Stung

WARNING: This Review Might Have Some Spoilers: Stung has to be ONE of the best Dystopian novels I have EVER read! I was hypnotized from the first sentence to the last! I am in love with this book! As I was reading and I knew it was coming to an end, I caught myself reading slower and slower, trying to draw out the book as long as I could! I just wanted to keep reading and reading this story and didn't want to stop! Bethany has a way with words that sucks you in, and has you wanting more and more! I really enjoyed the world Bethany created! Stung did have the same background as a lot of other Dystopian novels, but at the same time it was unique and SO much different and BETTER then ANY Dystopian novel I have EVER read! The reason I say it has the same background is because it was kinda the same type of setting as other Dystopian novels. The end of the world with society spilt in different groups. Some safely behind the wall and some stuck on the outskirts of the city just fighting to survive. Then we have the army or a Bethany calls them in Stung the Militia who protects the outerwall and captures fec's and beast to take them to the lab to help find a cure for the infected. We also have the roofless gangs or as Bethany calls them the Raiders, that kidnap, rape and terrorize ANY female that they find! They also use to infected beast and fec's as pets and throw them in the pits to battle to the death for sport! Then we have the government or what's left of it. People who stepped up and claimed power for the "Inner Good Of The People" to take control and help to rebuild the community! Or what Bethany calls them the in Stung the innerguard, the ones safely behind the wall! But of course as in any good Dystopian novel the Marjory of the government is corrupt and power hungry! Then we have the most important, the infected! These things are NOT zombies. I guess you could say they act like zombies, but they are still alive and they only eat you if they have no other source of food, which in this book if your on the wrong side of the wall then their isn't much to eat unless your the Milita protecting the outerwall! Then we also have the normal people just trying to survive like in any good Dystopian novel. Even with all the similarities to other Dystopian novels this book is still VERY unique in it's own way! The Plot..... It ALL started with the bees! The bees were going extinct and if that happens then the people could very well go extinct too! Why, you wonder like I did before reading this novel? Well, because if their is no more bees left, then that would mean that their would be no source to pollen the plants and vegetables and if theirs no source to pollen the plants and vegetables, then that means that the plants and vegetables will start to die off, and if the plants and vegetables die off, then that means that the animals that feed on the plants and vegetables will start to die off too, then that means we as humans have NO source of food, then that means we will start to die off too! That right there was very real to me, and scary at the same time because as crazy as it seems I could very well see a world like that, the way Bethany has played it out in Stung! And when the world seems real then the book feels real! The bees were going extinct so the scientist stepped up to create and generated bee called the GenMod bees. Only problem with theses GenMod bees were that they killed off every last bee until ALL the bees were extinct! But it gets worse! These bees were also causing a deadly flu to humans. The bee flu virus was very contagious and could spread very easily. So it turns out that the GenMod bees were very hard to kill. So they created a vaccine to the bee flu and then their was hope again, that is until the people who started taking the vaccine started turning into mindless, lethal beast who preyed on humans! So Fiona wakes up in her abandoned house, and she's alone. But whats more disturbing is the tattoo of a black, spiderrish oval with ten legs on the back of her hand. She doesn't remember getting it and doesn't know what it stands for, but something inside her is telling her she must "Conceal The Mark", So that's what she does, not having a clue why! Only when she is attacked in her house does she finally realize that things are not the same as when she went to sleep, and she's right the world has changed! Fiona is in search for answers! She must find her family or what happened to them! She needs to know why the streets are abandoned except for people with guns or the dirty humans running to the sewers underground! But most important what are these people that are animal-like, feral, and why are they trying to attack and kill her! She has to figure all this out while trying to evade capture from every person, thing, or beast out there, around every corner waiting to get the hands on Fiona the 10, the most valuable fec known! But Fiona is lucky when she runs into a old neighbor along the way that now works with the Milita and at first he's a little reluctant to help Fiona because of her tattoo. But after seeing that she is a normal person and not a fec, he fights for her survival and even puts her safety above his! All while trying to fight the unedifying attraction he is having towards her and that is a BIG NO, NO! You don't catch feelings for the fec's! I mean this book was AMAZING, I really loved it and I loved the writing style Bethany has created in Stung! This book is an EASY 5 stars and it really deserves SO MUCH MORE then just a 5! I will be eagerly awaiting the second book in this series, expected to release in January 2014! So long away, I don't know how I'll ever survive that long without the sequel! :)

