The very best thing about this book is that it’s an interesting twist on the teen pregnancy issue. What if teens had to get pregnant? I can’t wait for the next book! I’m looking forward to seeing how the mix-up plays out. Oh, and I love that the cover is a picture of an egg!!!
thebookhaze's review
3.0
I didn't expect to like it very much, but it actually wasn't too bad in terms of entertainment factor. I enjoyed reading it and speculating about the kind of world that would need teen procreation to prevent the extinction of the human race.
I believe that there are many scientific flaws in the story, but the premise is interesting enough that I was able to ignore them and just enjoy the story for what it was.
One thing that's worth debating about though, is the view that the parents of the pregnant teens (and the rest of society) are terrible for pimping their daughters out at really young ages (at 11 years vs 14 or 15). And yes of course, pimping them out for producing babies is a terrible thing to do to teens at any age, but based on the book, it was illegal for under 13 years, which means it's perfectly acceptable and legal for those 13 years old and older to produce babies.
Now, for the sake of discussion (again, the whole pimping them out thing is wrong), if fertility is lost at about age 18, and pregnancy for each girl takes about 40 weeks or so, wouldn't it make more sense to allow *every* girl who has had their period to start procreating?
Let's go further for the sake of discussion. Technically, the moment a girl gets the period, she is physically ready to be a mother. Mentally, emotionally, that's another story, but physically, she is ready, at whatever age she gets her period, 10 years old or 16 years old.
Don't get me wrong, I am NOT advocating pimping your daughters out or marrying them young or whatever. That is wrong. Period. (No pun intended.) However, in an evolutionary point of view, I'm wondering if females were meant to start procreating the moment their bodies are ready, and that it should be ok, as long as they are also ready mentally and emotionally, and go into it without being forced by anyone else.
Here's why I think that way; we know in history that girls were married off as soon as they became women (getting their periods). These girls were our ancestors, and while there were arranged marriages back then, the point is that it was the cultural norm and the girls were ready for it. Maybe some weren't, but that's true today at any age anyway, which brings me back to the discussion.
My grandmother was married at 15 and gave birth to my mother at 16 years old. She had a total of 7 children with my grandfather. She had a good life and she loved my grandfather. She grieved everyday for him for more than 20 years until she finally joined him in the afterlife. She was 15 when she got pregnant, but I think I'd say she was ready at that age, wasn't she?
My mother got married at age 20 and had my brother at age 23. She lives to be a mother, and she and my father are still completely in love and just celebrated their 37th anniversary.
I got married at 28, and I'm 31 years old now and not a mother yet. And there are more and more people getting married (or not) and having kids at a later and later age, well into their 30s and 40s.
What I'm saying is that it's such a prevalent idea that people that marry young are missing out on their childhood and that we should allow kids (up to 21 years old) to be kids, but what if we're wrong? We know that some kids grow up faster than others if put in situations where they are forced to grow up faster and they do fine though we lament their lost childhood. But what if we were meant to be grown up as soon as we reached puberty and that we've pushed adulthood further away?
There's already been articles written about our current generation pushing their adult responsibilities right into their 30s and 40s. So we aren't actually losing out on our childhood when we mature young, but we've been extending our childhood gradually and pushing it into our 30s and 40s.
There's nothing wrong with that, per se, but I just wanted to point out that age (physical maturity) has nothing to do with mental and emotional maturity. In this day and age, we have 14 year-old kids becoming parents, and we also have 40 year old adults becoming parents for the first time. It's all about each person's individual readiness.
Anyway, I'm sorry for rambling on... this review doesn't really speak for the actual story, but it does speak about how the book triggered thoughts about these issues, and I think books that make you think are always a good thing.
I believe that there are many scientific flaws in the story, but the premise is interesting enough that I was able to ignore them and just enjoy the story for what it was.
One thing that's worth debating about though, is the view that the parents of the pregnant teens (and the rest of society) are terrible for pimping their daughters out at really young ages (at 11 years vs 14 or 15). And yes of course, pimping them out for producing babies is a terrible thing to do to teens at any age, but based on the book, it was illegal for under 13 years, which means it's perfectly acceptable and legal for those 13 years old and older to produce babies.
Now, for the sake of discussion (again, the whole pimping them out thing is wrong), if fertility is lost at about age 18, and pregnancy for each girl takes about 40 weeks or so, wouldn't it make more sense to allow *every* girl who has had their period to start procreating?
Let's go further for the sake of discussion. Technically, the moment a girl gets the period, she is physically ready to be a mother. Mentally, emotionally, that's another story, but physically, she is ready, at whatever age she gets her period, 10 years old or 16 years old.
