STUNG

by Cullen Scott

My Recommendation: *****

I found certain elements of this book quite unsettling, and I am not even a parent.

The book follows a number of characters; Tallon, Shadow, and Sofia being the main ones, each character tells the story in their own chapters.  It follows a world where everyone born has a chip implanted in their heads, and if they kill another person then they too die via this chip.  It has stopped murder, but not everyone wants their chips turned on at 16, and many run off to live off grid.  This story follows Tallon and Sofia, who are about to have their chips turned on, and how their lives begin to spin wildly out of control.

There are elements of this I hated, which unsettled me I should say, and the fact you are taking free control away from people at 16, not to mention having to live with certain consequences if things out of your own control happen, horrifying.  It is a dystopian world without even knowing it is one.  To take people's free will away, to discriminate a group who want to be able to make their own choices, and of course can you really trust anyone who puts a chip in your head?

This is a great book, one that has you digging your toes into the carpet and clenching your jaw without even realising it.  A must read and a hope for a another book to come.