Mean Girls if you aged the cast 20 years, gave them kids and set the action in the English home counties. 4 stars.
The blurb: It’s the start of another school year at St. Ambrose. While the children are busy in the classroom, their mothers are learning sharper lessons. Lessons in friendship. Lessons in betrayal. Lessons in the laws of community, the transience of power… and how to get invited to lunch.
Beatrice — undisputed queen bee. Ruler, by Divine Right, of all school fundraising, this year, last year, and, surely, for many to come.
Heather — desperate to volunteer, desperate to be noticed, desperate to belong.
Georgie — desperate for a cigarette.
And Rachel — watching them all, keeping her distance. But soon to discover that the line between amused observer and miserable outcast is a thin one.
My take:
The Hive is funny, well-observed and strikes a good balance between its comic and more serious moments. The story is told in close third person through several characters’ POVs. These are well differentiated and so the viewpoint switching is never confusing. It also gives the author the chance to present several different experiences of motherhood, and readers with kids will recognise and/or empathise with several of the women’s thoughts.
The narrative moves along at a good pace with the school year providing a strong chronological framework for events. My edition (the hardback) had 300 pages and that felt a good length, any more and I think it would have stretched itself too thin.
When I first finished the book, I wondered a lot about whether it was a 5-star read. It made me laugh a lot and the ending is rather fuzzy, leaving you with a happy glow. Then I realised: if I had to think so much about whether it was a 5-star book for me, then it wasn’t. So now I have to come up with reasons why it’s not…
I have a few niggles. Firstly, there’s a running joke regarding the way one of the characters insists her son is Gifted and Talented when this clearly isn’t the case. It made me a little uneasy because at times it felt as though the joke was at the expense of a kid with special educational needs (although I’m sure this was never the intention). I would also have liked one chapter or even just a scene told from the POV of the “villain” of the piece. Villains are people too, and it would have been great to have further insight into what lay behind her behaviour other than, “she has to be this way for plot reasons”.
Finally, I felt the metaphor of the hive was laid on a bit thick. It was almost as if the author and/or editors were worried readers wouldn’t get it and so repeatedly highlighted the parallels between the behaviour of the female characters and the bees. But it’s not that hard a concept to grasp; it could have been mentioned once or twice and then left alone.
Overall: quibbles aside, I enjoyed The Hive very much and laughed out loud more than once. Recommended if you enjoy the nuances of female group politics. Or Mean Girls. If you liked that movie but left high school a good while ago, check this out.
Claire Huston / Art and Soul
Art and Soul 
Love your one line overview of the book! 🙂
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Thank you! That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. I’m now wondering if that’s how she sold the book to the publisher 😉
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Great review, Claire! These genres of books are my normal go-to, but I might look into it…
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Thank you! 🙂
It’s very good. My favourite character was Georgie because she didn’t care at all what anyone thought of her choices (including her parenting choices). I’d like to be more like her!
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Great review for what seems like an interesting book… The blurb defo made me LOL when I came to–> ‘Georgie- desperate for a cigarette’…
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Thank you!
Georgie was my favourite character. She didn’t give a damn what anyone thought of her, which was terrific, particularly when many of the other characters are desperate to be liked and fit in.
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Yes, I got the feeling she was going to be an awesome character just by that line in the blurb… Wonderful! 😀
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Sounds like you summed this one up perfectly!
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Thank you! 🙂
The Mean Girls comparison is definitely warranted. In the very last movement, there are striking similarities.
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Suburban housewives bitchery? Me like! 😉 Fab review Claire 🙂 And an official welcome back!
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Thank you and thank you! 🙂
It does get very bitchy indeed in places, in only the way things can between smart women with too much time on their hands to come up with this stuff!!
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Haha! That’s usually the case indeed 😀
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I’ve never watched Mean Girl but I can’t wait to get this book. I love it when an author gives their characters enough of a unique voice to let the pov changes flow without leaving the reader confused. Sometimes they all sound alike and you can’t remember whose pov it is. Loved your review! 🙂
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Thank you! 🙂
You should watch Mean Girls. It’s very good! And the book is very funny, with a few sad bits… but mostly very well-observed. I imagine the author has some first-hand experience of women not being very nice to each other!
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It definitely sounds like a book that I would enjoy. I loved Mean Girls.
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In that case you should check it out. While it’s accessible to everyone, I do think anyone who’s a parent and had to deal with people making judgments about their parenting choices will find it funnier/truer.
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True.
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This sounds like such a fun read – just what I’m in the mood for at the moment!
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It’s great, particularly if you’ve ever been on the sharp end of the delicate nastiness of female in-fighting. The sly comments and calculated snubs were just so realistic I imagine the author must have come across some quite a few people like this in her time!
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Totally get what you mean about 5* books- they’re not the kind of thing you have to think about. Sounds really good though- great review!
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It was really good. Anything which succeeds in making me laugh out loud instantly gets a lot of points and good will! But, yes, if I have to sit wondering about whether something if 5 stars then it usually isn’t 😦
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Yeah if I’m thinking about it too much then I usually know to rate it down a little
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Great review and I love Mean Girls. I will definitely look out for this one!
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Thank you! It’s very good – I hope you enjoy it 🙂
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I really liked this book! Read it a while ago. Sorry I’ve not been around – catching up with your posts now x
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Yay! Lovely to find someone else who’s read it and enjoyed it 🙂
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