Book Recommendation: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

BUMPED by Megan McCafferty


Summary: (from the publisher)

When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents are forced to pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. 

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and had never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Until now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend Zen, who is way too short for the job. 

Harmony has spent her whole life in religious Goodside, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to bring Melody back to Goodside and convince her that “pregging” for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from. 

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

Order the hardcover from Barnes & Noble.

Get your Kindle edition here.

My thoughts:
The jacket flap does not do this book justice.  Since I read it, I've tried to describe it to a number of people.  Over and over I come back to this:  It's like a really disturbing sci-fi, maybe The Matrix, but narrated by Cher from Clueless.  I know...but trust me.


The pregnancy-dominated slang was hard to take at first, kind of hard to understand, but once I decided to just let it in and wait for answers later, I really started to enjoy it.  I couldn't believe how many slang terms McCafferty could come up with!  The language did so much for the world-building, I can't imagine the book without it.  


While the plot should have been far-fetched to the point of intolerance--I mean, identical twins separated at birth? Come on--but McCafferty made it work.  It all made sense in the weird world of Melody and Harmony.  The characters at first read more like caricatures than real people, but ultimately that felt like the point.


The whole purpose of the novel, I believe, was to hold a mirror up to the extremes of our culture and add a whopping dose of Miracle Grow and about 25 years to mature them.  Harmony represents the extreme of religious devotion, with an obsession for purity, salvation and conversion.  Melody represents the extreme of consumerism, with an obsession for status, micro-celebrity and commodity.  The duel pictures McCafferty creates are not so extreme they seem impossible, or even so very distant.


Give the world a progressive virus that causes infertility, and I could easily see this happening.  Way too easily.  And that discomfort is exactly the point.  Making pregnancy trendy?  Um, we're already halfway there.  But as another reviewer pointed out, McCafferty managed to deliver (ha ha, pardon the pun) this biting warning against such a society without being completely anti-sex.  You'd think the two would go hand-in-hand, but instead she managed to send a lot of positive messages about sexuality, and especially being in charge of your own.


Can't complain about that!  At least, I can't.


I'm not too surprised this book isn't getting the credit it deserves.  It's more satire than entertainment.  But if you are someone who reads for more than just escapism, I think you'll find something to like in here.

Recommended for:
Have you seen the movie Idiocracy?  If not, maybe check that out.  If you like it, you'll like BUMPED.  Also, the movie Heathers.  I apologize for all the movie references, but sometimes they're just easier.


Has anyone else read this yet?

- Liz

Book Recommendation: Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury

WRAPPED by Jennifer Bradbury


Summary (from the publisher):
Agnes Wilkins is standing in front of an Egyptian mummy, about to make the first cut into the wrappings, about to unlock ancient (and not-so-ancient) history.

Maybe you think this girl is wearing a pith helmet with antique dust swirling around her.

Maybe you think she is a young Egyptologist who has arrived in Cairo on camelback.

Maybe she would like to think that too. Agnes Wilkins dreams of adventures that reach beyond the garden walls, but reality for a seventeen-year-old debutante in 1815 London does not allow for camels—or dust, even. No, Agnes can only see a mummy when she is wearing a new silk gown and standing on the verdant lawns of Lord Showalter’s estate, with chaperones fussing about and strolling sitar players straining to create an exotic “atmosphere” for the first party of the season. An unwrapping.

This is the start of it all, Agnes’s debut season, the pretty girl parade that offers only ever-shrinking options: home, husband, and high society. It’s also the start of something else, because the mummy Agnes unwraps isn’t just a mummy. It’s a host for a secret that could unravel a new destiny—unleashing mystery, an international intrigue, and possibly a curse in the bargain.

Get wrapped up in the adventure . . . but keep your wits about you, dear Agnes.

Due out:  May 24, 2011

Click here to get a copy from Barnes & Noble.

Click here for the Kindle edition from Amazon.

My Thoughts:
I got this book from GalleyGrab, and I didn't know what to expect.  To be honest, the cover art did not give me much hope.  While it is beautiful as a piece of art, it really seemed more in line with the kind of covers I'm seeing on Middle Grade books right now.  More graphic novel than traditional fiction.  I thought the voice would be younger than it turned out to be.


Really, on all front, this book surprised me! After reading the jacket flap, I was expected paranormal. Instead, it was a delightful historical mystery and I completely enjoyed it. Agnes is an infectious main character--exactly what you want from a Victorian heroine: a little too smart for her own good, totally constrained by her society, and willing to tiptoe outside those social norms when adventure is at stake. The pace was just right, and kept me turning pages. I felt really immersed in Agnes's world, without too much explanation that would ruin the voice. 

Bradbury struck just the right balance between historical accuracy and creative license. I wanted to believe everything she told me, and her storytelling made that possible.

I won't ruin this for you all with spoilers, but if you have ever loved the Victorian era, you need to read this book. The whole time I was reading, I kept thinking of Anne Perry's Pitt series, which I devoured in younger days. Agnes brought me back there, with a nice sprucing up for today's reader in the YA genre.

There had better be more where this came from, Jennifer Bradbury! More Agnes!


Recommended For:
Anyone who likes Historical Mysteries, especially Victorians.  Anyone who ever wanted to be Indiana Jones (like me!).  Anyone who liked Amy Adams's character in Sherlock Homes.


Let me know if you like it!


