"Accept, Obey, Serve."

This is the motto that must be followed to stay alive in the hive.  The Bees is a uniquely written story that is told from the perspective of Flora 717, a bee born into the sanitation unit.  Flora 717's hive is in an orchard and danger comes from many sources, both outside and in; the queen they must worship ages, deformed eggs are being found, forager bees are coming back poisoned, wasps, spiders and crows lurk above the hive and it is being said that winter will come twice.  Flora 717 is unique within the Sanitation unit and does not fit in with her sanitation sisters, but since variation is not the dreaded deformity, she is given jobs elsewhere within the hive.  As Flora 717 proves herself and moves up within the hive, she finds trouble.  Flora 717 defies the Accept, Obey, Serve mantra in order to save her hive. 

An auspicious and of-the-moment novel for today's society where all bee populations face many of the same threats as Flora 717's hive.  I love that this was written from the perspective of a bee, but with all the passion, danger and intrigue of a human society that is on the brink of a disaster.  Also, while anthropomorphized  Flora 717 and her hive followed much of the honeybee natural history and behavior while still turning out a riveting fictional story.  The hive drama and classification of the bees gives a similar feel as a dystopian novel.  Scenes of violence, sacrifice and revenge in The Bees, not only echoes hive life but gives the story an added edge.  There are also mythical and fable elements that Flora 717 encounters.  My one issue with the book, without giving spoilers, was how Flora came to be in the state she was in.  It's possible that this was more of a mythical element to the story than a biological one, but most of the bee behavior presented was biological.  Anyhow, it didn't ruin the story for me at all. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

I was originally interested in this book not only because it sounded chilling and mysterious, but the description sounded an awfully a lot like an incident that happened near my home town a few years ago: Mass Hysteria Confirmed.  You can read the article there.  The Fever follows a similar course, but is addled with desire, dark secrets and the feelings that could only be understood by a teenage girl's mind. 

"If it happens to both your best friends, the next one must be you.  If it happens to both your best friends, it must be you."

Deenie Nash and her friends seem to live the perfect life in the small town of Dryden.  School, friends, fun...and boys make up their lives; until Deenie's best friend, Lise is struck down with a strange illness in the middle of class.  Lise's face and muscle contort and twist as she falls to the ground shaking.  Deenie is left horrified.  Others giggle that they caught a peek of her underwear.  Tension grows when the hospital can't quite figure out the cause and then Deenie's other friend Gabby is struck is a terrifyingly similar way.  The Health Department and Police are eventually called in as several more girls display similar symptoms.  The entire school and town become affected and secrets come out as possible sources for the outbreak are explored.  Could it be the strange algae in the lake, the HPV vaccine that the girls had to receive, is it something in the air?  Whatever it is, Deenie is deeply concerned for her friends, both the affected and unaffected. 

Megan Abbot has written a teenage girls thought process to a tee.  There are definitely elements of horror in the story, as this chain of events has happened and can happen again.  I enjoyed reading through the many twists and turns as Deenie's character tried to navigate high-school as well as figure out what was happening to her friends. As teenage girls, the characters were easy to relate to for me, but also easy to dislike.  Since they were written perfectly, I could glue the faces of girls that I once knew into many of the characters.  The secrets that come out in the community from the mass hysteria of the girls is absolutely intriguing.  Like the ripples created by a pebble dropped in water, the hysteria spreads through the whole town based on the actions of one girl.  Though I had an idea of where the story was going, I really had no idea how it would end; I was surprised at the real reason for all the hysteria.  Without giving too much away, the reason behind it all makes perfect sense in the world of a teenage girl.

This book was received for free in exchange for an honest review.






More info here and read an excerpt