Don't get me wrong, I am NOT advocating pimping your daughters out or marrying them young or whatever. That is wrong. Period. (No pun intended.) However, in an evolutionary point of view, I'm wondering if females were meant to start procreating the moment their bodies are ready, and that it should be ok, as long as they are also ready mentally and emotionally, and go into it without being forced by anyone else.
Here's why I think that way; we know in history that girls were married off as soon as they became women (getting their periods). These girls were our ancestors, and while there were arranged marriages back then, the point is that it was the cultural norm and the girls were ready for it. Maybe some weren't, but that's true today at any age anyway, which brings me back to the discussion.
My grandmother was married at 15 and gave birth to my mother at 16 years old. She had a total of 7 children with my grandfather. She had a good life and she loved my grandfather. She grieved everyday for him for more than 20 years until she finally joined him in the afterlife. She was 15 when she got pregnant, but I think I'd say she was ready at that age, wasn't she?
My mother got married at age 20 and had my brother at age 23. She lives to be a mother, and she and my father are still completely in love and just celebrated their 37th anniversary.
I got married at 28, and I'm 31 years old now and not a mother yet. And there are more and more people getting married (or not) and having kids at a later and later age, well into their 30s and 40s.
What I'm saying is that it's such a prevalent idea that people that marry young are missing out on their childhood and that we should allow kids (up to 21 years old) to be kids, but what if we're wrong? We know that some kids grow up faster than others if put in situations where they are forced to grow up faster and they do fine though we lament their lost childhood. But what if we were meant to be grown up as soon as we reached puberty and that we've pushed adulthood further away?
There's already been articles written about our current generation pushing their adult responsibilities right into their 30s and 40s. So we aren't actually losing out on our childhood when we mature young, but we've been extending our childhood gradually and pushing it into our 30s and 40s.
There's nothing wrong with that, per se, but I just wanted to point out that age (physical maturity) has nothing to do with mental and emotional maturity. In this day and age, we have 14 year-old kids becoming parents, and we also have 40 year old adults becoming parents for the first time. It's all about each person's individual readiness.
Anyway, I'm sorry for rambling on... this review doesn't really speak for the actual story, but it does speak about how the book triggered thoughts about these issues, and I think books that make you think are always a good thing.
sarahanne8382's review
3.0
I can't decide what I think about this one, so let me try to explain what it's about without giving away too many of the plot twists.
The year is 2035 and a disease known as HSPV destroys the reproductive systems of all adults shortly after they turn 18. In this world where only teenagers can get pregnant, twin sisters separated at birth find themselves on opposite sides of the human race's efforts to survive. Melody has been raised to be the perfect surrogate mother and has secured a lucrative contract with a wealthy couple to bear a child for them. Harmony has been raised in a secluded religious community where she's expected to marry young and produce as many children as she can before she and her husband lose the ability to reproduce. When Harmony shows up on Melody's doorstep their worlds collide in unexpected and unpredictable ways.
It took me awhile to get into this book because I've never read a funny dystopian novel and understanding the lighter tone took some time. Things really came together in the end, though, and now I just have to read the upcoming sequel. I'm still not sure how much I want to recommend it until I know how the whole thing turns out, but if you like a lot of ups and downs regardless of the ending, you won't be disappointed.
The year is 2035 and a disease known as HSPV destroys the reproductive systems of all adults shortly after they turn 18. In this world where only teenagers can get pregnant, twin sisters separated at birth find themselves on opposite sides of the human race's efforts to survive. Melody has been raised to be the perfect surrogate mother and has secured a lucrative contract with a wealthy couple to bear a child for them. Harmony has been raised in a secluded religious community where she's expected to marry young and produce as many children as she can before she and her husband lose the ability to reproduce. When Harmony shows up on Melody's doorstep their worlds collide in unexpected and unpredictable ways.
It took me awhile to get into this book because I've never read a funny dystopian novel and understanding the lighter tone took some time. Things really came together in the end, though, and now I just have to read the upcoming sequel. I'm still not sure how much I want to recommend it until I know how the whole thing turns out, but if you like a lot of ups and downs regardless of the ending, you won't be disappointed.
jenlynnhill's review
3.0
I was really intrigued with the premise of this story, but I found it hard to follow along because of the futuristic dialogue...it required too much thinking to figure out what the characters are actually saying. It was also confusing keeping the sisters straight in their worlds and I found myself having to stop a couple of times to think about who was who.
alanaleigh's review
4.0
In the midst of all the dystopian novels that are out these days, Megan McCafferty's Bumped separates itself from the pack with an amusing blend of quirky humor and a world that is frightening not only in its differences from our current world, but in its hyper-intensified take on the familiar.
