Stung by Bethany Higgins

Series: Stung (bk. 1)

Genera: Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: Post-apocalyptic, zombies, bees, survival

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 291 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Summary/ product description: “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.”

My Rating:  êêêê

My Review: This is a very unique dystopia/post-apocalyptic book. Who’d of though the world would end by bees going extinct? The world didn’t really end. They genetically modified the bees and the bees spread the flu, and the vaccine for that flu caused the zombies (or insane people). Oh, and honey has become currency. It’s very complex, and the author did a good job of it. Very good world building. And the fact that it’s kind of like Sleeping Beauty retold is pretty awesome. Be honestly, this is nothing like the fairy tale. There’s a lot of gruesome stuff. Gross parts that I tried not to image because I didn’t want to imagine the smell.

The characters were pretty interesting. Fiona had a weird nickname, Fo. She woke up in her bed not remembering the last four years, thinking she was still 13. She eventually remember some of it. Also, she had to pretend to be a boy a lot of the time, and this Arrin character, a fec, helped her in the beginning.

I really liked the love interest Dreydan Bowen because he treated Fiona well, unlike everyone else who though she would turn just because she’s a Ten. And they’d treat her worse if they knew she was a girl. Bowen is part of the militia, and used to be a classmate of hers. He doesn’t recognize her at first because she cut her hair to look like a boy.

This book is action packed, with some violence and fight scenes (near the end mostly). I definitely think that guys would like this book, not just girls. The romance may appeal more to the girls, but the action may appeal to the guys. It’s a very easy read, and probably readable in a day, or one-sitting if you prefer not to take breaks. There’s some thought provoking stuff in here that makes me happy that bees aren’t going extinct. I don’t like bees or honey, but they keep plants alive and reproducing, so they’re pretty necessary to the environment.

If you like any post-apocalyptic dystopian fiction, zombies or other kinds, you should give this a try. It’s different, but still has the familiar sci-fi genera. And it’s set in Denver, Colorado (I’ve been there!) which is an awesome place.

Cover Art Review: I love this cover! It’s the perfect kind of minimalistic that’s still interesting and compelling. I love the bee-syringe merge. I also love the condensed typeface for the title and author. I especially love the holographic rainbow effect on the bee.

~Haley G