Review: The Pool Theory by Alexa Nazzaro

The Pool Theory
by Alexa Nazzaro
Published: June 19, 2013
Publisher: Two Pigeons Press
Available: Amazon

Synopsis:
After years of feeling like a loser, fifteen year old Kye Penton finally has it made. With his new friend, Julian, and the cutest girl in English class by his side, it looks like his days of being a social outcast are ancient history. Until Annie Cooper shows up: pregnant and claiming the baby is his. Kye's life quickly unravels as he's pulled into a nightmare bigger than any bullying he has ever survived.

Review:
To start this review, I must begin at the end. I read the last chapter over and over, wondering if I was missing something. I was completely confused and not in a good way. It was abrupt, and anti-climactic, and left so many things hanging. I wanted clarity and some kind of resolution. This was my biggest issue with the story. I invested hours into read Kye's story that I was completely let down.

I have to say that by the end of the book Kye was a completely unlikeable character. So was Annie. And Claudia. And Julian. So much so that I was tempted to stop reading, but as I said before, I invested hours into reading and was holding out hope that one of them might redeem themselves.

The Pool Theory was not terrible, far from it. There were parts that were very well written and Nazzaro delved into a very serious subject from a perspective not often taken. I don't know how a 15-year-old boy would react to impending fatherhood, and maybe that is my issue. I would hope that if I had a son and he was in this situation, he'd be less selfish and more honest, that he would realize the seriousness of it and take responsibility for his actions.

* I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any compensation for reviewing this book.

Review: Thumped (Bumped #2) by Megan McCafferty

Thumped (Bumped #2) by Megan McCafferty

Published: April 2012

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Available: Amazon

Synopsis:

It’s been thirty-five weeks since twin sisters Harmony and Melody went their separate ways. And now their story has become irresistible: twins separated at birth, each due to deliver twins…on the same day!

Married to Ram and living in Goodside, Harmony spends her time trying to fit back into the community she once believed in. But she can’t forget about Jondoe, the guy she fell for under the strangest of circumstances.

To her adoring fans, Melody has achieved everything: a major contract and a coupling with the hottest bump prospect around. But this image is costing her the one guy she really wants.

The girls’ every move is analyzed by millions of fans eagerly counting down to “Double Double Due Date.” They’re two of the most powerful teen girls on the planet, and they could do only one thing to make them even more famous:

Tell the truth.

Review:
When I first read the blurb for Thumped, I was really expecting a different story, but I really like the way McCafferty took the book.

In Thumped, Harmony is struggling to take on the responsibility of her pregnancy while living in a male controlled religious community. She wants to understand the laws of her religion, but every question she asks just sets her apart more. Goodside is using the publicity around the "Double Double Due Date" to promote procreation for God and as a form of responsibility the youth need to take on.

Melody meanwhile has been playing a duel role. Everyone, including her parents and believe she is pregnant with Johndoe's twins, but she is really wearing a high tech fake baby bump. She and Zen are planning on a big reveal to take a stand for condoms and for non-procreating sex. But their plan is complicated when she finally meets the couple who have already paid for her "babies".

I enjoyed Bumped, but for me Thumped was much better, partly because there is a solid ending that I could live with. It might sound strange considering both books are told in alternating view points between the girls, but for me Bumped was much more Melody's story and looking at how media distorts our perceptions of what is acceptable, while Thumped is Harmony's and looks at how we value life and the responsibilities a baby brings with it.

Thumped is much less controversial than Bumped, probably because the world McCafferty has created is now established and not such a shock to the reader. but it's message is the same. These books are not meant to promote teen pregnancy, or make light of it. I see them as a comment on our current society and the way media and reality TV is skewing young peoples' minds into believing that teen sex and teen pregnancy are completely acceptable and desirable. Just look at the girls from all of those MTV shows, and how they are getting on the cover of magazines and on talk shows simply because they had babies in their teens. They are making money off the fact that they either weren't responsible enough to wait to have sex or that they didn't use protection.


Thumped does a good job of questioning birth parent's rights, adoption, and the true value of human life. About halfway through, the ending became predictable, but it was still satisfying.

 

Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Bumped  
by Megan McCafferty 
Published: April 2011

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Available: Amazon

Synopsis:

In 2036 New Jersey, when teens are expected to become fanatically religious wives and mothers or high-priced surrogates for couples made infertile by a widespread virus, 16-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony find in one another the courage to believe they have choices.

Review:

I wasn't sure what to really expect going in to this one. I'm on a current dystopian high, and have loved pretty much all of the dystopians I've read lately. So, when I initially decided to read this I was excited, then I started reading reviews of other reviewers on Goodreads who I usually agree with, and they weren't the best.


Well, I went ahead and read it, and I'm glad. It wasn't the best book I've red this year, or even over the last few years, but I do think it took on a different angle of the dystopian genre. So many of which involve a war, and government oppression, where youth are disposable and looked down on. McCafferty sets up a world where teens have power, although they possibly don't even realize it. She uses the growing obsession with media and fame to demonstrate the huge impact both have on youth and how it effects what we as a society value. 

The contrast between Melody and Harmony was done nicely and despite an obvious lean towards showing how oppressive Harmony's life has been, there is a balance. Harmony's ideology focuses on the value of life, not just the giving of birth but also how you use your life to better that of others. Melody's is portrayed as self-indulgent and  materialistic but with more freedom than Harmony's. Both girls come to realize that neither world is perfect. The alternating points of view build this wonderfully and keeps either girl from becoming too annoying. 


The ending was a bit unexpected although not entirely surprising. It will lead nicely into the sequel, yet even if this were the end of the girls' story I'd feel satisfied. They both learned something about themselves and what they see for their future, even if it might not be perfect.