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Hive #2
Rogue
There was no going back; there was no choice, anymore. I'd chosen out and this was it: hot-cold, dry-wet, bright-dark and lonely.
Hayley has gone rogue.
She's left everything she's ever known - her friends, her bees, her whole world - all because her curiosity was too big to fit within the walls of the underwater home she was forced to flee.
But what is this new world she's come to? Has Hayley finally found somewhere she can belong?
Or will she have to keep running?
'A striking dystopian world: Hive carves out a niche through intriguing and original world-building [with] enough imaginative vitamin to tease readers into anticipating the second and final volume in the series.' Sydney Morning Herald
Hayley has gone rogue.
She's left everything she's ever known - her friends, her bees, her whole world - all because her curiosity was too big to fit within the walls of the underwater home she was forced to flee.
But what is this new world she's come to? Has Hayley finally found somewhere she can belong?
Or will she have to keep running?
'A striking dystopian world: Hive carves out a niche through intriguing and original world-building [with] enough imaginative vitamin to tease readers into anticipating the second and final volume in the series.' Sydney Morning Herald
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2019
23 people are currently reading
385 people want to read
About the author
A.J. Betts
8 books264 followersI'm a Perth-based writer who writes realistic fiction for teenagers (14+) but adults enjoy them too. I'm also an English teacher, poet, writer of non-fiction texts, presenter and reader.
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October 9, 2019
*https://theburgeoningbookshelf.blogsp...
“I’d chosen out and this was it: hot-cold, dry-wet, bright-dark and lonely.”
Book 1 Hive ends with Hayley escaping her underwater world built with hexagonal rooms connecting like a bee hive.
In Rogue Hayley emerges into a new dystopian world. It is 2119, the ocean has risen cutting off small land masses turning them into islands. She comes ashore on a small island situated east of Tasmania, now called Terrafirma. Hayley is taken in by the caretakers of the island but a tragic accident forces them to leave the island placing them all in grave danger.
I loved this book even more than book1, Hive. Hayley’s wonder at the world around her is lusciously described and I could feel her awe at seeing a world that was bigger than the walls that had surrounded her all her life.
In a world with blood codes that can be traced Hayley’s unmarked blood becomes a precious commodity that is hunted down. Hayley wanders the land, sometimes finding the help of strangers, as she searches for a place where she can belong. Although she never forgets Will, the boy she left behind.
I rated Hive 15+ because of one graphic scene of a body being dismembered. However the writing in Rogue is simple and the storyline, although action packed, is not complex. Suited to age 10+ or younger mature readers.
“This world above the ocean isn’t perfect. What world is? It can be moody, savage and fearsome. It can be unsafe.
But it can be magnificent too. Surprising and wondrous.”
I’m looking forward to seeing what Betts comes up with next!
*I received a copy from the publisher
“I’d chosen out and this was it: hot-cold, dry-wet, bright-dark and lonely.”
Book 1 Hive ends with Hayley escaping her underwater world built with hexagonal rooms connecting like a bee hive.
In Rogue Hayley emerges into a new dystopian world. It is 2119, the ocean has risen cutting off small land masses turning them into islands. She comes ashore on a small island situated east of Tasmania, now called Terrafirma. Hayley is taken in by the caretakers of the island but a tragic accident forces them to leave the island placing them all in grave danger.
I loved this book even more than book1, Hive. Hayley’s wonder at the world around her is lusciously described and I could feel her awe at seeing a world that was bigger than the walls that had surrounded her all her life.
In a world with blood codes that can be traced Hayley’s unmarked blood becomes a precious commodity that is hunted down. Hayley wanders the land, sometimes finding the help of strangers, as she searches for a place where she can belong. Although she never forgets Will, the boy she left behind.
I rated Hive 15+ because of one graphic scene of a body being dismembered. However the writing in Rogue is simple and the storyline, although action packed, is not complex. Suited to age 10+ or younger mature readers.
“This world above the ocean isn’t perfect. What world is? It can be moody, savage and fearsome. It can be unsafe.
