Thursday, April 28, 2011

Bumped

Based on the books I have read in the Jessica Darling series, I knew that I would not be disappointed by the voice in Bumped since Megan McCafferty always makes me laugh with her sarcastic humor and strong characters.

At first I was not sure what to expect with Bumped since it is a dystopian novel. When I realized that the title refers to teen pregnancy and the concept of the book is centered around a future when teens are the only people in the world able to become pregnant, as those older are all infertile because of a virus, I was wondering what it would be like.

Though I knew it was going to involve two twins who are reunited after being separated at birth, I had not realized that it would be told in multiple perspectives, so I was instantly even more excited since that is one of my favorite formats. Many of the chapters were quick, especially when the tension was building making for a perfect balance to see what was happening with one twin but then being able to get back to the other. There were plenty of twists and turns, some that I anticipated and others that caught me by surprise - a perfect balance.

Another unexpected part of the book was the two distinct communities that the girls come from, Goodside and Otherside. In the beginning, I thought it was going to be a simple right vs. wrong tone; however, I should have known that it would never be that simple with McCafferty. As the girls' situations and true feelings emerged I continued to like the book more and more.

The ending was satisfying, but also left me wanting to know more about some details, so I was thrilled when I saw in the pages at the end of the book that McCafferty is busy working on a sequel. I can't wait to see when that will be coming out.

Sarah at The Reading Zone has an excellent review of the novel that also gives some insights into McCafferty's perspective for those who are critical of the topic of the book or would like to know more.

In June I will be reading Unwind with my book club, and I am thinking these two would be an interesting pairing. I will keep that in mind as I am reading to see for sure.

*Book 7/12 Debut Author Challenge (Though I originally thought that the Jessica Darling series, especially the first would have been considered YA, this is her first YA official debut.)

2 comments:

  1. Ohh, this looks like a good one! Do you think boys will like it too? My class wants me to read a book in the month of June that is scary and disturbing- and preferably dystopian. They are such amazing readers that they have read everything new that I get. I'm on the look out for a new one- they ask me everyday if I've found one yet. Maybe this will be the one.

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  2. My hunch is that girls would like it more, but there are a few male characters that show up quite a bit as well, so I bet boys who are dystopian fans would enjoy it, especially if they get the humor in it.

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