Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Bumped by Megan McCafferty
Balzer + Bray, 2011
336 pages
Note: This was an advanced reader's copy from NetGalley.com. The release date is April 26, 2011.

Let's imagine for a second that a terrible virus has rendered all adults over the age of 20 infertile, and the only demographic that can reproduce is teenagers. Scary? You bet. But for Melody and her recently discovered identical twin sister, Harmony, it's reality. In their world, condoms are illegal, preteen girls wear t-shirts with provocative sayings and fake baby bumps underneath, and prospective parents hire genetically pleasing teens to mate and sell their babies.

Melody is one of the only girls in her school to have no births to her name. Her agent continues to assure her that he's just waiting for the right guy to match her with, but life becomes almost unbearable as her classmates ridicule her. Harmony has just shown up on Melody's doorstep after running away from her sheltered life on a conservative Christian enclave. Add in Zen, Melody's long time guy friend, who is making the celibacy clause in her contract extremely difficult to uphold, and Harmony's shocking secret, and things start to get a little crazy.

Judging by the cover...: I'm not crazy about it, but I will admit that it's simplicity is appealing. That there's no model on the cover is nice, too, as I never like having my visions of characters influenced.

Favorite Elements:

• MiNets - Each author of a sci-fi novel envisions technology that we'll have in the future. They might have the same concept as one another, but individual elements differ. The member's of Melody's society relies on MiNets to keep them updated on the world around them and talk to each other by video chat. There are school enforced blinds that ensure students pay attention in classes (wouldn't it be great it schools had that now?) and varying degrees of privacy. They bear enough of a resemblance to smart phones to be a believable step in the future, and I'd be totally cool with that development.
• Avatarcades - 4D videogaming exists in the future! This is a RPG player's dream! They sound an awful lot like Second Life on a grander scale, but that's okay. If I can walk around and actually BE whoever I want, bring on the future.
• Zen - I couldn't have imagined a more sensitive, selfless, and handsome boy if I tried. Too bad guys like that didn't exist when I was in high school! It would have made for a much more pleasant experience.

Overall (out of 5): 2.5
I don't want to give this the score I did. I wanted this to be the most awesome book I read all year. The truth is, I just couldn't get into it. I found myself skimming Harmony's parts (there's only so much "Oh my grace!" I can take, and spending slightly longer periods of time on Melody's. She's much easier to relate to, and by the end I might have even been honored to call her my friend. The superficial air and relentless sexual humor can be overwhelmingly nauseating, and I was disappointed that the novel did not have same snappy cleverness as McCafferty's Jessica Darling series (which is a must read for every woman who grew up in the 1990s).

However. And this is a big one. McCafferty answers her question with an alarmingly possible theory. I can absolutely see this happening in our society should the human race be struck with the same infertility virus. With MTV's reality show about teen moms and Bristol Palin getting so much attention, it feels like we're halfway there. This all too real possibility is what kept me reading.

Recommendation: Bumped's satire is not for everyone. Though it may not have resonated with me, anyone who fits the unique reader requirements and/or enjoys delving into future possibilities will find it fascinating.