Thumped by Megan McCafferty

Thumped (Bumped #2) by Megan McCafferty ☆☆☆☆

I have a bad habit when it comes to books. Even if I don't like a book I read, if it is part of a series I tend to keep reading the series. I guess it's hoping that it gets better. I had my doubts about the first book, Bumped. I had no intention of really reading this book, but when it came out I picked it up anyway.

In the beginning, I wasn't sold. The things I didn't like about the first book were even more present in the second. The characters still weren't developed enough for me. In fact, my biggest problem with this book was Jondoe. He actually had one of the most developed characters in the first, and in this book he lost all character development he had and became a very flat, stereotype character more akin to a female role.

Remember I said I had a bad habit of reading books in a series even when I didn't like the first? Well it goes for the individuals books as well, if I don't like a book I'm reading I still trudge through it. Often times lately I've been surprised at how well the book turns out in the end. Honestly, this book probably deserves the 3 stars I gave the first, but it gained an extra star in the end. While this story was too light for me, missing a lot of plot and character development, and also missing complexities it needed, I had to admit that it has a moralistic point in the end that is good for teens to think about.

This series covers the topics of teen pregnancies and how it could quickly become a commodity if people over 18 couldn't conceive anymore. Think it's not relevant? All these teen mom TV shows lately show it's entirely relevant. We may not have that dystopian virus, but teen pregnancy becomes a commodity in TV ratings. So for having a good purpose, the series is a win overall for me. I still wish it had been fleshed out more like it deserved, but for the tween and teen groups it works. It's simple enough to get the complex issue across.

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Bumped by Megan McCafferty ☆☆☆

Not the best book I have read. I had a hard time getting into it and that feeling never really let up. I don't like books that have their own languages without explaining it and this was one of those books. While I was able to pick up on some of the meanings as I read, I still felt lost most of the way.

This book did elicit emotion from me though. I was angry at Harmony for most of the book. And I felt a helplessness for Melody. I was anxiously awaiting everything to turn around and go the way it was expected, but it didn't make it. Part of that doesn't make me want to read the sequel that I discovered is in the works, however, the ending did leave some interesting ideas open that I wouldn't mind exploring out of pure curiosity.

While I did score this book low it doesn't mean I hated it. It's between 3 and 4 stars for me. It's definitely a good book at looking at what a world would be like if teen pregnancies were profitable and overmarketed, and a jab at the overpopularization already present with shows like 16 and Pregnant or even the Octomom. The warring alternating POVs of Harmony and Melody show deep contradictions in not only how the girls were raised, but also contradictions within themselves against how they were raised. It's a working dystopian society novel, but it just didn't work on all levels for me.