Author: Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden
Genre: sci fi
Similar books: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Need by Joelle Charbonneau
Rating:
 |
| solid ideas |
Summary (provided by publisher): Cassie McKinney has always believed in the Hive. Social media used to be out of control, after all. People were torn apart by trolls and doxxers. Even hackers --- like Cassie's dad --- were powerless against it. But then the Hive came. A better way to sanction people for what they do online. Cause trouble, get too many "condemns," and a crowd can come after you, teach you a lesson in real life. It's safer, fairer and perfectly legal. Entering her senior year of high school, filled with grief over an unexpected loss, Cassie is primed to lash out. Egged on by new friends, she makes an edgy joke online. Cassie doubts anyone will notice. But the Hive notices everything. And as her viral comment whips an entire country into a frenzy, the Hive demands retribution. One moment Cassie is anonymous; the next, she's infamous. And running for her life. With nowhere to turn, she must learn to rely on herself --- and a group of Hive outcasts who may not be reliable --- as she slowly uncovers the truth about the machine behind the Hive. New York Times bestselling authors Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden have teamed up for the first time to create a novel that's gripping, terrifying and more relevant every day.
My opinion: I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I feel like the ideas are plausible. Hive justice is a thing I could see happening. We're dealing with some pretty significant manipulation - a president who doesn't not want to give up power so he creates a threat, an excuse to override term limits and turn himself into a despot. So in many ways, this plot is pretty predictable. We're meant to assume that the protagonist is a target solely because of her father. Instead its her own actions that brought her to the administrations attention and her father's identity only cements her as a target. Actually, her tweet is the weakest part of the plot. Sure it's cruel and insensitive but I found it hard to believe that it would gain her death threats in a matter of hours. So beleivibility issues aside, the messaging is pretty obvious - dangers of a life lived entirely online, protecting your identity, the ease of manipulating public perception a d online information. I didn't love the mixed perspectives. The messaging is relevant enough to make it worth a read.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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