The Hive by Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden
Cassie Mckinney, a hacker who had inherited her dead father’s skills, has consistently
followed The Hive, a massive group on social media that punishes users who cause trouble
online as a way to teach others of what happens to those who misbehave. Despite her mother’s
disapproval of The Hive, Cassie never thought of The Hive as a “hurtful” group as the harshest
punishments were often walking through the street without clothes based off of five levels, with
one being the lowest and five being the highest, which was rarely achieved. Therefore, when
arriving at her new school, Cassie posts a “joke” online involving the president’s newborn son,
after being driven on by her friends. Soon enough, a “nobody” hacker is soon transformed into
an infamous icon with the level six, kill on sight, hanging over her head. As Cassie runs for her
life, she meets various outcasts who are also coders and are on the run from The Hive who she
has no choice but to trust. Desperate to clear her name and defeat The Hive, Cassie discovers
hidden secrets about The Hive and recovers from betrayals from her friends and is finally
reunited with her mother.
I have to admit, I did enjoy this book more than I thought I would. The novel had many
descriptive details and realistic characters with obvious flaws and different personalities. While
the beginning was a bit tedious and dull, I was on the edge of my seat during the second half
when the action became more emphasized. The Hive discusses different topics such as a social
hierarchy being thrown in a more destructive perspective in a fictional world. While this book
isn’t the best I’ve read, it does come close to being so. The book brings out the abusive nature in
humanity while also showing concealed aspects of kindness within different characters who help
the main character. Overall, this book wasn’t perfect, but it certainly had the potential to do so if
it weren’t as slow as it was in the beginning.