The Hive - Book Review

The Hive - Book Review

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Posted 2019-08-02 by Jennifer Muirheadfollow
"It was too late to take away their power- the Hive was too big by then - but it could be directed. Channelled." -from The Hive.

The internet was once a vicious and dangerous place, especially for women and people of colour, with trolls and doxxers ruining their victims' lives. The Hive was created to bring order to the chaos. In this brave new world, people who are found to be using the internet to bully or harm others are sanctioned using a system where users can vote to condemn them. When a user acquires enough 'condemns' they face real-world consequences, usually in the form of public humiliation.

Teenage coder, Cassie McKinney is just starting a new school and is eager to impress her new friends. When she makes an edgy joke online she is shocked when it brings the Hive down on her with a fury never before seen. Suddenly she is running for her life and doesn't know who to trust.

The Hive is an exciting young adult thriller, co-written by two New York Times bestselling authors, Morgan Baden, and her husband Barry Lyga (of The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl and the I Hunt Killers series). It's a cautionary tale about social media- both being careful what you say online, and being wary of who gets hold of your data and what they do with it. It's also about mob justice, and how easy it can be to join in a pile on, not thinking that it might someday be you who is the target. However, the authors manage not to be preachy, and to keep things exciting, with plenty of action and drama.

I loved Cassie's mother's ferocious defence of her daughter. Cassie herself, with all her flaws, is an interesting character. It's a fine thing when young adult heroes remind us that we all make stupid mistakes and that at least sometimes those mistakes can be fixed or forgiven.

I don't know enough about hacking to say whether this book gets the lingo correct, but it sounded okay to me. There is some strong language, and some violence, but it didn't feel gratuitous. In fact, the way it is used in just one or two scenes made it have a lot more impact.

The Hive is a cracking good YA read, which will probably appeal to fans of The Hunger Games and Black Mirror. Here's hoping the story isn't prophetic.
**
Disclaimer:** I was given a complimentary copy of this book by Kids Can Press, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Published: September 3, 2019

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85707 - 2023-06-11 07:13:02

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