But it can be magnificent too. Surprising and wondrous.”
I’m looking forward to seeing what Betts comes up with next!
*I received a copy from the publisher
August 30, 2019
*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
Rogue: The Vault Book 2, is a 2019 Pan Macmillan publication, written by Perth based author A.J. Betts. Rogue is the sequel to Hive, which was released last year. A thrilling, creative and imaginative young adult novel, Rogue completely immerses the reader in a brave new world. Rogue is an essential read for those who have previously enjoyed Hive, as it offers a propulsive conclusion to the Vault series.
Rogue follows the intriguing story of Hayley, who is free from her previous sheltered life and is now ‘rogue’. Leaving behind the only life she known, Hayley struggles to come to terms with her new existence. This new world Hayley inhabits is free from her comforts, but it may offer her a sense of place and belonging. The second and final novel in this dystopian series comes to a heart pounding conclusion, as the lead of the story weighs up her options in this potentially hostile new world.
A.J. Betts has collected plenty of praise and accolades since her groundbreaking novel, Hive, which was released last year. Betts has an impressive list of awards to her name. I was pleased to see that A.J. Betts was shortlisted for a number of awards last year for Hive. Those who were able to indulge in the experience of reading Hive last year will really welcome Rogue, the two cannot be separated in my opinion. I know there are many out there that wanted some more answers and closure following the ending of Hive, which has made room for Rogue.
Yet again, I found myself taken aback by the world Betts is able to present to her audience. I am a little jealous of the wild imagination and ability Betts has to transfer this dimension from her mind to the page, in such a vivid framework. It takes great skill as a writer to transport the reader from the comfort of their home, to such a strange and eerie future. Betts has the skills and determination to make this work. I welcomed the water experiences in Rogue very much, and I am sure the striking setting will sit well with a wide audience base.
I am familiar with the lead of this novel, thanks to my experience with Hive. In Hayley, Betts has released a character with many connective and positive traits, but there were times where I felt my age and distance as adult reader of a young adult focussed novel. I did observe that Hayley appeared to be a real hero and the reader will want to cheer her on, every step of the way. Surrounding Hayley is the community in which she inhibits, which is expressed well on the pages of Rogue.
There are plenty of taking points in this Rogue, the concepts range from the treatment of refugees, displacement, belonging, acceptance, hope, friendship, the environment and evolution. For a young adult novel, Rogue has covered new ground. I’m keen to see what A.J. Betts conjures up next, I’m sure it will be inventive!
*Please note that a free copy of this book was provided to me for review purposes through Beauty & Lace and Pan Macmillan. To read the original review on the Beauty & Lace website please visit here.
Rogue is book #111 of the 2019 Australian Women Writers Challenge
Rogue: The Vault Book 2, is a 2019 Pan Macmillan publication, written by Perth based author A.J. Betts. Rogue is the sequel to Hive, which was released last year. A thrilling, creative and imaginative young adult novel, Rogue completely immerses the reader in a brave new world. Rogue is an essential read for those who have previously enjoyed Hive, as it offers a propulsive conclusion to the Vault series.
Rogue follows the intriguing story of Hayley, who is free from her previous sheltered life and is now ‘rogue’. Leaving behind the only life she known, Hayley struggles to come to terms with her new existence. This new world Hayley inhabits is free from her comforts, but it may offer her a sense of place and belonging. The second and final novel in this dystopian series comes to a heart pounding conclusion, as the lead of the story weighs up her options in this potentially hostile new world.
A.J. Betts has collected plenty of praise and accolades since her groundbreaking novel, Hive, which was released last year. Betts has an impressive list of awards to her name. I was pleased to see that A.J. Betts was shortlisted for a number of awards last year for Hive. Those who were able to indulge in the experience of reading Hive last year will really welcome Rogue, the two cannot be separated in my opinion. I know there are many out there that wanted some more answers and closure following the ending of Hive, which has made room for Rogue.
