Tuesday, September 21, 2010

THE HIVE by Kelley Powell Barcellona



THE HIVE is an excellent book for tweens.  At just under 100 pages, it reads quickly and doesn't talk down to its readers.  Author Kelley Powell Barcellona has experience as a middle school teacher, and it shows as she successfully portrays that age group in her story.

The Hive is a group of four girls lead by Brooke Stevens.  According to them, if you aren't a member of their group, you are nothing.  Brooke leads the girls in targeting  unlucky students and bullying them mercilessly.

This time their victim is Tori.  Brooke uses a series of anonymous notes to a popular boy named Hunter to spread the word that Tori has a crush on him and is possibly even stalking him.  The notes set the trap while Brooke and her friends reel in Tori by inviting her to a party that offers her a chance to do her favorite thing - sing karaoke.  However, by selecting Tori, the Hive may have met their match.

THE HIVE paints an accurate picture of middle school life.  Barcellona adds a few twists in the plot by giving Brooke a few problems of her own.  This one would be an excellent addition to any library or classroom collection.

1 comment:

Vermilya said...

I purchased "The Hive" as a gift for a friend's daughter but before I gave it away the cover just pulled me in so I had to check it out. I have to say the book was an excellent read with a new spin on classroom bulling. It was really refreshing to read a book that kept you turning the pages and was educational. I'm really happy with my purchase and my friends daughter ended up really liking it as well, so now I'm a big hit to!