- Liz

Road Trip Wednesday with YA Highway

This morning, I'm diving into the weekly blog carnival hosted by YA Highway.  For this week's Road Trip Wednesday, the ladies of the Highway want to know:  If your WIP was a song, what would it be?


For my latest project, there is a full-on playlist, but this is the one song that really sums up the whole story:  Bon Jovi's (You Want to) Make a Memory.

LYRICS:


Hello again, it's you and me
Kinda always like it used to be
Sippin' wine, killin' time
Tryin' to solve life's mysteries

How's your life? It's been a while
God it's good to see you smile
I see you reachin' for your keys
Lookin' for a reason not to leave

If you don't know if you should stay
If you don't say what's on your mind
Baby just breathe
There's nowhere else tonight we should be

You wanna make a memory?

I dug up this old photograph
Look at all that hair we had
It's bittersweet to hear you laugh
Your phone is ringin' I don't wanna ask

If you go now, I'll understand
If you stay, hey, I got a plan

You wanna make a memory?
You wanna steal a piece of time?
You can sing the melody to me
And I could write a couple lines
You wanna make a memory?

If you don't know if you should stay
And you don't say what's on your mind
Baby just breathe
There's nowhere else tonight we should be
We should be

You wanna make a memory?
You wanna steal a piece of time?
You can sing the melody to me
And I can write a couple lines

You wanna make a memory?
You wanna make a memory?


Now, follow the link above to the YA Highway and enjoy the song stylings of all the other Road Trippers this week.


Do you have a WIP theme song?


- Liz

Book Recommendation: Stay by Deb Caletti

STAY by Deb Caletti


Summary:  (from the publisher)

Clara’s relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it’s almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is—and what he’s willing to do to make her stay.

Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won’t let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough....

Click here to order a copy of your very own from Barnes & Noble.

My thoughts:

I had the privilege of reviewing a galley of this book, and I could not have been luckier. This book is amazing. A bit slow to start but after ten pages or so I was in so deep I didn't want to put it down. 

The story reads as if it is really Clara telling her story. Her voice is impeccable, and smart, even when she's making decisions that drive you crazy. I liked the very adult language and the relatable imagery. I'm not normally one for a lot of poetic language, but Caletti's imagery and introspection were so real, so...right, I found myself wishing she'd explain the world to me. 

Clara and Christian's relationship is all too recognizable, and such an important and underexplored area in Young Adult literature. Despite the poisonous nature of the relationship, I found myself 100% in Clara's corner. I could understand every step she took deeper into the dangerous waters of Christian. 

The subplot between Clara and her father, while not inconsequential by any means, didn't distract from the main story. I wanted to know how both threads wove together in the end. 

An atmospheric story of love, loss, coping, growing up and forgiveness. Read it in the rain, and probably not by yourself. There are moment of genuine creep-out intertwined with moments of genuine joy. One of the best contemporary YA novels I've ever read. I'll be catching up on Caletti's back catalogue post-haste. 

Recommended for:


Anyone who loves contemporary YA.  Anyone who has been in, or been friends with someone who has been in one of those poisonous relationships.


If you read and enjoyed, Jandy Nelson's THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE, Sarah Ockler's TWENTY BOY SUMMER, Gayle Forman's IF I STAY, or Kirsten Smith's THE GEOGRAPHY OF GIRLHOOD, you will devour this book.


Come back and tell me what you think when you're done, okay?


- Liz

The Intern: a frightful confession

If you are not already following The Intern on her blog, you should go do it right now.

If you are not already following @internspills on Twitter, you are missing out.

Go read this, and feel better.

The Intern: a frightful confession: "INTERN has a frightful confession to make, and here it is: When one of INTERN’s writer-friends publishes a beautifully-crafted short story,..."

Where I Make You All Jealous

I'm not normally one to brag, but I had to share what I got in the mail.

It even had pretty packaging!  

I've wanted to read this book since I turned the last page of IF I STAY

SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Thank you, Gayle!!!

The links:

Get your own copy of Where She Went

Read If I Stay, first, ya heathen!

Visit the delightful Gayle Forman at her website.

Stalk, er, follow her on Twitter.  You never know when she'll give away another book!

*Loses all interest in finishing blog, due to reading awesome book featured**

- Liz

From the Depths of The Slog

I had a lovely conversation over the weekend with some fellow writers.  One of them mentioned a blog post she'd read about the Four Stages of Writing Development.  We didn't have computer access at the time, so I wasn't sure I'd ever find the meme in question.  But as is so often the case when I find myself wont of something, I give out my battle cry, "To the Google!"

And my trust search engine steed once again led me straight to my quarry.

Mary Carroll Moore's blog was the home to this particular tidbit, which she calls "Unconscious Competence."  I implore you to read the whole article right now.  I'll wait.  You know I'm good at waiting for you people.

Ah, you're done?  Excellent.

This is the part that spoke to me:

This isn't a fun stage, even though it turns out better writing than any of the other stages so far.  It's what my MFA teachers used to call the "slog."  We slog through the writing now, not really lifted up by it, not really energized.  But, at the end, we have something pretty darn good.

I am Atreyu, and my first draft is the Swamps of Sadness

These days, I find myself deep in Stage 3.  Slogging my way through a first draft and wishing like hell it was my third.  But still, the words come...sometimes only 100 at a time, but they come.  And if you add enough 100's together, you eventually find 70,000, right?  And then you're not so deep in the morass any more.

Falcor, a.k.a. Unconscious Competence

Stage Four, I'm coming for you.

- Liz