BUMPED BY MEGAN MCCAFFERTY

The world is not as we know it now as a virus has made everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, leaving would-be parents no option but to pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children for them. This makes the teens the most prized members of our society.  Young teenage girls wear fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks specialised food such as folic-acid-infused food.

Melody and Harmony are now sixteen year old. They are twins that were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Prior to Harmony turning up on Melody's doorstep the twins have followed completely opposite paths in their lives. Melody has managed to obtain an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. Whilst the Jaydens are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to "bump" with, Melody is busy fighting her increasing attraction to her best friend, Zen. Zen however is considered too short to be the perfect partner to bump with Melody.

Harmony, Melody's twin sister has spent her whole life in Goodside. Goodside is a highly religious community. Harmony's family and religious community have been preparing her to be a wife and mother. Harmony is ecstatic to have found out she has a twin and now believes her calling is to convince Melody that "pregging" for profit is a terrible sin. However Harmony is hiding secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is eventually matched with the world-famous, and genetically flawless Jondoe, both the girls’ lives are changed forever. A simple case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey that neither of the sisters could have ever imagined. Its a journey that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just their DNA in common!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it had lots of humour thrown in, lots on funny song lyrics and funny quotes! I thought some of ther words like pregg, breedy, etc were not too much a stretch of reality, this plot line in this book could actually happen in our society!! The book did seem to go a little slower paced in a couple of pages and I was kind of thinking come on get on with the story! I loved the characters, the relationship Melody has with Zen, you can't help thinking "If there world was a little different or Zen a little taller how different things could be!" I also loved how the twins are so similar even though have never met before and been brought up totally differently and with different parents to each other. I also liked how there lives seem to be running a parallel line in that, Melody is being pressured how to live her life by her parents. They want her to pregg for big money. Whereas Harmony's upbringing has been in a strictly religious setting and she is being coerced into marrying at a young age and producing babies into a loving religious family. This novel is classed as dystopian but I think you could also explain the book as being a futuristic fantasy society based novel. As I have said I really did enjoy it and it's difficult to go into much detail without spoiling the book for others, because it is so worth reading!  The end is left in what I would describe as "up in the air" in that there is no conclusion to what is happening, I think the author has purposely left the book on a perfect cliff hanger, What will happen to Zen and Melody, Ram and Harmony, and then of course there's Jondoe to be considered..... hmmmm looking forward to Thumped already!

Available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk £3.49 paperback £3.32 Bookdepository.co.uk £3.48 so buy it now its well worth these great prices.