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rcaivano's review against another edition
Really good book. In a not too distant future, the law dictates the population can choose whether or not to mete out justice to people who bully online. It's called Hive Justice, and just like on Facebook, you can give a post a like or a condemn. The number of condemns you get dictates the punishment you have - level one can be as simple as throwing garbage at you, and if you get to level 5, you can be stoned or beaten. Cassie posts something horrible and gets to Level 6, which has never happened before. Level 6 means she can be killed on sight. She runs and goes into hiding and gets the help of an underground group who wants to take down The Hive. Cassie learns that the hive is being manipulated by the government, and they're using her as an example. But she's a computer genius, and she finds a way to beat them at their own game.
stephee's review against another edition
4.0
Such a good premise. Can't wait for the Netflix series.
rigel's review against another edition
3.0
This book wasn't the best book I've ever read, nor the worst book I ever read. Very middle-of-the-road.
Here's a quick summation of what exactly The Hive is: it's a program that is essentially SJW justice on steroids. As in, "I don't like your opinion so that gives me the right to assault/murder you."
And that's exactly what this book is all about. Set in a near future where you a persecuted for having a difference in opinion, for complaining that your life sucks, or just for having a different sense of humor from the general population. All us dark-humored folks would probably be dead in this world. Just saying.
The "joke" that got Cassie into trouble in the first place? Here it is (she's talking about a the newborn grandson of the President that's all wrinkly and blotchy and people think the baby is ugly because it's not as if all newborns look like that right?): Too bad the abortion didn't take #betterlucknextbaby
Now,I'm not offended by this joke. I'm pro-choice. My issue, though, was throughout the entire book the main characters acted as if this were the funniest "joke" to ever grace the planet. It just isn't funny from a humor standpoint. Hell...it's not even a joke. It's just a post that makes fun of a newborn for looking like a newborn. Also she's kinda saying that the world would be better off from an aesthetic standpoint if the kid had been aborted which is just in poor taste because common, are you really that superficial?
Fair warning: if you don't like to read from an unlikable character's point of view, avoid this book like the plague. I have nothing against reading an unlikable character, but Cassie... oh boy she's just a raging bitch. I had a really hard time forcing myself through this book because all she did was act like an entitled brat that could do no harm. She admits she likes to tear down other people because, I quote, "It feels damn good.". She hates her mother for no apparent reason (and her mom is wonderful btw, like she's supportive and wants the best for her daughter but isn't too pushy about it). She's a straight up bitch to all the women in her life but as soon a a boy comes along she acts all meek and sweet. When she's on the run from Hive Justice, she blames everyone BUT herself for the shit she got herself into; she blames the girls she was hanging out with for "goading her into making the post" although she was the one to come up with, type, and post the, um, "joke" (she actually wanted to post the "joke" before all the other girls so they wouldn't go viral instead of her), and she blames her mother for... well I don't know but she somehow blames her mother for the situation she's in as well.
Now onto the little things that bothered me:
1. Mom Rachel is a classics professor at, wait for it, Microsoft/Buzzfeed University. That's right. That just made me laugh because honestly WTF.
2. Cassie considers compliments to be "microaggressions". Bitch, give me a break.
3. The authors seemed to consider study groups to be cheating??
4. Cassie is so dumb sometimes like holy shit she straight up texts her locations to girl when she's on the run, which both get raided, and then she blames the guy who's been helping her out all along.
5. About a quarter of this book is dedicated to this one plot to take down the government and The Hive, but they never use it. Seriously, this book could have been 100 pages shorter.
And now for the part you all knew was coming: the neuroscience rant. First off, can I just ask why authors don't take five minutes to go to google and do some quick research into the neuroscience they want to use/mention in their books? And why do they always inevitably write "Oh well no one really knows how this part/mechanism of the brain works."? There are three major branches of science dedicated solely to the brain: neuroscience (my personal favourite, if you couldn't tell), cognitive science, and psychology. "Brain science" is way more evolved than you may think.We know A LOT about what's going on up there. It only takes a few clicks, and so will you. Effort, people. Effort.
