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gracedwithbooks's review against another edition
2.0
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.
Honestly, it just went to fast and was pretty boring for me. I didn't connect with the main character and just felt like I had wasted time after having read it.
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.
Honestly, it just went to fast and was pretty boring for me. I didn't connect with the main character and just felt like I had wasted time after having read it.
cnewby927's review against another edition
2.0
2 Stars
The concept for this book was crazy interesting because this could be our future, very Black Mirror.
Unfortunately for this book, there is just too much cheese. I cant stand instalove in books, and top that off with just the worst lines, and I almost just put this down. You know what you're watching something and you feel embarrassed just from seeing what happened? Yeah, that's this book.
So while the "love" is enough to make me stop, Cassie's character is very one dimensional as well. She is just anger. I understand that she was dealing with the loss of her father but anger alone is not a realistic reaction.
Yet another issue I had was the amount of gore in this book. Don't get me wrong, in the right setting I'm all for gore. I'm just not sure why there was so much in this book. It really had no place at all.
Overall, a very interesting concept, but just missed the mark entirely.
The concept for this book was crazy interesting because this could be our future, very Black Mirror.
Unfortunately for this book, there is just too much cheese. I cant stand instalove in books, and top that off with just the worst lines, and I almost just put this down. You know what you're watching something and you feel embarrassed just from seeing what happened? Yeah, that's this book.
So while the "love" is enough to make me stop, Cassie's character is very one dimensional as well. She is just anger. I understand that she was dealing with the loss of her father but anger alone is not a realistic reaction.
Yet another issue I had was the amount of gore in this book. Don't get me wrong, in the right setting I'm all for gore. I'm just not sure why there was so much in this book. It really had no place at all.
Overall, a very interesting concept, but just missed the mark entirely.
shellysbookcorner's review against another edition
4.0
I will say that reading this book has made me think twice about my own social media usage.
This book is about a group of people called the Hive who dole out social media justice when needed. Lord. Imagine if an organization like this really existed? A lot of people would be in BIG trouble. In my opinion, social media has given certain people this false sense of bravado to post whatever they want no matter how mean and nasty. With the Hive it would force people to think twice before they post and blast others via social media. I can honestly see this happening down the road but hopefully when I'm long gone.
In this story we are introduced to Cassie who is dealing with a traumatic event and like a regular teenager she is angry and lashes out a lot at her mother. In the beginning my feelings towards Cassie were lukewarm. As the book progressed my feelings towards her pretty much stayed the same. I did kind of find her to be unlikable at times. Rachel (her mother) was a saint and I loved the love she had for her daughter, even through the trying and difficult times.
This was my first time reading these authors and I loved this book SO much! The story line was fast paced, refreshing, thrilling and kept me on the edge of my seat. At no time while I was reading was I bored and I loved how certain things came together. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next with the characters and I’m sad this book is over. This book will definitely be going on my top reads list of 2019.
4.5 stars
*ARC Review*
This book is about a group of people called the Hive who dole out social media justice when needed. Lord. Imagine if an organization like this really existed? A lot of people would be in BIG trouble. In my opinion, social media has given certain people this false sense of bravado to post whatever they want no matter how mean and nasty. With the Hive it would force people to think twice before they post and blast others via social media. I can honestly see this happening down the road but hopefully when I'm long gone.
In this story we are introduced to Cassie who is dealing with a traumatic event and like a regular teenager she is angry and lashes out a lot at her mother. In the beginning my feelings towards Cassie were lukewarm. As the book progressed my feelings towards her pretty much stayed the same. I did kind of find her to be unlikable at times. Rachel (her mother) was a saint and I loved the love she had for her daughter, even through the trying and difficult times.
This was my first time reading these authors and I loved this book SO much! The story line was fast paced, refreshing, thrilling and kept me on the edge of my seat. At no time while I was reading was I bored and I loved how certain things came together. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next with the characters and I’m sad this book is over. This book will definitely be going on my top reads list of 2019.
