Cured by Bethany Wiggins

Series: Stung (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: post-apocalyptic, romance, survival, zombies

Setting: Denver, Colorado

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Jacqui (16-year-old female side character from previous book that pretended to be a 12-year-old boy)

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 311 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Summary/ product description: “Now that Fiona Tarsis and her twin brother, Jonah, are no longer beasts, they set out to find their mother, with the help of Bowen and a former neighbor, Jacqui. Heading for a safe settlement rumored to be in Wyoming, they plan to spread the cure along the way--until they are attacked by raiders. Luckily, they find a new ally in Kevin, who saves them and leads them to safety in his underground shelter. But the more they get to know Kevin, the more they suspect he has ties to the raiders. He also seems to know too many details about Jacqui and her family—details that could endanger them all. For the raiders will do anything they can to destroy the cure that would bring an end to their way of life. Bethany Wiggins’s reimagining of our world after an environmental catastrophe won’t fail to stun readers.”

My Review:  Cured is a dystopian retelling loosely based of Red-Riding Hood. Stung was a loose retelling of Sleepy Beauty. Cured as references other fairy tales and stories, but it deviates. Cured is a very unique dystopian novel, second book in the Stung series. I was a little confused going into it because I forgot whom Jacqui is, but I learned pretty early on that she was the side character girl in the previous book who is pretending to be a 12-year-old boy so raiders don’t take her away. Woman and girl are not safe in this world. There are also zombies known as Beasts who were infected by the Bee Flu Vaccination and want to kill.

Cured was a pretty fast read. It’s fast-paced and uncomplicated. Once you get into it, you won’t feel so confused. There’s survival and a hot romance. Jacqui is very independent and does a good impersonation of a pre-teen boy, but other than the necessary cross-dressing, she’s like any other teenage girl. She notices guys. Her and a character named Kevin develop a relationship. He’s able to see past the disguise somehow and think’s she’s beautiful no matter what.

Cured also has a few unexpected twists. Something about Kevin, and others about family members. There’s also something very unique about the female lead. Back when Jacqui was 14, she was very fat, possibly obese. Both her and her mom were not allowed in the walled city because of their health problem. Jacqui was able to overcome her weight through running on a treadmill. She’s lean as ever, but probably from the lack of food variety.

I love the setting in Cured. Denver, Colorado is a city I visited about ten years ago, but I remember how awesome it was. I love it when a book is set in a familiar city or area. I love the mountains and foothills. It’s such a beautiful place.

I you haven’t read Stung or Cured, I recommend them to fans of dystopian books. It has some of the elements of post-apocalyptic/zombie dystopian books you are familiar with, but they are unique enough to pick you from a reading slump. If you liked books like Under The Never Sky or Rot & Ruin, then give it a try.

Cover Art Review: Very interesting cover. Not as good as the 1^st book’s cover, which has a rainbow effect on the bee’s wings. I do like the neon green beaker with the bee in it, but the bee is creepy. I think it's actually a horse fly.

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