Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Book Review: Cured by Bethany Wiggins

Title: Cured (Stung #2)
Author: Bethany Wiggins
Enjoyment Rating: **
Source: Digital Copy
Content Alert: violence

I feel like I'm coming into this novel at a disadvantage, having never read Stung, which presumably sets up the dystopian premise of the series, that a bee flu turns people into beasts, and the same bees no longer pollinate crops, so everything is scarce. Sounds like a fascinating premise, right? In Cured, the protagonists of the first novel, Fiona and Jonah, hook up with some neighbors, Bowen and Jacqui (who goes as Jack and pretends to be a guy for safety's sake), to spread the cure that saved their lives and look for their mother. Along the way, they run into Kevin, who may be either their savior or the one who undoes their mission, and prevents thousands from being cured along the way.

I felt pretty lost from the beginning of the novel. In Wiggins's defense, most of the problem was mine-- I was trying to read quickly, and since I didn't have a great understanding of the world she created and wasn't willing to take the time to read between the lines to figure it out, I never felt especially compelled by the story. I did feel compelled by Jack's character, as a former fat girl who lost weight in order to pass as a boy, we get to see her come to terms with both her body and her intelligence as she decides whether or not to give herself over to love. All in all, Cured was not my favorite read, but perhaps the problems had more to do with me than with the author.

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