Under a Blood Red Sky

Thumped picks up several months after Bumped left off--twins Harmony and Melody are once again separated but both are struggling with their life choices in a society where only teenaged girls can become pregnant. Harmony has returned to Goodside to attempt to fit in with "husband" Ram, even though she's now pregnant with twins after her one night stand with professional stud, Jondoe, and to say it's not going well is an understatement. Confused about what she wants in life, Harmony's still longing for the beautiful Jondoe, even though she's making a valiant attempt to be a faithful member of her religion. Meanwhile, Melody is "pregnant" as well...or is she? It's not really a spoiler to say that Melody, Zen, and Jondoe are playing out the biggest scam on the world to date to raise awareness of how young girls are being exploited into making babies before they are mentally ready to do so.







The action is fast and gripping with short chapters that make the book fly by. Told in the alternating viewpoints of Melody and Harmony, we see the twins rebel against a system that uses young girls' bodies as baby making factories. There are romances and deep family bonds as well as revealed secrets as the story unfolds; I especially like how the book ends because it seems like a realistic way to bring the story to a close. The absence of any adult with common sense takes away a level of believabiltiy, but overall this book is just as engaging and fun as the first. Definitely an enjoyable read!
 
~taminator40