Yet again, I found myself taken aback by the world Betts is able to present to her audience. I am a little jealous of the wild imagination and ability Betts has to transfer this dimension from her mind to the page, in such a vivid framework. It takes great skill as a writer to transport the reader from the comfort of their home, to such a strange and eerie future. Betts has the skills and determination to make this work. I welcomed the water experiences in Rogue very much, and I am sure the striking setting will sit well with a wide audience base.
I am familiar with the lead of this novel, thanks to my experience with Hive. In Hayley, Betts has released a character with many connective and positive traits, but there were times where I felt my age and distance as adult reader of a young adult focussed novel. I did observe that Hayley appeared to be a real hero and the reader will want to cheer her on, every step of the way. Surrounding Hayley is the community in which she inhibits, which is expressed well on the pages of Rogue.
There are plenty of taking points in this Rogue, the concepts range from the treatment of refugees, displacement, belonging, acceptance, hope, friendship, the environment and evolution. For a young adult novel, Rogue has covered new ground. I’m keen to see what A.J. Betts conjures up next, I’m sure it will be inventive!
*Please note that a free copy of this book was provided to me for review purposes through Beauty & Lace and Pan Macmillan. To read the original review on the Beauty & Lace website please visit here.
Rogue is book #111 of the 2019 Australian Women Writers Challenge
December 16, 2019
The second and final part of this two book series. The main character Hayley finds herself out of her underwater world and lands on Maria Island off the coast of Tasmania. She grapples with her new world of seeing the ocean, sun, stars, animals and a very different set of people to deal with. The truth behind her underwater world is revealed and the new world shows its not that nice.
This didn't grab me as much as the first book Hive with the parallel of having Tasmania being used as a haven for refugees as featured in another 2019 book Bruny is a bit weird.
This didn't grab me as much as the first book Hive with the parallel of having Tasmania being used as a haven for refugees as featured in another 2019 book Bruny is a bit weird.
September 26, 2019
“I wasn’t a gardener anymore. I wasn’t the keeper of bees. I wasn’t a friend to Celia or the ally of a boy whom I shared secrets.
I understood that I no longer belonged to that place. But nor did I belong to this one.
I was just a girl, lost between worlds.”
Probably closer to a 3.5 but I definitely liked this much more than book one.
Following book 1, we finally get to see more of the world than just the ‘Hive’ part of it, where we follow the main protagonist Hayley which was truly enlightening as get to learn about what has happened to the world since today.
Most of the characters from book 1 are not present in this book and we get to see some fairly new interesting personalities. I, in a I find you annoying but also like your attitude kind of way, liked the characters of both Kid and Petra surprisingly enough. Hayley asked as many questions as ever, which while I understand is a trait of hers for being curious, I feel like some of the things, like of what the reader would already know, like what some basic objects are could perhaps been left out. Like leave some in to show how out of place she is, yet sometimes I felt as if she was holding back the otherwise interesting tale of discovery by more mundane questions.
What I did like about this world in this dystopian novel is that te place that Hayley explores centres more around Tasmania, a place where there is lots of wilderness rather than the culture centres seen in many other books with mass spiralling futuristic skyscrapers. I did really like this for a change as it really appealed to me as an Australian to see the places where I am more familiar with rather than places I’ve never seen. #LoveOzYa indeed. I highly do recommend that everyone does check out more Australian fiction, whether it be children’s, YA or adult. Feel free to ask me if you want some recommendations.
I do think that the plot is a bit more tight is this book with a bit more on stake especially since the reader learns what is actually going on in the world whereas book 1 was very enclosed but this book opened up greatly and the scope of the novel also increased.
Though this did not become a favourite series of mine, I still really enjoyed it and think that it would be a very good entry level YA dystopian with lots of interesting characters, lovely writing while exploring many modern themes and issues like Climate Change. *cough, cough* Scott Morrison. What? I didn’t say anything. 7.5/10
I understood that I no longer belonged to that place. But nor did I belong to this one.
I was just a girl, lost between worlds.”
