This highly entertaining book is like The Purge meets Insurgent by way of Ready Player One. Categorized as a Young Adult book, The Hive tells the very timely story of a high school student, Cassie, going viral for making a really tasteless joke. Unfortunately, she lives in a future version of the U.S. (set approximately five years from now), where making a mistake online can lead to very harsh consequences.

Ostensibly designed to minimize online bullying, The Hive gives American social media users the opportunity to like or condemn everything that's posted on a website similar to Twitter. If any post's ratio dips too far into the condemn category, a Hive Flash Mob breaks out with the intention of meting out justice. In one example, a cheating husband was publicly shamed be being forced to strip nude and run from a large group out for blood.

The co-authors really nailed the current social media environment, along with how it would likely be altered by the introduction of something like The Hive. Readers are asked to think about the consequences of everyone's online actions, including whether or not it's ever okay to harass or dox someone, even if they've done something truly heinous.

Full of wit, sass, and vital social questions, this book is virtually certain to become one of the biggest YA hits of the year. The inclusion of profanity that goes beyond the most minimal basics was a bold choice for the writers and publisher - especially in a book aimed at teens, whose parents may become quite incensed by the language - but it fits the story well and is likely to be embraced by most teen readers.

There are a few instances of repetition that prevented this from being a 5-star book, but it's still more than exciting enough to keep readers of all ages rapidly turning the pages. I definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy YA stories such as Insurgent and The Hunger Games.

One word of caution: if you're a staunch conservative or a Trump supporter, The Hive may be difficult for you to stomach. At its core, this is a book that strongly reflects current events and presents a very open-minded, liberal approach to the nation's many problems. At the same time, it also begs people to both believe victims and insist on a thorough investigation into every harmful claim before simply tossing someone's reputation down the drain.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Government conspiracy, mob justice, and how technology can detach us from our humanity all make for an engaging and addictive read!

After the loss of her dad and a move to a much smaller home in time for a brand new school her senior year, Cassie is understandably angry. A brilliant hacker/coder of a well known father, she is invited to the cheating circle of the popular/mean girl clique in her school. One of their goals is to trend positive on the social media profile assigned to all people in the Hive. The Hive exists to monitor and control social media behavior. Dox someone or troll them online and it can earn you likes, but also condemn points. Earn enough condemn points and the Hive assigns you a level of punishment, administered typically by your local community. It is public shaming taken offline. It may be walking around naked with something written on you in marker, or having garbage thrown on you for the trash you spread online. The higher the level, the more severe (and physical) the punishment.

In an attempt to receive mean girl approval, Cassie makes a crass comment about the grandchild of a President, and practically overnight she goes from level 1 to level 5 and beyond. Abandoned by her so called friends, Cassie and her mom go on the run to protect her. In doing so they encounter a resistance group, government overreach, and the brutality of mob justice.

It is a timely book, especially in the wake of social media mob justice, where one comment can destroy your life even before you get a chance to present your side. I was hooked from the beginning and could not put this book down. The characters are believable and well written. The tension is weaved beautifully throughout the book and you will be flipping pages to see what happens next.

Cassie is a teenager and her decisions are teenager decisions. Teens can be impulsive without thinking about consequences and you will see this in Cassie's thought processes and decision making. If this is going to bother you, this probably won't be the book for you. She is a kid. She does impulsive kid things even when the danger is great.

My biggest struggle with the book was keeping up with all of the technology/coding terms, as I am not that advanced in my tech know how. So that part was a bit over my head but the authors keep the writing functional for those of us that are not brilliant coders. Like all dystopian like fiction, there is some suspension of belief in some areas, but overall the authors wrote a solid book. It could certainly lead to wonderful discussions about social media, mob justice, and the addictive nature of looking for likes/streaks between parents/educators and teens.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for providing an Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I thought this book was interesting and warrants a lot of discussions about social media and the mob mentality. The actual plot of the book was eh for me but I really appreciated the point it makes about how our lives are consumed by what we see online and that is why it was 3 instead of 2 stars.

I loved this book! It drew me in from the very first line and took me with it through all the twists and turns on the edge of my seat. I’d recommend this book to my friends and family and absolutely to any media center student who asks.

The Hive

How many times have you seen a post online that angers you, annoys you, bores you. Imagine having the power to condemn the person behind that post.

Cassie is just your average tech-savvy teenager, who is trying to fit into a new school.

The Hive is a safe, fair system to dole out justice to people who have caused trouble online. And, it's completely legal.

So, what could possibly go wrong when Cassie posts a joke online? The Hive want condemnation.

This story reminded me of films such as 'The Maze Runner' and 'Ready Player One'. It had a group of people going against the system and there was a lot of technology and computer referencing.

I'll be honest at times some of the computer jargon that I was reading, did go over my head slightly 😜 "An API was an application programming interface — it was the way programmers communicated with code they hadn’t written. Systems had APIs that hooked into aspects of their functionality"

But, you don't need to be a computer geek or code expert to follow the storyline 👍🏻

This story deals with the dangers of social media. The technology in this book might be a bit further advanced than what we have around at the moment, but, it's an insight to a possible future 😮 and it's quite disturbing.

A thrill ride of a read, that keeps you entertained to the end. And, also makes you hope that this fantasy story doesn't become reality 😧

A brilliant internet thriller!!!

Cassie, an only child, lived with her mother. She missed her dad terribly. Now attending a new high school, she has to reach out to make new friends.

The Hive is the way for "the people" to have a voice on anything (and everything) on the internet. The ratings were compiled and if someone had a large enough "condemn" number of votes, there was a price to pay. Even the government, including the police force, had to follow the guidelines of the Hive. No one wanted a Mob Hive to gather against them.

No one was safe...

Nowhere was safe...

WOW! What an amazing read! Action, suspense and thrills!

Don't MISS this heart-pounding story!

Many Thanks to Kids Can Press and NetGalley for a thriller for all age groups!

Going into this, I was already a Barry Lyga fan, his I Hunt Killer series was a favourite of mine.
I’m also secretly a fan of thrillers so this ticked a few boxes for me.

Through the entire book I kept thinking “what if this is our future?” We are already so tech centric, that I can easily see something like The Hive being implemented and that’s freaking scary!

All in all I really enjoyed this book.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.