Book Review: Bumped

What if only teenagers could get pregnant?

If you've read my post about Young Adult literature, you already know that I am a huge fan of the Jessica Darling series and of its charming and funny author, Megan McCafferty. I jumped- leapt even- when Bumped, her brand new novel, came into my local library. While I didn't quite feel the tingling sensation that I did after reading Sloppy Firsts, Bumped was a good story with an awesome concept and likable characters. 

Bumped is a sort of dystopian comedy that takes place about thirty years in the future when a virus has made it impossible to reproduce past teenage-hood. This means that teenage girls are getting pregnant all over the place and going into labor in the middle of their high school like it's the most normal thing in the world. The story centers on two identical twins who were separated at birth and were raised in extremely different households- emphasis on the extreme. Both twins are under a lot of pressure to get pregnant for very different reasons and their meeting changes both of their lives forever. 

I think what I always loved about the Jessica Darling series was how relatable Jess was to me. I still think of her as a close friend. Maybe it's because these characters take a little time to get to know or maybe it's because they just aren't Not-so Darling, but I didn't find myself caring much about them for at least the first half of the novel. I love a good high-concept story, so that kept me going. McCafferty brought in more creative lingo and more surprising repercussions to such this hypothetical society than I could've anticipated. It is her humor and voice that truly make all of her books great, and Bumped is no exception. I would certainly recommend it.