{Review} Cured by Bethany Wiggins

Cured
by Bethany Wiggins
Series: Stung #2
Pages: 320
Release Date: March 4, 2014
by Walker Childrens

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There is no “perfect” cure.

Jacqui still remembers what it was like before the honeybee virus destroyed her world. Before children turned into beasts and men desperate for power became raiders. Before she had to disguise herself as a boy. And before her brother, Dean, left and enver came back.

Jacqui asks Fiona and Jonah Tarsis to help find Dean, since he disappeared while leading their mother to safety. They immediately agree, and together they all quickly set out—along with Fiona’s boyfriend, Bowen—in search of their loved ones. But Jacqui soon discovers that they’ve kept a very dangerous secret from her: they have the cure.

The cure that could save those infected with the virus. If they can keep it safe.

With their survival hanging in the balance, Jacqui and her friends must restore their families, preserve the cure, and fight for the chance to rebuild their shattered world.

*REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*

They are whited out so you can only read them if you highlight the text

Somehow I enjoyed this book way more than its prequal.

I think the main reason is Jacqui (or Jack, as she is referred to the entire book). She was the complete opposite of Fiona, the main character from the previous book and the main focus of my ire while reading. Unlike Fiona, Jacqui was motivated, resourceful, fierce, and a force of nature. She refused to be protected, to allow others to risk their lives for her, to be put on the bench. Granted, her family gave her all the skills and abilities she needed to survive, but she was the one who absorbed all the information she was being given. She became who she was because she wanted to, which is in direct contrast to Fiona. Jacqui was a great character on her own, I just like to take any chance I can get to shame Fiona. Jacqui was scared, she had doubts, but she overcame them, and that is what made her such a strong character. The best characters have weaknesses, and the strength it takes to overcome those weaknesses is what is relatable and lovable. I think the reason she was so unwilling to be shoved behind someone and protected when she left her home was because she had spent her entire time since the bee flu broke out being ordered inside. She was never trusted or allowed the leave the house, even though everyone else could go where they pleased. I respect her desire to leave, her desire to move, her desire to live, her desire to do something worthwhile. She left for the same reasons her older brother did, and I really felt their bond and similarities throughout the book. I thought Jacqui was a great character, and I loved seeing her internal struggle between fear and the desire to do what was right. Plus she dreams about food, so I relate to her on a spiritual level.

And I don’t know why, but I loved Dean. I immediately felt this need to protect him, I don’t know why. We got to know him through the flashbacks and I saw him as a really good, caring person. The progression of events that lead to the reveal of his real purpose was so well done. He had this desire to do more, do better, than just surviving. He wanted to make a difference, even if he helped only one person. [SPOILER: But that wasn’t enough for him, he went right for the big bad guy. The person he turned into, the reputation he created as Hastings, must have destroyed him. He was known as a vicious, cruel, ruthless leader, and he had to become that so he could destroy the raiders. He had to destroy himself to protect everyone. In the wide expanse between Hastings and Dean is endless amounts of pain and self-sacrifice. Dean had to do terrible things for the greater good. And he did it, and he survived it, and was able to go back to his wife and child when it was all done.] I love that dude, and I love his relationship with Jacqui.

I also want to mention Jonah, because I have such a soft spot for that kid. The poor guy is haunted by what he did while under the influence of the vaccine. It isn’t his fault, but he bears the emotional and physical scars of his time as a beast, and it really makes me sad to seem him like that. He shuffles around with his face covered and head down and truly believes people think of him as hidous, that he doesn’t deserve love. That makes me so damn sad. JONAH DESERVES THE WORLD. He did so much to protect his (ungrateful) sister (and by the way, it was never explained how he was even able to suppress the beast long enough to do that) but only focuses on the terrible things. I really liked how Jacqui comforted him and propped him up, even though she went about it in a really weird way, but looking back it makes sense. [SPOILER: There was nothing romantic about their kiss, but it made a huge statement. It showed that he wasn’t repulsive, that she wasn’t afraid of him, that he was worthy of love and respect, and I really liked seeing that play out.] Honesty, I loved Jacqui’s relationships with Dean and Jonah way more than I liked her relationship with Kevin.

I don’t know where I stand with that dude. My opinion changed every five minutes in accordance with the way the events unfolded, which was Wiggins’ intent. [SPOILER: I think what the book narrative <i>wants</i> me to think is he was a nice guy who was doing a good thing and then he fell in love with a girl and lied to her a little bit but in the end he was protecting her.] I mean, ok. Now that I’ve finished the book, I’ll buy it. But when I was reading, I was leaning the other way. [SPOILER: I guessed pretty early on that he was the vagabond so I really didn’t like the fact that he was creeping on her while in disguise and lying to her when he finally met her as Kevin. And THEN I thought he was a raider and he was dead to me. But then it turned out he was the good guy, and I realized I played right into Wiggins’ hands with my mood swings, so props to her for writing such a thrilling book.] I just feel like the core of his character was based on his love for Jacqui. I would have liked to see him as more of his own person. [SPOILER:We did get his backstory and saw him in flashbacks, but we didn’t know that was him at the time.]