Let's start with the changes: a virus that seems to affect almost the entire world population has resulted in fertility taking such a nose-dive that most adults are sterile by 18 or 20 -- which means the baby-making has to happen early or not at all. In response, religious groups pretty much marry girls off as early as possible, but the rest of the world is starting to warm up to a different, more capitalist approach: pregging for profit. Teens themselves might not be ready to be a parent and raise a baby, but they COULD offer it for adoption... and a cash incentive from potential adoptive parents (or, say, the prospect of a free ride to college and a car) means that more and more girls are looking to get "bumped" early on.
Now let's shift to the eerily familiar -- though technically we started on "eerily familiar" when we introduced the capitalist greed element. Technology has made leaps in communication avenues (there exists an online system of communication called MiNet accessible via contact lenses where blinking cues control the program). Parents push their daughters into the idea of pregging for profit (the same way they already push extracurriculars, except now pregging is in addition to those sports teams and orchestra performances). Oh, and high school is still a cliqueish hell on earth, but that's kind of an "always has been, always will be" thing.
Melody's parents are economics professors, who long foretold of the day when a teenage girl's fertility would be the most valuable thing on earth. So Melody, herself an adopted child, was raised with the knowledge that she, too, would join the ranks of pregnant teens -- but she would do it as a professional (Reproductive Professionals are know as RePros). The first in her school with an agent and a contract to preg for a wealthy couple, Melody made professional pregging a widely accepted option at her school -- to the point where the professionals and the amateurs actually experience some tension. Melody, meanwhile, may have started the debate but can't really enjoy full participation in the argument... as she isn't pregnant. Her wealthy couple is dithering on male gene choices, so Melody is stuck with her own nerves about them wasting her valuable time to get bumped before the virus renders her sterile... and that's on top of the general nerves that accompany bumping at all. Her super pregnant best friend is slightly useless for all this stress, which would normally send Melody to her other best friend, a guy, but things have started to get slightly weird between them and Melody's not sure what to do with that, either.
Now, let's switch to Harmony. You see, Melody and Harmony are identical twins, separated at birth. Harmony was adopted in to a cult/commune religious community and it appears that when she learned about her twin, she simply went forth to try and convert her sister to the path of righteousness... but it's quickly apparent that Harmony is not quite as simple as all that might suggest. In fact, it appears as though she fled her beloved community in order to find her sister and very little proselytizing is going on, though Harmony does spend a lot of time marveling at the society and technological advances. Melody is slightly appalled at Harmony's presence, because it devalues her own stock on the RePro market if there's another person out there offering the exact same genetic material. Plus, to have one's long-lost twin show up on one's doorstep is not exactly normal. Inevitably, the fact that they are identical twins leads to all kinds of mix-ups and confusions, particularly when Melody is offered the chance to bump with the world-famous Jondoe... but Harmony is the one he finds waiting at Melody's house.
This may be a lot of information to take (indeed, the first 20% of the book has a rather steep learning curve as you dive in), but if you can handle a complicated world (and a WHOLE LOT of new vocabulary and slang), then you'll find that Bumped is shockingly deep in its assessment of the issues that arise from this world. McCafferty somehow strikes a fantastic balance between light-hearted humor and intense philosophical thought when it comes to the choices teens make. And that's not just limited to her world, either. The question of when to have sex and with whom and for what reasons. The idea of doing something because society (including one's parent) says it's the right thing to do, even when you're not sure it's the right decision for you. What to do when faced with unspeakable heartbreak and tremendously difficult decisions. Pretty deep for a YA novel that's core premise involves having sex and getting pregnant. Given that premise, parents may not think this a book for very young teens, but it's also not explicit or graphic, so I wouldn't really worry about it too much. Besides, it might even remind girls that sex is a complicated subject and shouldn't be something they rush in to without thinking of the consequences, both physical and emotional.
While you might grow a bit weary of the slang that the book creates (and you might have to keep reminding yourself exactly which twin is which), you'll also find yourself seriously thinking about the plot of this book (and the shocking cliff-hanger of an ending) for a long time after you set it down. Bumped is funny and thoughtful -- a combination that will keep you devouring page after page, desperate to know what decisions Harmony and Melody will make as their lives get even more tangled up. Now we only need to wait and see what interesting issues will arise in the sequel, Thumped, because even if certain plot points will be obvious, I would bet that McCafferty still has some surprising and fascinating things up her sleeve.
