This review was first posted on Ruby's Reads. 
 One of the things I enjoy about Dystopians is the myriad of ways in which they come about. Global warming? Civil War? Genetically engineered bees? Check, check and check. I more than just enjoy, though. I believe that back story is key to any good Dystopian. If the author doesn't have a solid, believable reason for his/her oligarchic, misogynist love/water/air/land-less world, I'm going to be dissatisfied. End of story. 
 Sadly, an easily comprehensible back story wasn't enough to make Stung a success. In a word, it felt rushed. There wasn't enough time for anything. For Fiona to make up for her lost years (the ones between 13 and 16 are not to be missed), for the romance to develop, for the corruption to be revealed, for the Dystopia to become...not. I can't believe I'm saying this-since stand-alones are so rare that I'm usually rooting in the opposite direction-but Stung should have had at least two more volumes. 
 However, even if more books had allowed Bethany Wiggins to slow the pace of her story, I'm not sure it would have worked for me. I was very much struck by the fact that the last age Fiona remembered being was 13. Even if she was physically 16, she'd missed three years of psychological development. Because of this, I was the slightest bit skeeved by the romance, and I have serious doubts about Fiona's state of mind. That kind of thing has got to mess with you. Hence the need for more volumes-time for Fiona to process and adjust a little. Or, even better, Wiggins could have left that twist out entirely. I wouldn't have minded. 
 The neatly packaged ending didn't work for me, either. Everything is resolved and wrapped up nicely in a tidy bow. Don't get me wrong-I'm all for resolution and happy endings! I just don't like it when they're too easy. For one thing, it makes things unrealistic. For another, they feel perfunctory. I want my MCs to earn their happy endings. In Stung, I simply made a face and turned off my Kindle.