Probably closer to a 3.5 but I definitely liked this much more than book one.
Following book 1, we finally get to see more of the world than just the ‘Hive’ part of it, where we follow the main protagonist Hayley which was truly enlightening as get to learn about what has happened to the world since today.
Most of the characters from book 1 are not present in this book and we get to see some fairly new interesting personalities. I, in a I find you annoying but also like your attitude kind of way, liked the characters of both Kid and Petra surprisingly enough. Hayley asked as many questions as ever, which while I understand is a trait of hers for being curious, I feel like some of the things, like of what the reader would already know, like what some basic objects are could perhaps been left out. Like leave some in to show how out of place she is, yet sometimes I felt as if she was holding back the otherwise interesting tale of discovery by more mundane questions.
What I did like about this world in this dystopian novel is that te place that Hayley explores centres more around Tasmania, a place where there is lots of wilderness rather than the culture centres seen in many other books with mass spiralling futuristic skyscrapers. I did really like this for a change as it really appealed to me as an Australian to see the places where I am more familiar with rather than places I’ve never seen. #LoveOzYa indeed. I highly do recommend that everyone does check out more Australian fiction, whether it be children’s, YA or adult. Feel free to ask me if you want some recommendations.
I do think that the plot is a bit more tight is this book with a bit more on stake especially since the reader learns what is actually going on in the world whereas book 1 was very enclosed but this book opened up greatly and the scope of the novel also increased.
Though this did not become a favourite series of mine, I still really enjoyed it and think that it would be a very good entry level YA dystopian with lots of interesting characters, lovely writing while exploring many modern themes and issues like Climate Change. *cough, cough* Scott Morrison. What? I didn’t say anything. 7.5/10
July 28, 2019
Rogue is the second book in the two book dystopian series, The Vault. As the follow-up to Hive, Rogue took the world of Hive and blew it wide open. With the same curious and ever-searching main character and even more incredible descriptions of the surrounding landscape, Rogue gives readers and Hayley the answers they were searching for in book one.
Hayley had so many questions and when the son gave her the option to leave her confined life behind and explore what else was out there, she took it. Now, Hayley finds herself in a place she never could have imagined, with new creatures, landscapes and rules. But she can’t forget the people she left behind, and, as she learns more about this new world, she isn’t sure if she should let her old world go or if she should share her new-found discoveries.
Once again A.J. Betts totally delivers on the descriptions and the way in which she builds the story and landscapes that encompass it. Now outside the confines of her old world, Hayley has so much to discover. And while the Australian landscape and creatures described may be familiar to most readers, it is seeing it all through Hayley’s eyes that is really cool. It is totally believable that Hayley has never before heard of the ocean or the sky or stars. She discovers these things alongside her new friend. I loved Kid. Loved his enthusiasm and kindness. He was a great addition to the story.
As well as expanding Hayley’s world, Rogue also gives readers some answers about the place Hayley was born and raised, as well as the condition of the wider planet earth. Set in the future, the reality is an all-too scary portrayal of both political and climate changes. As a result, Rogue is the perfect discussion starter for important topics of refugees, governmental control, population control and regulation, the environment, plants, animals, extinction, family, and relationships. Hayley, and the reader, can’t help but compare this new Earth to the contained world Hayley left behind, and the reader, alongside Hayley, must ask the question of which is better, or perhaps less wrong. I did enjoy the ending though, and thought it was the perfect ‘get out of jail free’ card. Giving no right answers, yet still providing a fulfilling and satisfying ending. There are still a lot of things left unanswered, which while leaving gaps for the reader remains true to Hayley’s perspective as the narrator and doesn’t provide details she would not know.
Rogue is best read after first reading Hive, and this two-book series is both compelling and unique.
Find more reviews, reading age guides, content advisory, and recommendations on my blog Madison's Library
Hayley had so many questions and when the son gave her the option to leave her confined life behind and explore what else was out there, she took it. Now, Hayley finds herself in a place she never could have imagined, with new creatures, landscapes and rules. But she can’t forget the people she left behind, and, as she learns more about this new world, she isn’t sure if she should let her old world go or if she should share her new-found discoveries.