4.5 stars
*ARC Review*
cloudedsulphur's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, this was a pretty good book. The most frightening part is that this scenario isn’t that far fetched. We already live in a world where social media is so intertwined with our lives that it’s hard to separate one from their online presence. This book is also a good reminder of the power of one, as well as the power of our younger generations to change things, for worse or for better. I will say that the tech-speak was a bit over my head at times, but it doesn’t detract from the overall readability of the book.
melfurious's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the concept of this one and found it a very easy read. Scary to think we're really not far from this becoming reality!
bak8382's review against another edition
3.0
This plot-driven dystopian follows Cassie after a joke causes her to go viral and brings the hive's justice down on herself, but instead of the expected level 1 she rises to a level 6. On the run she discovers that the "perfect" justice system is not all that it seems. This is written by a husband and wife team, and interestingly it's not easy to tell who is writing what. The story is told almost entirely from Cassie's perspective instead of alternating perspectives the way many co-writers do. I loved the premise, and the perspective of Cassie's mom, who feels like a real mother grappling with a teenager.
aquariusashley's review against another edition
I liked the concept, but I think I struggle more to read YA now, and I hate the main character. Reminded me a lot of Black Mirror's Nosedive with higher stakes, which is what drew me to it, but I can't continue reading it because the main character is so annoying.
philippam's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
2.0
The premise of this book was interesting, and some of the worldbuilding had potential, but the execution falls flat. The narrative is clunky, filled with infodumping, and lacks any subtlety whatsoever. Despite having been published in 2019, set in a vague near future and featuring a protagonist who is still in high school, the way the characters behave and speak feels dated. It feels like it was written for millennial teens, so it's about fifteen years late on the draw, and I expect the target audience will find this book both out of date and out of touch.
The pacing was also pretty iffy and uneven. The first half of the book feels simultaneously too slow and too fast, and although it eventually does pick up to feel more even and interesting about halfway through, the ending felt rushed and a bit of a cop-out. I would have liked to have spent more time sitting in the characters emotional journeys as the story unfolded, especially unforseen consequences impacting the protagonist, rather than on the various unnecessary infodumps at the start of the book.
It was an otherwise entertaining read, although I found the resolution was a little too easy after all the hell that everyone goes through over the course of the novel, and ultimately it left me unsatisfied. I hope the authors are able to improve their pacing and clunkiness in future works, as their narrative style, while not particularly evocative, is otherwise enjoyable.
The pacing was also pretty iffy and uneven. The first half of the book feels simultaneously too slow and too fast, and although it eventually does pick up to feel more even and interesting about halfway through, the ending felt rushed and a bit of a cop-out. I would have liked to have spent more time sitting in the characters emotional journeys as the story unfolded, especially unforseen consequences impacting the protagonist, rather than on the various unnecessary infodumps at the start of the book.
It was an otherwise entertaining read, although I found the resolution was a little too easy after all the hell that everyone goes through over the course of the novel, and ultimately it left me unsatisfied. I hope the authors are able to improve their pacing and clunkiness in future works, as their narrative style, while not particularly evocative, is otherwise enjoyable.
book_lover3103's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
cheshirebelle's review against another edition
2.0
Toen ik het boek tegenkwam, was ik gelijk geinteresseerd. Het zou namelijk best een potentiele toekomst kunnen zijn. Het verhaal echter, zit wat minder sterk in elkaar. Sommige dingen kloppen gewoon niet of er wordt te makkelijk mee omgegaan. Ik vond Cassie wel een karakter waar ik mee kon meeleven, maar ze was het op sommige punten net niet. Ook de andere personen waren niet altijd realistisch, jammer want het had wel zo kunnen zijn. Het rouwen om haar vader, de bot die daarvoor gemaakt was, vond ik wel weer echt een leuk concept en kon ik mezelf ook zeker in vinden. Zulke plannen voor de toekomst zal ik geen weerstand tegen gaan bieden. Als er een concept als The Hive komt, dan zal ik hier net zo hard weerstand tegen bieden als Cassie haar moeder, want zij is wel een rolmodel hierin voor mij.