Bumped
Megan McCafferty


rating: 5 out of 10 "books"

I loved Megan McCafferty’s Jessica Darling series so when I heard she was finally coming out with a new book I was thrilled. The only problem is that when you love a series so much, it’s always a little hard to get into anything completely different by an author. Bumped is exactly that. While the writing style and voice of the characters in Bumped is the same as that of the series I know and love, the storyline couldn’t be any more different. Harmony and Melody are twin sisters, separated at birth and completely unaware of each other until their sixteenth birthdays. Adopted by different parents, both girls grow up in completely different environments; Melody in a society where becoming a RePro (professional birther) is a smart move, and Harmony in a church settlement where girls are matched with their future husbands by the church council before they may even think about having intimate relations. In a world where a virus has caused men and women over the age of 18 to become infertile, it is up to teenage boys and girls to produce offspring for aspiring parents. While babies have long been sold off by amateurs (teen couples actually IN a relationship), the newest trend is to go pro and sign a contract with an infertile couple through an agent. This couple in turn has the right to find a partner for the teenage boy or girl to reproduce with, oftentimes to try to find matches that represent the infertile man or woman in appearance. This way, the offspring could actually pass as their own. When Harmony ditches the farm to unite with her long lost sister, Melody is hardly ecstatic. Things go even more south when a case of mistaken identity lands Melody’s gorgeous contracted RePro match in the company of Harmony. But as the story looms close to an end, what each sister may have thought they always wanted may not be so. While not exactly a twist ending, things do not turn out the way Bumped has you thinking it will at the start. Each character goes through some major revelations and as different as Melody and Harmony may seem (to the reader as well as each other), by the end of the book they do not seem so different (again to the reader as well as each other). The events in the story end up bringing the sisters closer than they ever could have imagined.

I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about this book. While I do love the writing (and the premise of the story is kind of cool), I feel like there are some holes in the plot. If people are unable to have children after a certain age, why don’t they just have them younger when they are still able to? It’s not like it hasn’t been done before. Back in early times sixteen/seventeen wasn’t too early for girls to have children. Even thirteen wasn’t too early. People were married as early as that age. So what’s to stop this futuristic society from simply reverting back to some of those early day practices? At least that way, the mother’s children would be her biological children. And I know that McCafferty was trying to be futuristic with her use of slang in the book, but I found it somewhat annoying. Half the time I didn’t understand what the slang was meant to imply, especially when it was then used in a different context. As much as I love Megan McCafferty, overall I was a bit disappointed with Bumped. Apparently there is supposed to be a sequel to this book. Maybe the next one will be a bit better.

The DUFF: (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)
Kody Keplinger




I hate when I put off reviewing books for awhile and then come back only to have forgotten most of a book or why I did or didn’t like it. Forgive me readers, but I’ve come to a bit of a slump when it comes to reading (and reviewing) books.

Anyways… The DUFF, or designated ugly fat friend, refers to the one female friend of the group who isn’t quite as beautiful or maybe as interesting as the rest. Bianca Piper is THAT girl amongst her two best friends. Bianca knows this subconsciously, and for the most part is ok with it, but it isn’t until class playboy and total d-bag, Wesley, personally calls her a DUFF that Bianca becomes self conscious. As if it wasn’t enough already that her friends are totally gorgeous, but when Wesley tells Bianca that he is only talking to her to get inside her two friends pants, Bianca angrily throws her coke all over Wesley.

While Bianca knows that she shouldn’t let the harsh words of scum like Wesley get to her, she can’t help but dwell on her nickname. Things certainly don’t look up for Bianca either, when she and Wesley are assigned to work on an English paper together, requiring outside school time to complete the homework. As tensions rise at home for Bianca and divorce threatens to destroy her family, the last thing Bianca needs is aggravation from the school man-slut. But without a proper outlet for all of her emotional buildup, Bianca horrifyingly finds herself kissing Wesley – and liking it. A very surprised (and smug) Wesley reciprocates, and the two find themselves using each other. Of course, like any other no strings attached relationship, Bianca soon finds herself (gasp!) crushing hard on Wesley. The question becomes whether Bianca will actually admit to herself that she wants more from Wesley than just fooling around, and whether Wesley could ever be attracted to the DUFF?

Final thoughts? I liked this book. While I found the plotline very unlikely; not the part where a total hottie falls for the less attractive (but by no means ugly) girl, but the interaction between the two main characters…(this is high school after all, is a guy really going to profess his love in a note the way Wesley does?), I really enjoyed the characters, especially Bianca. She reminded me a lot of Jessica Darling in Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings ET. Al. I love a snarky female character who is very sure of herself. While Bianca may not have had the best self-esteem at times, she was very level headed for a high school girl. She realized that it was pretty ridiculous to be in love with someone at the high school age. She saw through what most teenage girls (at her school and otherwise) could not, especially about Wesley. At the beginning of the story, much to the bewilderment of her friends, Bianca had no interest in Wesley. She saw through his attractiveness and saw what a creep he was. It was only until getting to know him and his situation that she discovered the front he put up for everyone.

I really liked that Keplinger mentioned everyone feeling like the DUFF in some shape or form. No one is completely happy with their looks. It was refreshing to read about Bianca’s two friends confessing to having doubts about their appearances as well, beautiful or not. I look forward to reading more by Kody Keplinger. I wish I could write as well as she does, especially being as young as she is!