Once again A.J. Betts totally delivers on the descriptions and the way in which she builds the story and landscapes that encompass it. Now outside the confines of her old world, Hayley has so much to discover. And while the Australian landscape and creatures described may be familiar to most readers, it is seeing it all through Hayley’s eyes that is really cool. It is totally believable that Hayley has never before heard of the ocean or the sky or stars. She discovers these things alongside her new friend. I loved Kid. Loved his enthusiasm and kindness. He was a great addition to the story.
As well as expanding Hayley’s world, Rogue also gives readers some answers about the place Hayley was born and raised, as well as the condition of the wider planet earth. Set in the future, the reality is an all-too scary portrayal of both political and climate changes. As a result, Rogue is the perfect discussion starter for important topics of refugees, governmental control, population control and regulation, the environment, plants, animals, extinction, family, and relationships. Hayley, and the reader, can’t help but compare this new Earth to the contained world Hayley left behind, and the reader, alongside Hayley, must ask the question of which is better, or perhaps less wrong. I did enjoy the ending though, and thought it was the perfect ‘get out of jail free’ card. Giving no right answers, yet still providing a fulfilling and satisfying ending. There are still a lot of things left unanswered, which while leaving gaps for the reader remains true to Hayley’s perspective as the narrator and doesn’t provide details she would not know.
Rogue is best read after first reading Hive, and this two-book series is both compelling and unique.
Find more reviews, reading age guides, content advisory, and recommendations on my blog Madison's Library
July 1, 2019
I was very kindly sent a copy of Rogue and its predecessor Hive courtesy of Pan Macmillan and AusYABloggers, so thank you very much, and thank you for selecting me for this tour. If you would like to check out the other reviews, you can find them all linked here.
I was not obligated to review Hive but I’m going to anyway. However, this review will be free of spoilers, bar a couple of minor ones.
Hive follows a girl called Hayley, who is born into a contained world, made up of nine “houses,” hexagonal-shaped and fitted together like beehives, which, as far as anyone knows, is and always has been the entirety of existence. There is nothing outside of their walls, and everything they could ever need inside.
The profession you have as an adult is determined by who your parents are. Profession options are: kitchener, gardener, seeder, netter, enginer. (There used to also be servicers, but the service house is closed up after being decimated by fire, or so children are taught. This isn’t what happened but I won’t spoil it.) A gardener girl and a netter boy make an enginer baby, for example. There are no separate families: marriage lasts for three nights, and when a baby is born the woman who birthed it spends a year with it in the nursery, and then goes back to her regular job and that child never knows who their parents are. But it’s irrelevant: children belong to the community. They’re taught until a certain age, and then given to one of the houses to learn that profession. Older men and women of the community are called Uncles and Aunts, and everyone looks out for everyone. The only meaningful relationships anyone has are friendships.
(This also means there’s no concept of love, or of queerness. But to be honest, we’re coming to the point where I’d rather there be no queer people in a story instead of them being included as a mere token or tragic plot device. And I’m no longer as starved for queer rep as I once was.)
Hayley frequently suffers from migraines, called “headpains,” and goes into the forbidden pathway between the enginer house and servicer house because it, for some reason, makes her headpains go away. (V good explanation for this.) One day, while in there, she discovers a drip in the ceiling. Which begs the question: if this world is all there is, and there’s nothing on the other side, how can there be a drip in the ceiling?
Hayley must now juggle finding the answer to this question while trying to foster new and surprising friendships, maintain old ones, avoid making people thinking she’s “mad,” and lying with growing frequency to mask the fact that she was in that forbidden area in the first place. The lies and the questions and the headpains grow in frequency and intensity until eventually she is diagnosed with madness, and it becomes imperative for her to get out.
Which she does. That’s a spoiler. But it’s a necessary one. She gets out, and then has to contend with finding her way in the real world, which is every bit as controlling and confusing and unforgiving as her old one. But it’s also full of wonder, and beauty, and surprising allies.
