{Review} Stung by Bethany Wiggins

Stung
by Bethany Wiggins
Series: Stung #1
Pages: 304
Release Date: April 2, 2013
by Walker Childrens (an imprint of Bloomsbury)

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There is no cure for being stung. Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered—her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand—a black oval with five marks on either side—that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right. Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark. Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.

*A copy was provided by Bloomsbury for review purposes*

What an amazing, amazing book.  Wow.  I don’t even know where to begin.  I was so into this book that at random times I was literally yelling at the pages, and my mom had to ask me if I was okay.  This book sucks you in so much and you can’t get out.  The idea for this book is absolutely amazing and unique, and the execution was perfect.  I loved how Wiggins didn’t immediately describe everything about the world and added that little bit of mystery about who Fiona was and what happened to her.  The writing was so amazing, and the story line was fast-paced and exciting.  One thing that I sometimes find lacking in books is a thrilling, believable escape from a difficult situation.  In this book, there are several situations where you are sure everyone is going to die, but Wiggins breaks them out in a very well thought-out way, and leaves you sitting there with an open mouth, asking yourself “How the heck did they survive that?”.  And then you have the romance which, I will admit, Wiggins didn’t really develop very much, but once it was there it was so sweet and genuine, I just loved it.  The ending was absolutely amazing, thrilling, and perfectly executed.  I don’t usually cry in books, but I was very close to crying because of what happened in the ending.  It was just so heart-wrenching and genuine that I couldn’t help it.  My one problem with this book is that there was one huge twist in this book, and Wiggins kind of hinted about two pages before it happened what was going to happen.  It took away the surprise and “what the heck just happened” aspect from the twist, and I really wished that it had just happened suddenly, without any hints before.  That little thing shouldn’t bother me as much as it did, it’s just that the rest of the book was so well done that this one little mess-up looked like a huge, glaring mistake.  Even though it really wasn’t.

Of course, such a thrilling, well-written book has to have a kick-butt cast, and this one doesn’t disappoint.  I absolutely LOVED this cast.  Fiona was such a strong ,well-developed character, and she completely controlled the book.  And then there’s Bowen.  Don’t even get me started on how awesome this guy is.  He was such a attractive, strong character, but also kind and caring, that you couldn’t help but fall in love with him.  And, like I said before, once the romance was established, it was so well-done and heartwrenching that you can’t help but love it.

For those of you who didn’t know, this book is a spin on Sleeping Beauty.  I don’t know about you guys, but I like this story better.  What with the amazing idea and story line, kick-butt characters, sweet romance, and events that could make Professor Umbridge cry, this is a book you CAN NOT pass up.

5 pink flowers