Now, the one thing that Wiggins’ didn’t improve from the last book was the instantaneous romance. [SPOILER: She attempted to develop it on Kevin’s side with his months of visiting Jacqui as the vagabond and falling for her then, but that is kind of see-through because their only interactions were when she gave him food. They never conversed and she didn’t know who she was really speaking to, so he didn’t know her as a person. Yes, her kindness in giving him food was very telling about the person she is but still.] And even if we accepted that attempt at development, that does nothing to make up for the fact that Jacqui fell in love with him in literally two days (the same amount of time it took for Fiona to fall in love with Bowen). [SPOILER: While Kevin was allegedly falling in love with her, Jacqui thought he was a gross old beggar. It doesn’t make any sense that she would suddenly love him deeply that quickly, especially when she knows he is lying to her.] Any way you look at it, it was a very poorly done romance. And, unlike with Fiona and Bowen, once they were together, it didn’t work for me. [SPOILER: It probably had something to do with the fact that Kevin was keeping something from her, but I just really didn’t feel the chemistry between the two.]

But I really liked how character-driven the book was. The relationships were what made me invested, and two scenes in particular really hit me hard. [SPOILER: One was the scene when Jacqui decided to go in front of the dogs instead of Kevin. She had this whole thought process about good people not deserving bad things to happen to them, and she realized Kevin’s desire to take her place and die the next morning made him a good person, which meant he didn’t deserve to die. She understood he was willing to die for her, that she had accepted his offer, but she couldn’t go through with it.] That scene really hit me hard, and I know it took so much strength for her to come to that conclusion. It showed how selfless and caring she is, and what she is willing to do for the people she cares about. [SPOILER: The other scene was when she read the letter from her brother. The last line of the letter, when Dean told her he was wrong to say boys don’t cry, hit me so deep. I don’t know why, I really don’t. I remember the part earlier in the book when he told her to stop crying because boys don’t cry and mentally planting a red flag there because my inner feminist was rearing its head. But then at the end, to parallel that scene, Dean says that’s not true, that he cried. I guess it’s because I feel this protectiveness for the guy, and I know what he sacrificed to achieve his goals.] That shit hit me right in the gut.

But there is one small thing that my inner feminist cannot let slide. This book majorly revolves around gender. This is a world where men rule and women are seen as objects, but that’s not the problem I have with the gender dynamics. The whole reason women have to cut their hair, bind their breasts, and try their best to look like men is based on the fact that men are unable to control themselves around a woman. It seems the men’s first priority is to find women and rape them, and are willing to go to extensive lengths to do that. The narrative paints men as mindless animals with no self-control. They are reduced to glorified beasts, only they don't lust for blood, but women. That’s just a very stereotypical and degrading way to paint them. In contrast, women are seen as completely helpless. Every time there is a dangerous situation, all the “good” men immediately throw the women behind them or lock them somewhere for their safety. Women apparently aren’t allowed at the table when the men are making plans. Fiona took that order laying down, but Jacqui fought against it, so clearly that was supposed to be debate within the book. Nevertheless, these sexist undertones—towards both men and women— were really killing me. And I know it’s a different time and I’m probably going to sound like a radical feminist, but I swear I’m not even stretching here. The dynamics are pretty easy to see.

But god, the story was also really damn good. When it first started out I was like “oh come on, the entire plot of this book is going to be centered around finding an old lady?!” I had zero faith in this book, but man was I proven wrong. This book was a rollercoaster. So many twists, so many turns, so much action and suspense. It was a really complicated plot and there really weren’t any holes. Trust me, I was looking for them. And I did find some and was like “AH HA, GOTCHA”, but then later they were explained away. The only thing is, they weren’t directly explained, I had to put two and two together, so someone who couldn’t make the jump probably would have been left in the dark, but it’s fine. It’s fun to connect the dots. The lure of the fabled sanctuary in Wyoming and the fight to survive and the struggle to decide who to trust was so interesting to read about. And God, Wiggins really had me breaking a sweat with those plot twists. Everything was so well done, so well thought out. I saw some things coming, but most of the time I was completely blindsided. I love the way Wiggins’ mind worked when it came to staging and the course of events. [SPOILER: There were no loose ends, not even when it came to the dogs.] I loved this book and this story, I really did.

Listen. I was in a bad mood when I read this book, and after reading the prequel, I was looking for plot holes and reasons to hate this book. But I couldn’t find them. Despite my best efforts, I really enjoyed this book. Yes, there were some things wrong with it, it wasn’t perfect, but the positives largely outnumbered the negatives. That’s all you can ask for, to be honest.