Book Review: The Bump | Sidney Karger

Sidney Karger’s latest novel, The Bump, is a charming and hilarious novel following two men expecting a baby via surrogate as they take the road trip of a life time.

What is The Bump about?

Wyatt Wallace is a practical, super organized director of TV commercials. Biz Petterelli is a child-actor-turned-magazine-writer who thrives on spontaneity. Though polar opposites, they are fully committed to their relationship and their life in Brooklyn with their dog, Matilda. They’re also about to have a baby together.

And they’re freaking out.

They’ve both dreamed of becoming parents, but now that it’s happening, they’re doubting everything. Their baby is due in a few weeks and instead of flying to California just before the birth as planned, Biz has a better idea. They could use one last hurrah, along with some serious “us-time” to mend the issues they’ve been having lately—before they get tied down by fatherhood and its impending responsibilities. So the daddies-to-be load up their 1992 Volkswagen Cabriolet and embark on an epic cross-country babymoon. They attempt to recharge at the beach in Provincetown, stumble through their impromptu baby shower in Chicago, and endure a Star Wars -themed wedding in Colorado before heading west for the baby.

But when they take several unexpected detours, old wounds are reopened and secrets spill out that could change their relationship for better or for worse, forcing the couple to reexamine the meaning of family while building their own. After all, what’s a road trip without a few bumps along the way?

What did I think?

Some books are just simply fun and filled with heart, and The Bump is that type of book! Balancing emotional and heartfelt moments with laugh-out-loud ones, I can’t imagine reading this without a smile on my face and warmth radiating through my heart!

Wyatt Wallace is as serious and structured as his partner Massimo “Biz” Petterelli is breezy and creative. The couple is trying to have a baby and the story follows their voyage-to-parenthood that is full of highs, lows, and everything in between. As anyone who has had a baby knows, the journey getting there is never the one you expected!

Biz and Wyatt are using a surrogate, and unfortunately she lives across the country from the couple. Free-spirited, former child-actor Biz has the brilliant idea to take a road trip to California rather than flying there for the birth. This could be their last chance for wild, fun, and free hijinks for a while. They also hope to spend time together and heal some of the bumps in their relationship as of late. They hope to bring a baby into their family in the best place they can be.

Of course, in the same way the journey to parenthood never goes as planned, neither does their road trip. Despite having everything mapped out before they go, unexpected detours and unplanned incidents cause secrets and long-buried hurt to bubble up to the surface. There’s nothing to put pressure on a strained relationship quite like a cross-country road trip with just you, your partner, and your dog!

Watching Biz and Wyatt confront things in their relationship that they have tried to push aside or gloss over was emotional and lovely and hard all at once. These are the kind of conversations that need to happen before being parents, but they aren’t easy and things get worse before they get better sometimes. I kept wondering if they would even make it to California for the birth! Let’s just say the title is fitting—lots of bumps along the way to parenthood for this couple, but love can overcome many challenges!

This book absolutely charmed me. The central couple are fantastic and the characters are so different but I loved them together. Their journey was full of funny and hard and touching moments. I love these types of books because I know that somehow I’m going to get a great ending, so I can just enjoy the ride.

This is a must-read for anyone who loves a novel that is equal parts funny and heartfelt!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.