Full disclosure: this book indirectly factors in to my professional life. This is a personal review, but feel free to let that info factor in to what you make of this review.
Let's start with the changes: a virus that seems to affect almost the entire world population has resulted in fertility taking such a nose-dive that most adults are sterile by 18 or 20 -- which means the baby-making has to happen early or not at all. In response, religious groups pretty much marry girls off as early as possible, but the rest of the world is starting to warm up to a different, more capitalist approach: pregging for profit. Teens themselves might not be ready to be a parent and raise a baby, but they COULD offer it for adoption... and a cash incentive from potential adoptive parents (or, say, the prospect of a free ride to college and a car) means that more and more girls are looking to get "bumped" early on.
Now let's shift to the eerily familiar -- though technically we started on "eerily familiar" when we introduced the capitalist greed element. Technology has made leaps in communication avenues (there exists an online system of communication called MiNet accessible via contact lenses where blinking cues control the program). Parents push their daughters into the idea of pregging for profit (the same way they already push extracurriculars, except now pregging is in addition to those sports teams and orchestra performances). Oh, and high school is still a cliqueish hell on earth, but that's kind of an "always has been, always will be" thing.
Melody's parents are economics professors, who long foretold of the day when a teenage girl's fertility would be the most valuable thing on earth. So Melody, herself an adopted child, was raised with the knowledge that she, too, would join the ranks of pregnant teens -- but she would do it as a professional (Reproductive Professionals are know as RePros). The first in her school with an agent and a contract to preg for a wealthy couple, Melody made professional pregging a widely accepted option at her school -- to the point where the professionals and the amateurs actually experience some tension. Melody, meanwhile, may have started the debate but can't really enjoy full participation in the argument... as she isn't pregnant. Her wealthy couple is dithering on male gene choices, so Melody is stuck with her own nerves about them wasting her valuable time to get bumped before the virus renders her sterile... and that's on top of the general nerves that accompany bumping at all. Her super pregnant best friend is slightly useless for all this stress, which would normally send Melody to her other best friend, a guy, but things have started to get slightly weird between them and Melody's not sure what to do with that, either.
Now, let's switch to Harmony. You see, Melody and Harmony are identical twins, separated at birth. Harmony was adopted in to a cult/commune religious community and it appears that when she learned about her twin, she simply went forth to try and convert her sister to the path of righteousness... but it's quickly apparent that Harmony is not quite as simple as all that might suggest. In fact, it appears as though she fled her beloved community in order to find her sister and very little proselytizing is going on, though Harmony does spend a lot of time marveling at the society and technological advances. Melody is slightly appalled at Harmony's presence, because it devalues her own stock on the RePro market if there's another person out there offering the exact same genetic material. Plus, to have one's long-lost twin show up on one's doorstep is not exactly normal. Inevitably, the fact that they are identical twins leads to all kinds of mix-ups and confusions, particularly when Melody is offered the chance to bump with the world-famous Jondoe... but Harmony is the one he finds waiting at Melody's house.
This may be a lot of information to take (indeed, the first 20% of the book has a rather steep learning curve as you dive in), but if you can handle a complicated world (and a WHOLE LOT of new vocabulary and slang), then you'll find that Bumped is shockingly deep in its assessment of the issues that arise from this world. McCafferty somehow strikes a fantastic balance between light-hearted humor and intense philosophical thought when it comes to the choices teens make. And that's not just limited to her world, either. The question of when to have sex and with whom and for what reasons. The idea of doing something because society (including one's parent) says it's the right thing to do, even when you're not sure it's the right decision for you. What to do when faced with unspeakable heartbreak and tremendously difficult decisions. Pretty deep for a YA novel that's core premise involves having sex and getting pregnant. Given that premise, parents may not think this a book for very young teens, but it's also not explicit or graphic, so I wouldn't really worry about it too much. Besides, it might even remind girls that sex is a complicated subject and shouldn't be something they rush in to without thinking of the consequences, both physical and emotional.
While you might grow a bit weary of the slang that the book creates (and you might have to keep reminding yourself exactly which twin is which), you'll also find yourself seriously thinking about the plot of this book (and the shocking cliff-hanger of an ending) for a long time after you set it down. Bumped is funny and thoughtful -- a combination that will keep you devouring page after page, desperate to know what decisions Harmony and Melody will make as their lives get even more tangled up. Now we only need to wait and see what interesting issues will arise in the sequel, Thumped, because even if certain plot points will be obvious, I would bet that McCafferty still has some surprising and fascinating things up her sleeve.