This was a random purchase on my kindle and I am very pleased that I bought it. I usually peruse the kindle store in between finding a fantastic book series and looking for my next. I made this purchase because the reviews said you gotta give it a shot if you like post-apocalyptic, and that I do, so that I did. The other reviews go well into detail on the main plots of the book, the different take on after the world goes to hell, etc. I want to tell you that this is a quick read, not easy mind you, just quick. If you are in between books and looking for something to tide you over until you decide what to read next, check this one out, it is a fantastic refreshing take on the genre. If it's free for your kindle, go ahead and check it out, if it costs something just pick it up, I can lend to some people if you want let me know. If this review was helpful let me know also, any questions just ask. Thanks and hope you enjoy.

Fiona just woke up to an abandoned house, a desolate neighborhood and a strange tattoo on her hand. Oh, and there's someone -- someTHING -- inside her house. Scrambling for safety, Fiona races to the deserted streets, searching for answers. It's obvious that something is very off. The last she remembers, Fiona was only eleven-years-old, but now she is at least in her mid-teens. What happened to her? What happened to the world she once knew? Why are all of the people that are left in her city patrolling their homes with guns? Why are all of the girls disguising themselves as boys? What are those insanely fast creatures everyone is so afraid of? And what does the tattoo on her hand mean? Unsure of who she can trust, Fiona is thrown into this new dangerous world with little hope for survival. She soon learns the mark on her hand definitely means something -- she is infected, and according to the mark she is very deadly. But, she doesn't feel deadly. There are some who want her dead, and some who want to capture her. With no survival skills, no one on her side, and no clue as to what people may want from her, Fiona will have to think fast if she wants to keep her freedom -- and more importantly -- her life. When scientists try to reverse the possible extinction of bees, they create a new kind of bee whose sting is deadly. A vaccine is created that has undesirable effects, and eventually leads to the destruction of civilization. As with many dystopian novels, the setting is bleak. There are several classes -- in this case it's mainly those who live outside the wall and those who live safely inside. You also have the soldiers who patrol just outside the wall, hunting the infected, and the "Fecs" (people who have been infected but haven't yet turned deadly). The world was well-described and fairly vivid. Fiona, the MC and narrator, was very well-developed. She had a childlike quality about her, but it was understandable seeing as how her last memory was from when she was eleven. Her fear and unease was palpable which added to the tension of the book. Arrin, a "Fec" who Fiona meets in the beginning of the book, is a creepy little thing. You never know if you can trust her or not. She gives Fiona survival tips, but these tips usually come with a price. The other lead character is Bowen, a soldier who Fiona realizes later on used to be a schoolmate and her neighbor. He's really the only person Fiona connects with, but even that is hard to do when Bowen's job is to eradicate the infected, and Fiona is, in fact, infected. There is a romance that develops between the two, and it wasn't cringe-worthy. The fact that they knew each other before the outbreak staved off the dreaded insta-love. Ms. Wiggins has crafted a pulse-pounding, nail-biting dystopian thriller. The story moves along at breakneck speed, barely allowing you time to breathe between action scenes. The book begins with a bang and barely lets up. Still, she manages to give you plenty of information about the world and the circumstances. I never once felt confused. My only complaint was that some of the scenes/characters felt a bit recycled from other works, mainly the governor behind the wall. His personality was similar to that of the governor in The Walking Dead. Even his "cage matches" between the infected and those he deemed unworthy were similar to the before-mentioned series. Of course, you may not even catch this if you don't watch that show or read the comics. Interesting characters, a pulse-pounding pace and an interesting concept make this one a must-read for fans of dystopian thrillers. I loved the idea that this all stemmed from the extinction of bees. Until I read this book, I didn't realize what an impact bees have on our civilization. Let's hope this never happens.

This book was so good, it had twist and turns and every second my eyes were wide open ready to ready more. I was sad when I got done reading. Excited to read the sequel, I just ordered it!!

My intention this morning was to rake my lawn, but the last 100 pages kept whispering how much better an option it would be to sit and finish the book. They were right. This is a story with enough twists and intriguing characters to set it above many YA books I've read in the past couple years. The romantic chemistry appears in a surprising way and develops very nicely, mixed in with plenty of action and suspense. It's a book many of my library patrons will enjoy as soon as it's added to the collection.

Lots of action, a touch of romance, horror and mystery. Loved it and will be reading the next book! :)

Enjoyable and worth a read