Thumped by Megan McCafferty

First off, I want to start off my saying that I actually managed to read in the car without getting sick this weekend. All it takes is blowing the AC right on my face to the point where I had to put on a coat, but I would say it was well worth having something to do on the 13 hour car ride.

Needless to say I was not up until all hours of the night reading this book. I really enjoyed Bumped, the first installment, and had high hopes for this sequel, but they didn't quite live up to my expectations. For anybody looking for an intriguing plotline, I would definitely recommend Bumped in which a virus renders everyone over the age of 18 infertile, so teenagers are encouraged to "bump" or have children and then give them up for adoption, as is the case with Melody. Or, as in Harmony's case, they're forced to become wives and mothers at the age of 13 in a secluded religious community.

Both books follow the story of Harmony and Melody, twins separated at birth, and their struggle to survive in this dystopian society. All in all I would say that Thumped was good, but not nearly as good as Bumped. There was nothing driving me to get to the finish.

As a sidenote, in this sequel, Melody is pretending to be pregnant with twins, like her sister actually is, and the book keeps hinting at how she might actually be pregnant, even though there's no possibility of that. I would also have to say that the whole time I just kept wondering why Harmony would want to return to Goodside, her religious community, when she and her husband weren't really together, and it was clear from the beginning that she didn't really belong there - as evidenced by the fact that the church was going to take her twins from her.

All in all a very original plot, and a quick read. More to come later this week.