A Review: Stung by Bethany Wiggins

(The Blurb again!)

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 Review:
Oh, Stung, Stung, Stung. Sigh.....
Where to start?
So I have been really excited about reading this book since about late January. It's not so much that it disappointed me, it's just some things I found a little strange, so I guess I'll start with the main characters:
Fiona- I just really love her name. Also I felt for her, she wakes up alone in her home which is abandoned and falling apart (which is not how she remembers it) only to be attacked minutes later by a creature who turns out to be her twin brother. I can't think of anything that really bothers me about her character, I'm super grateful she wasn't a complainer even when sometimes she definitely could have been, but sometimes she was a tiny bit naïve and very quick to pull the trigger (sometimes that was literally). Plus I wish she was more of a fighter (not like skilled but just spirit wise) I guess it came in spurts.
Arrin-Oh Lord this one angers me. I was all the time torn between liking her (or maybe him?) or if I totally wanted to slap her in the face. I definitely made up mind be the end and so did her gender. But I will give her /him credit she was such a scrapper even when I did not like her for it!
Bowen- Oh Bowen, I know some reviews gave him hell for hitting a girl, but one he did not know she was a girl, but a fec who could probably handle it (they are usually super strong) and, okay, so I don't have a two except for he has a bunch of built up anger issues which are understandable and plus he is stuck with this job he does not want and with a creature he is afraid of, still not good reasons for hitting anybody, but I just like him and after a little while he kind of opened his shell and became the guy in  a book where I skip ahead a few pages to make sure he is coming back soon then go back to where I was at so I don't really skip anything but know in ten pages I will have more Bowen! Also he has one of my favorite lines in the book!
I really liked the idea of this story and the bee aspect was pretty cool and I think the author did execute it pretty well.
Now the BAD:
(Disclaimer! If anyone ever shoots me I will NOT, I repeat, will NOT be forgiving them three seconds later without even an apology and apology aside it will be years before we are square again, I'm just saying.)
I don't have many complaints with this story other than sometimes it could be a bit cheesy (romantically and otherwise), sometimes things went by without an explanation or I guess a second thought (see disclaimer). I'm sorry but that one really shocked me and I felt not enough was said about it!
Other thing is the ending felt a bit rushed like maybe it could have been dragged out a bit longer (I never say that about a book usually but....)
The ending does leave a cliffhanger so I am sure there will be another book to the story and I am sure I will be reading it. All and all I liked it! Now this story is not a 4 more like a high 3 so I will round:

                                                                         My Rating:

Favorite Line: "You might as well have eaten my heart straight from my living body. I would rather die a thousand times at your hands than see you captured. Even if you eat my heart. Because you already own it." ( I find this extremely hilarious and maybe sweet at the same time, maybe...)

Favorite character: Jonah (read the book you will know why)

 

 



 

A Review: The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

(The Blurb)

It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long - at least, up until last November, when Josh did something that changed everything. Things have been weird between them ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD in the mail,his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn't been invented yet. And they're looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.

By refreshing their pages, they learn that making different decisions now will affect the outcome of their lives later. And as they grapple with the ups and downs of what their futures hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right - and wrong - in the present.

Okay so two things.
Firstly I would like to say: GUSH!!
Secondly, I am a product of the 90's so when I heard about this book and that it was set in 1996 I figured  I would have ZERO trouble connecting with the story. So very glad that was true. I thoroughly enjoyed The Future of Us. The idea that these two characters could connect to the Internet (dial-up GRRR!) and automatically be logged onto their Facebook page nearly twenty years into the future is such a clever and intriguing idea (especially in today's society where media and technology practically rule). I definitely have to give a round of applause to the authors for their truly original and unique (BRILLIANT!) idea! Now to the characters!
I really liked/loved the protags and their sidekicks. I will say that I think me liked Josh just a smidgen more than Emma. She makes some kind of, if not questionable than at least, selfish choices, but that being said I completely understand her plight.
I mean having access to their futures like that and knowing that any major decision made could somehow shift you entire future leading them to happiness and even sometimes unhappiness, is a lot to take on. The book just begs to asks the question, just like the main characters do, if you could see how your life turns out while your still young, a teenager, would you stay on this path even if it means unhappiness? Would you try to change it even if it affects the people surrounding you? And if you did try to change it should you?
Wow! I just love this story and concept and I definitely recommend this book to readers of young and old (gosh I hate using old how about delicately aged??).

                                                                        My Rating:
                                                           

This book was published October 16, 2012 by Razorbill
The Future of Us @ Amazon.com