The overall tone of Hive was, to me, heavily reminiscent of M Night Shymalan’s The Village. And I hecking love that movie so that was great.
Something else that I thought was so clever, but that I didn’t notice until I read Rogue, was that the word choice in Hive was extremely deliberate. We find out in Rogue that there’s a lot of regular (to us) things that Hayley doesn’t know about and doesn’t have words for - and unlike Rogue, nothing in Hive is described using words that Hayley didn’t have at the time. Rogue makes it clear that the narrator is Hayley-in-the-future, and so is Hive, but in Hive there’s no “I didn’t know it then but do now” kind of parts. I’m already looking forward to reading Hive again so I can fully appreciate this.
Hive and Rogue are set in Australia in the future. I’d call it a dystopian version of Australia, except it was terrifyingly, horrifyingly familiar. We find out that Hive and Rogue are set a specific number of years into the future, but the very beginning of the story, when things happened to set all these chains of events off, start now. In this time.
I’ll be honest, I spent most of my time reading Rogue feeling absolutely terrified. Everything in it was so plausible and LIKELY, to the point where I basically had an actual existential crisis because it was so much like looking into my future. Wrecked planet, governmental control, false utopias. Even things that on the surface seemed good, like the evolution of Australia’s refugee policy, turned out to be just as awful and evil as the current one, but in far more insidious ways. And then near the end I was prepared to be totally emotionally devastated, but then it ended not just well but in the BEST way possible and I cried a lot and really loved it.
These books were phenomenally well written, and the balance of exposition to plot was perfect. All of the twists felt completely organic and were also balanced in terms of good twists to bad twists. I read both books back to back and not once did I feel bored, either with the characters, the pacing or with spending so much time at once in this universe.
While we’re on the subject of balance: everyone in Hive is white, but everyone in Rogue except for Hayley and one or two others are non-white: I assumed Indigenous, but it doesn’t explicitly say that.
There was only one twist that I thought felt too convenient, but in the scheme of things it’s minor and as a plot device it did what it needed to. Similarly, the use of the word “madness” felt a little clumsy in this time when we’re all trying to be less ableist, but there isn’t a better analogue. Madness never once referred to actual mental illness, (although “melancholy” was mentioned and it was clearly regarded as a Bad Thing) even when it seemed that way. It was, basically, a word given to any kind of noncompliance, and an excuse for the (frankly horrific) “”treatment”” of that noncompliance. I’m not going to lie: the community in Hive was ableist af; but intentionally so.
The fringes of society where we spent our time in Rogue weren’t ableist so much (apart from the continuing use of the words “mad” and “crazy,” but given the way they’d been used against Hayley in the first book, that seemed to be a way of reclamation. Hayley acknowledged this in the text also), and one of the most important secondary characters in it had a disability, but the parts of the world that were regular society were as structurally ableist as ours, but to a much more extreme degree. I acknowledge that I’m looking at this from the outside, but I think these books are self-aware when it came to this, and it’s not at all presented as being right, or justified, or something to accept. The characters, and by extension us, are supposed to be (and are) appalled by what happens in regular society. Most of the characters in Rogue go out of their way to AVOID regular society and as a result live a freer, albeit harder, life.
(If you’re concerned that any of this will adversely affect you, I advise you to steer clear. Any and all ableism-related CWs apply - if you’d like to ask about a specific one, feel free, or I can give you a list of the ones I took note of if you’d like. But that list will contain spoilers, so be prepared for that.)
Both of the worlds in Hive and Rogue had extremely dark parts, but both contained enough bright things to make them liveable and worth fighting for. Hayley has some excellent growth in regards to her feelings towards her old home, specifically what they nearly did to her in the name of “”treatment,”” which I was concerned wouldn’t happen, and then very pleased about when it did.
Hella found family feels, also. Extremely my jam.
Overall I really really enjoyed this duology and would gladly read it again, and I’m going to be recommending it to people whenever I can, for a long time to come.