Full disclosure: this book indirectly factors in to my professional life. This is a personal review, but feel free to let that info factor in to what you make of this review.
jodi_ice's review
5.0
Just finished this refreshing post-apocalyptic style novel and cannot wait until I can get hold of the sequel - Thumped.
In a world where the majority of adults are rendered infertile by a virus that has swept the world, teenagers are being paid and being given major contracts from infertile couples to 'bump' and 'pregg' on their behalf, producing for them the child they cannot have. As soon as a teen is able to, parents and society convinces them that to 'pregg' is the best thing they could do as many times as they can before the virus catches them in early adulthood (18-early 20's) and makes them infertile, perpetuating the cycle. These teens are taught that they are the most important people on earth.
Many teens go 'pro' and get college scholarships, tummy tucks, and cars -amongst other prizes- for their 'pregg'. Others go amateur and just 'bump' with boyfriends and try to get the best deal once the baby arrives.
Melody is a pro. She was the first in her school to sign a large contract - but she's still awaiting her sperm. The couple who want her are being rather slow in deciding who she should bump with, which is rather eating into the time she has left to 'pregg'.
One day a twin sister Harmony turns up on her doorstep. Separated at birth Harmony was placed into the church with a set of parents who raised her to have God. She has arrived to save Melody once she found out what her sister was up to. By leaving the church compound she has broken rules. Is there more to her leaving than meets the eye?
In a world where the majority of adults are rendered infertile by a virus that has swept the world, teenagers are being paid and being given major contracts from infertile couples to 'bump' and 'pregg' on their behalf, producing for them the child they cannot have. As soon as a teen is able to, parents and society convinces them that to 'pregg' is the best thing they could do as many times as they can before the virus catches them in early adulthood (18-early 20's) and makes them infertile, perpetuating the cycle. These teens are taught that they are the most important people on earth.
Many teens go 'pro' and get college scholarships, tummy tucks, and cars -amongst other prizes- for their 'pregg'. Others go amateur and just 'bump' with boyfriends and try to get the best deal once the baby arrives.
Melody is a pro. She was the first in her school to sign a large contract - but she's still awaiting her sperm. The couple who want her are being rather slow in deciding who she should bump with, which is rather eating into the time she has left to 'pregg'.
One day a twin sister Harmony turns up on her doorstep. Separated at birth Harmony was placed into the church with a set of parents who raised her to have God. She has arrived to save Melody once she found out what her sister was up to. By leaving the church compound she has broken rules. Is there more to her leaving than meets the eye?
kaylawhite17's review
4.0
I need to write reviews right when I finish the book. ;) But overall I liked this book. I didn't appreciate the religious side of things. Especially because the religion was confusing as to what they believed. I also found it strange the religious twin (I can't remember which twin is which) saw a picture of a man and immediately had to have it. For someone who was taught to control themselves and spent years that way I found it so strange she gave her goods up to him so quickly. I also hate how quickly she fell in love with him. I hate love at first sight kind of relationships. The other twin I really really loved! She felt more real to me. I enjoyed reading her side and often was annoyed when I had to read the other twins perspective. I also loved the love story between her and her best friend! Over all it was a pleasant read that kept me wanting to read more! :)
cadyly's review
4.0
Some of the slang took a bit to figure out, which was probably the biggest downside to this book. Overall, it was interesting. It explores, albeit rather superficially, issues surrounding monogamy, fertility, human trafficking, surrogacy, and religion. Religion is shown as being as off-the-deep-end on one extreme as the bumping-for-profit side is on the other extreme. The book hints that morality lies somewhere in the middle, with people's ability to choose their own destiny being key.
None of the sides were particularly demonized and you could see reasons for each characters choices.
It was interesting, yet rather fluffy. Personally, I would prefer a book dealing with these issues to be a little more serious and really get into the issues at hand, but at least some problems are brought to light, if not as many as perhaps should be. I was especially glad to see the insertion of the character Malia, as she provided a necessary point-of-view. It would also have been helpful to see a Church family that was successful, and not snidely uncharitable and controlling, as everyone who had interaction with Harmony was.
None of the sides were particularly demonized and you could see reasons for each characters choices.
It was interesting, yet rather fluffy. Personally, I would prefer a book dealing with these issues to be a little more serious and really get into the issues at hand, but at least some problems are brought to light, if not as many as perhaps should be. I was especially glad to see the insertion of the character Malia, as she provided a necessary point-of-view. It would also have been helpful to see a Church family that was successful, and not snidely uncharitable and controlling, as everyone who had interaction with Harmony was.