Anyway, in the book, a detective tells mom Rachel that "no one really knows how human memory works or why memories degrade" (while psychologically torturing her by the way, so be prepared for some of that in the book). False. We know exactly how memories form and degrade. Memories form through a (complicated) process called Long-Term Potentiation (LTP). Ever heard "Neurons that fire together wire together"? That's what memory my dudes. And how do they degrade, well, when you don't use the neural pathway dedicated to a certain memory, it essentially dies (not the whole neuron btw, just the synapses or receptors et autres). There. Simple. Google is a great tool, you guys.
Anyway, that's that. I really have nothing else to say about this book. Again, it wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible.
Here's a quick summation of what exactly The Hive is: it's a program that is essentially SJW justice on steroids. As in, "I don't like your opinion so that gives me the right to assault/murder you."
And that's exactly what this book is all about. Set in a near future where you a persecuted for having a difference in opinion, for complaining that your life sucks, or just for having a different sense of humor from the general population. All us dark-humored folks would probably be dead in this world. Just saying.
The "joke" that got Cassie into trouble in the first place? Here it is (she's talking about a the newborn grandson of the President that's all wrinkly and blotchy and people think the baby is ugly because it's not as if all newborns look like that right?): Too bad the abortion didn't take #betterlucknextbaby
Now,I'm not offended by this joke. I'm pro-choice. My issue, though, was throughout the entire book the main characters acted as if this were the funniest "joke" to ever grace the planet. It just isn't funny from a humor standpoint. Hell...it's not even a joke. It's just a post that makes fun of a newborn for looking like a newborn. Also she's kinda saying that the world would be better off from an aesthetic standpoint if the kid had been aborted which is just in poor taste because common, are you really that superficial?
Fair warning: if you don't like to read from an unlikable character's point of view, avoid this book like the plague. I have nothing against reading an unlikable character, but Cassie... oh boy she's just a raging bitch. I had a really hard time forcing myself through this book because all she did was act like an entitled brat that could do no harm. She admits she likes to tear down other people because, I quote, "It feels damn good.". She hates her mother for no apparent reason (and her mom is wonderful btw, like she's supportive and wants the best for her daughter but isn't too pushy about it). She's a straight up bitch to all the women in her life but as soon a a boy comes along she acts all meek and sweet. When she's on the run from Hive Justice, she blames everyone BUT herself for the shit she got herself into; she blames the girls she was hanging out with for "goading her into making the post" although she was the one to come up with, type, and post the, um, "joke" (she actually wanted to post the "joke" before all the other girls so they wouldn't go viral instead of her), and she blames her mother for... well I don't know but she somehow blames her mother for the situation she's in as well.
Now onto the little things that bothered me:
1. Mom Rachel is a classics professor at, wait for it, Microsoft/Buzzfeed University. That's right. That just made me laugh because honestly WTF.
2. Cassie considers compliments to be "microaggressions". Bitch, give me a break.
3. The authors seemed to consider study groups to be cheating??
4. Cassie is so dumb sometimes like holy shit she straight up texts her locations to girl when she's on the run, which both get raided, and then she blames the guy who's been helping her out all along.
5. About a quarter of this book is dedicated to this one plot to take down the government and The Hive, but they never use it. Seriously, this book could have been 100 pages shorter.
And now for the part you all knew was coming: the neuroscience rant. First off, can I just ask why authors don't take five minutes to go to google and do some quick research into the neuroscience they want to use/mention in their books? And why do they always inevitably write "Oh well no one really knows how this part/mechanism of the brain works."? There are three major branches of science dedicated solely to the brain: neuroscience (my personal favourite, if you couldn't tell), cognitive science, and psychology. "Brain science" is way more evolved than you may think.We know A LOT about what's going on up there. It only takes a few clicks, and so will you. Effort, people. Effort.
Anyway, in the book, a detective tells mom Rachel that "no one really knows how human memory works or why memories degrade" (while psychologically torturing her by the way, so be prepared for some of that in the book). False. We know exactly how memories form and degrade. Memories form through a (complicated) process called Long-Term Potentiation (LTP). Ever heard "Neurons that fire together wire together"? That's what memory my dudes. And how do they degrade, well, when you don't use the neural pathway dedicated to a certain memory, it essentially dies (not the whole neuron btw, just the synapses or receptors et autres). There. Simple. Google is a great tool, you guys.