Hive: 4 stars
Rogue: 5 stars
Thank you again to AusYABloggers and Pan Macmillan for running this tour, and for AJ Betts for two absolutely wonderful books.
Cross-posted on my blog.
I was not obligated to review Hive but I’m going to anyway. However, this review will be free of spoilers, bar a couple of minor ones.
Hive follows a girl called Hayley, who is born into a contained world, made up of nine “houses,” hexagonal-shaped and fitted together like beehives, which, as far as anyone knows, is and always has been the entirety of existence. There is nothing outside of their walls, and everything they could ever need inside.
The profession you have as an adult is determined by who your parents are. Profession options are: kitchener, gardener, seeder, netter, enginer. (There used to also be servicers, but the service house is closed up after being decimated by fire, or so children are taught. This isn’t what happened but I won’t spoil it.) A gardener girl and a netter boy make an enginer baby, for example. There are no separate families: marriage lasts for three nights, and when a baby is born the woman who birthed it spends a year with it in the nursery, and then goes back to her regular job and that child never knows who their parents are. But it’s irrelevant: children belong to the community. They’re taught until a certain age, and then given to one of the houses to learn that profession. Older men and women of the community are called Uncles and Aunts, and everyone looks out for everyone. The only meaningful relationships anyone has are friendships.
(This also means there’s no concept of love, or of queerness. But to be honest, we’re coming to the point where I’d rather there be no queer people in a story instead of them being included as a mere token or tragic plot device. And I’m no longer as starved for queer rep as I once was.)
Hayley frequently suffers from migraines, called “headpains,” and goes into the forbidden pathway between the enginer house and servicer house because it, for some reason, makes her headpains go away. (V good explanation for this.) One day, while in there, she discovers a drip in the ceiling. Which begs the question: if this world is all there is, and there’s nothing on the other side, how can there be a drip in the ceiling?
Hayley must now juggle finding the answer to this question while trying to foster new and surprising friendships, maintain old ones, avoid making people thinking she’s “mad,” and lying with growing frequency to mask the fact that she was in that forbidden area in the first place. The lies and the questions and the headpains grow in frequency and intensity until eventually she is diagnosed with madness, and it becomes imperative for her to get out.
Which she does. That’s a spoiler. But it’s a necessary one. She gets out, and then has to contend with finding her way in the real world, which is every bit as controlling and confusing and unforgiving as her old one. But it’s also full of wonder, and beauty, and surprising allies.
The overall tone of Hive was, to me, heavily reminiscent of M Night Shymalan’s The Village. And I hecking love that movie so that was great.
Something else that I thought was so clever, but that I didn’t notice until I read Rogue, was that the word choice in Hive was extremely deliberate. We find out in Rogue that there’s a lot of regular (to us) things that Hayley doesn’t know about and doesn’t have words for - and unlike Rogue, nothing in Hive is described using words that Hayley didn’t have at the time. Rogue makes it clear that the narrator is Hayley-in-the-future, and so is Hive, but in Hive there’s no “I didn’t know it then but do now” kind of parts. I’m already looking forward to reading Hive again so I can fully appreciate this.
Hive and Rogue are set in Australia in the future. I’d call it a dystopian version of Australia, except it was terrifyingly, horrifyingly familiar. We find out that Hive and Rogue are set a specific number of years into the future, but the very beginning of the story, when things happened to set all these chains of events off, start now. In this time.
I’ll be honest, I spent most of my time reading Rogue feeling absolutely terrified. Everything in it was so plausible and LIKELY, to the point where I basically had an actual existential crisis because it was so much like looking into my future. Wrecked planet, governmental control, false utopias. Even things that on the surface seemed good, like the evolution of Australia’s refugee policy, turned out to be just as awful and evil as the current one, but in far more insidious ways. And then near the end I was prepared to be totally emotionally devastated, but then it ended not just well but in the BEST way possible and I cried a lot and really loved it.
