My review of Stung

Stung (Stung #1) by Bethany Wiggins
Release Date: July 4, 2013
Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon | The Book Depository

In a world in crisis, children are the future. Part of the cure. Not now. Children are deadly. Marked one to ten. Fiona is a TEN. She just doesn't know it yet . . . She doesn't know her true strength. 

Fiona doesn't remember going to sleep. But she has woken to find her entire world has changed - her house is abandoned and broken, and her neighbourhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right wrist that she doesn't remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. And she's right. When the honeybee population collapsed, a worldwide pandemic occurred and the government tried to bio-engineer a cure. But instead the vaccination turned people into ferocious, deadly beasts. They have been branded as a warning to unvaccinated survivors. Key people needed to rebuild society are protected inside a fortress-like wall. Fiona has awakened branded, alone and on the wrong side of the wall . . .

I've never really thought about the important of bees. I mean, they're just tiny little creatures that fly around your face and food while you're trying to have a picnic or something, surely they could not impact the world so much if they weren't around? WRONG! 

Stung transports us into the future world where bees are extinct and everything is in chaos. Only one thing can save humanity: the children. They are marked one to ten, as part of the cure. Fiona is ten, even if she doesn't know what that is. Fiona wakes up after a long sleep and the world isn't exactly how she remembered it. She has a tattoo on her wrist and barely remembers anything from before her nap. Then she finds a companion who fills her in on the vaccination that was meant to save the future generation, but instead transformed them into deadly beasts. A wall separates the beasts from the survivors and those who hold the information to rebuilding the world. Fiona is a ten with a strong chance of turning into a beast in the middle of nowhere with no one to guide her back to her family who may be on the other side of the wall.

As soon as I read the blurb I knew I had to try this book out even after reading some mixed reviews. And I'm so glad I did pick this up because I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I loved the idea of it and the world building and it was just awesome! 

Fiona wasn't tough as other heroines may be, nor was she whiny and irritating like some *cough* Bella Swan *cough*, she was in the good inbetween stage where you could at least relate to her at some point; her decisions, her personality, etc. Especially when she has an unlikely encounter with her childhood friend, Dreyden Bowen. 

At first he isn't very nice to Fiona because he thinks she is a monster, but when he recognises who she is... he softens. And overtime, well, I say "overtime" but I don't mean a really long period of time, their feelings for each other grow and I loved how that showed a lighter and more innocent side to the story. First love and all.

Dreyden? I loved him. I loved his protective side and the way he always tried to help Fiona. I loved how they told childhood stories to each other and made the world around them seem so much more tragic. 

The book seems to end on an interesting cliffhanger that I'm sure the sequel will pick up nicely. I am actually really excited and genuinely looking forward to the sequel. Monsters, a broken world and a gripping romance, Stung is a dystopian that you won't want to miss in 2013 if your looking for debuts.

Rating

A review copy was provided by Bloomsbury