Anyway, that's that. I really have nothing else to say about this book. Again, it wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible.
i_cant_ive_got_rehersal's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
herbalmoon's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly, it's not all that great--the protag spends the first several chapters in the book in an unproductive rage and when the truth comes out about what's happening, it's trite and not at all surprising. The only reason this book gets three stars instead of one is that it clearly affected me on some level, or I wouldn't have been hesitant to get on the internet after reading several chapters last night.
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If you're like me and come to GR in hopes of finding the review that will give you enough spoilers to decide whether it's readable, here's your passage:
2. A Trumpian president leveraged ghost accounts against Cassie in hopes that he'd be able to convene a constitutional convention and manage to become dictator for life.
3. The girl whose friendship Cassie turned down at the beginning of the book turns against her and feeds information to the enemy. You read right: Sarah provides data in hopes of getting Cassie killed, just because the latter was caught up in her anger and wouldn't be her friend.
Now do you see why I complain of tritness?
=====
If you're like me and come to GR in hopes of finding the review that will give you enough spoilers to decide whether it's readable, here's your passage:
Spoiler
1. Cassie (the protag's) father co-built The Hive, thinking it could be used for good and it went drastically wrong.2. A Trumpian president leveraged ghost accounts against Cassie in hopes that he'd be able to convene a constitutional convention and manage to become dictator for life.
3. The girl whose friendship Cassie turned down at the beginning of the book turns against her and feeds information to the enemy. You read right: Sarah provides data in hopes of getting Cassie killed, just because the latter was caught up in her anger and wouldn't be her friend.
Now do you see why I complain of tritness?
aisforalek's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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? Yes
3.5
bookschief_managed's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
This book was such a trip- there's so much that's reminiscent of where our society is heading and it's honestly baffling. I loved Cassie, she was such a strong, determined character despite dealing with a recent loss as well as starting at a new school.
I flew through this book once it really got going, I didn't want to stop reading because I had to know how everything played out for Cassie.
This book sucks you in from the get-go and it definitely had me intrigued. Well worth the read.
I flew through this book once it really got going, I didn't want to stop reading because I had to know how everything played out for Cassie.
This book sucks you in from the get-go and it definitely had me intrigued. Well worth the read.
chloeandherbooks's review against another edition
3.0
*I recieved an earc of this via netgalley however this in no way influenced my opinion*
3.5 stars
So I requested this because it gave me black mirror vibes so I thought I would give it a go. The premise of this book really drew me in considering how prevalent social media is in today’s society.
I enjoyed the writing in this book, especially the action scenes, they were very well written. There is one scene in particular where Cassie is running across roof tops and zip lining that I thought was faced paced and well-written. Although there are a few plot twists in this book that I found to be predictable but there were others I didn’t see coming which was great. However I felt the beginning of the book was pretty slow and it took me a while to get into it.
To be honest I wasn’t the biggest fan of the main character Cassie. Some of her actions were reckless and made no sense. However I really loved the character of Rachel, the part about her post resonating with other parents and making people think twice was great!
The main issue I had with this book is that everything was resolved way too quickly in the end, it just went back to normal as if nothing had ever happened.
Overall this was a well-written book but I didn’t really connect with the main character.
steffiraquel's review
The hypocrisy is having a half-black main character be saved by a white man in dreads and him not be 'chased by the hive' for his cultural appropriation is lost on me, until I realized the authors are both white. Also abortion is NOT funny, I'm a strong believer in only joking about your own trauma and not someone else's. Not only that, I understand what the purpose of the hive is and that hurt people are usually the perpetrators, but I agree with consequences coming from things you put out into the world, only I'd prefer something along the lines of educating rather than dragging someone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Racism, Sexism, Violence, and Abortion
Minor: Death of parent
_mack_jack_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Death of parent, and Rape