Bumped by Megan McCafferty

This was a book that I saw on Amazon and was interested in, but it wasn't until my sister lent me the book (with not overly sparkling reviews) that I managed to read it.

Bumped is set in the 2030s, after a virus has 'swept the world', making everyone over 18 infertile. This has lead to the use of surrogates (both professional and amateur). Melody is one of these surrogates. She's worth more as a surrogate because genetically she's practically perfect. But before she can do the deed her religious twin sister Harmony turns up on her doorstep to spread the word of God.

The characters were interesting, and the choices they make, and what they go through and have gone through are a good subject for a book. However, I found both Melody and Harmony to be annoying at various points throughout the book. It was mainly their use of language, and the way they would get overemotional at some things, but not emotional enough at others. In that way I guess they weren't a very realistic representation of the girls in society today.

Picture from Google

The fact that the were twins was also interesting, and the whole plot surrounded it. Only one problem, first they were very distant with each other, as you might expect when you find your long lost sister, but at the end they had a link that was really unrealistic.
Speaking as a twin myself, I hated it. We twins don't have a random connection, we're just like any other sisters, only closer (sometimes). Although there wasn't any ridiculous psychic abilities, it still annoyed me.
However, I loved Zen as a character. He's well rounded and normal, which is more than I can say for the rest of them.

Some of the language was good, but there were parts that also really annoyed me. here are some examples:
'pregging', 'negging', 'bumping', 'for serious'. These I can just about understand. i know what they mean and there will be some slang in the future. But what the hell is 'renegging', 'thumped' and 'PTL!'? Which reminds me, there are also far too many exclamation marks, and sexual music excerpts.

If you can get past these things though, it's actually not a bad book. It deals with very important issues, that we all face and that we all understand.
 Bumped deals with a lot of issues and themes, which I really like, such as religion, teen pregnancy, surrogacy, sex in general, advancement, cultural values, perfectionism and choices. This does redeem it, as it does make you think (something I love in a book).

Overall, a good book, but with some really annoying habits. Awarded 3 out of 5 stars.