Bumped by Megan McCafferty - Review & Interview
Bumped by Megan McCafferty
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
Release date: April 2011
Pages:
Summary: Melody has her life pretty much laid out in front of her—she’s been bred to be perfect in almost every way. Soon she will bump with someone her rep has selected for her (whether she likes him or not), and she will finally be pregnant—something that has become a status symbol for teen girls. Melody’s perfect life is interrupted when Harmony, a missionary from a super-religious community who also happens to be Melody’s twin, shows up to try to change her sister’s mind about getting pregnant for payment. But Harmony has a secret, and soon she and Melody begin a journey full of surprises and mistaken identities.
My thoughts: The best thing about Bumped is the world that Megan McCafferty creates. Everything is so detailed that it feels like it could actually exist! The woman even made up songs for the world Bumped takes place in. That’s amazing! The rich, fullness of the world isn’t the most interesting part, though—the society is. In Bumped, only teens can conceive children, so all the high school girls are big on landing expensive contracts to carry a child for parents who can’t. Because of this, pregnancy has become something of a fad—all the songs are about it, all the advertisements say that being preggers is the coolest thing ever, and sex (“bumping”) is taken much more lightly than it is in our society. I found it fascinating to read about this, because it seems like as the generations pass, we’re becoming more and more okay with sex and pregnancy at younger ages. Social commentary for the win!
Melody and Harmony were excellent characters; I loved reading the dual narration, and the way they evolved was fantastic—the choices they made were not always the best ones, but they were extremely realistic and further developed the girls’ characters. Melody and Harmony reflected the opinions of opposite ends of the spectrum, and it was fun to see them butt heads.
Bumped blends aspects of today’s society (a leniency toward teen pregnancy) with a fantastic futuristic setting to create a wholly memorable story. Readers will be quickly enamored with Megan McCafferty’s writing—it is honest and perfectly portrays the teen voice. Melody and Harmony each embark on a quest for their true feelings, and the exciting hijinks that ensue are good for a laugh, yet have deeper undertones. Bumped seems sugary on top, but further down is rich, textured, and well thought out. I’ll definitely be giving this one a re-read.
4.5/5 stars
Source: received advance copy at ALA
BUMPED is very different from your Jessica Darling series. What made you decide to make the switch from realism to fantasy? Were there any differences in your writing process?
The premise came first: Because of a virus, only teenagers can have babies. Everyone I described it to came back with, “So it’s sci-fi?” And I was like, “I don’t think so.” Then they’d say, “Oh. It’s a dystopian novel then.” And I was like, “Um…maybe?” I understand the motivation for readers (and my publisher for that matter) to categorize it as one thing or another, but I really wasn’t thinking about genre. I was thinking about the story and the best way I knew how to tell it. In that sense, the writing process wasn’t any different from the Jessica Darling novels.
In BUMPED, sex has become a topic that isn’t as taboo as it is today. Do you think BUMPED’s nonchalance is better or worse than how we approach sex today?
We need to take a more nuanced approach to teen sexuality. I’m a proponent of comprehensive sex education, but even the best programs can be heavy on the clinical details (like the stereotypical condom-on-the-banana) and light on the emotional complexities of sex. We need to start treating teenagers like whole people and not just the sum of their private parts.
BUMPED is told in alternating viewpoints—whose side of the story did you enjoy writing the most, Harmony’s or Melody’s?
I enjoyed them both equally. I tried not to show any favoritism for one narrator over the other.
One of the things I found hilarious about BUMPED was all the songs you made up to go with the story! So, Megan, what’s your fave Fed Double X song?
“Bumpin’” is a jam. I definitely had a good time with Fed Double X. The funniest thing is, their songs aren’t any more or less ridiculous than what’s already out there.
BUMPED’s world is so well developed. How did you come up with all the technology and slang?
Thank you so much for saying that! I was nervous about the world-building. I don’t read sci-fi or futuristic fiction, but my husband does. Very early on he said, “Look, Meg, don’t try to predict the what life will be like in 2036. Whatever you come up with will be wrong. So you might as well have fun with it.” I guess I took his advice as far as it could go.
Who do you identify most with, Harmony or Melody? Or is there a bit of you in both of them?
As an author, you have to identify with your characters on some level to make them believable. Growing up as an all-around over-achiever who believed my accomplishments would help me get ahead in life, I definitely had more in common with Melody. But in approaching Harmony’s character, I thought about a very close friend, a minister’s daughter who spent her adolescence and early adulthood straining against her super-religious upbringing. Remembering that friendship helped me relate to Harmony as a fully realized individual, not just a stock character. I was thrilled when an early reader who grew up in an evangelical household told me that some of Harmony’s thoughts about faith could have come from her own teenage diaries.
Your sixteen year old self has just been transported into the world of BUMPED. What does she do? Will she survive?
I’d like to think that I’d become reproductive freedom fighter, challenging the system to provide condoms to teenagers who want to have unprocreative sex. That’s because I haven’t been raised since birth to believe that my greatest asset is my uterus.
Last question! BUMPED is supposed to have a sequel! Is there anything you can share about it?
A lot can change between a first draft and a finished book. But I think it’s safe to say that the sequel picks up 32 weeks after BUMPED ends. And there won’t be a third book, for those of you who might be suffering from trilogy fatigue. Two narrators, two books. Then I’m on to whatever comes next!Megan McCafferty can be found online at her website, twitter, or facebook page.
This review and interview is part of the Cornucopia of Dystopia event! Click the button above to see the rest of the event schedule.
(Source: renkellym)