These books were phenomenally well written, and the balance of exposition to plot was perfect. All of the twists felt completely organic and were also balanced in terms of good twists to bad twists. I read both books back to back and not once did I feel bored, either with the characters, the pacing or with spending so much time at once in this universe.
While we’re on the subject of balance: everyone in Hive is white, but everyone in Rogue except for Hayley and one or two others are non-white: I assumed Indigenous, but it doesn’t explicitly say that.
There was only one twist that I thought felt too convenient, but in the scheme of things it’s minor and as a plot device it did what it needed to. Similarly, the use of the word “madness” felt a little clumsy in this time when we’re all trying to be less ableist, but there isn’t a better analogue. Madness never once referred to actual mental illness, (although “melancholy” was mentioned and it was clearly regarded as a Bad Thing) even when it seemed that way. It was, basically, a word given to any kind of noncompliance, and an excuse for the (frankly horrific) “”treatment”” of that noncompliance. I’m not going to lie: the community in Hive was ableist af; but intentionally so.
The fringes of society where we spent our time in Rogue weren’t ableist so much (apart from the continuing use of the words “mad” and “crazy,” but given the way they’d been used against Hayley in the first book, that seemed to be a way of reclamation. Hayley acknowledged this in the text also), and one of the most important secondary characters in it had a disability, but the parts of the world that were regular society were as structurally ableist as ours, but to a much more extreme degree. I acknowledge that I’m looking at this from the outside, but I think these books are self-aware when it came to this, and it’s not at all presented as being right, or justified, or something to accept. The characters, and by extension us, are supposed to be (and are) appalled by what happens in regular society. Most of the characters in Rogue go out of their way to AVOID regular society and as a result live a freer, albeit harder, life.
(If you’re concerned that any of this will adversely affect you, I advise you to steer clear. Any and all ableism-related CWs apply - if you’d like to ask about a specific one, feel free, or I can give you a list of the ones I took note of if you’d like. But that list will contain spoilers, so be prepared for that.)
Both of the worlds in Hive and Rogue had extremely dark parts, but both contained enough bright things to make them liveable and worth fighting for. Hayley has some excellent growth in regards to her feelings towards her old home, specifically what they nearly did to her in the name of “”treatment,”” which I was concerned wouldn’t happen, and then very pleased about when it did.
Hella found family feels, also. Extremely my jam.
Overall I really really enjoyed this duology and would gladly read it again, and I’m going to be recommending it to people whenever I can, for a long time to come.
Hive: 4 stars
Rogue: 5 stars
Thank you again to AusYABloggers and Pan Macmillan for running this tour, and for AJ Betts for two absolutely wonderful books.
Cross-posted on my blog.
September 23, 2019
When I read Hive last year, I couldn’t see how there could be a sequel. Plus, I’m not a big fan of series and I enjoy a little mystery at the end of a story so I wasn’t sure if I would read Rogue. But I did and what a perfect sequel!
In Hive we learn the story of Hayley and discover she is living in a vault under the ocean. Her world has definable limits and her society’s language reflects the world in which they live and nothing more. Hayley is curious and wants to know more than just the bees she tends to. At the end of Hive, Hayley has left the world she has known since birth and floats on the oceans of a world beyond her own. This is where the story of Rogue begins.
Bees sometimes run away from the hive; they become rogue. The title of the second book is apt; Hayley was a beekeeper and now she’s a runaway. The world building in both books is phenomenal. Hayley has plenty of questions about her new world and as readers we sometimes know more than she but oftentimes we don’t. Betts has created a world built around the themes of environmentalism and social justice uncomfortably reflecting Australian politics. In the hands of Betts these themes are skilfully woven throughout the narrative without leaving the writing dry nor the reader hopeless.
While Hive was a more gentle book in terms of pacing, I found myself staying up late to read Rogue. I just had to know what would happen next; a hallmark of great storytelling.
Rogue has a terrific cast of characters with plenty of villains and the occasional kind soul. I particularly enjoyed Hayley’s relationship with Kid.
I’d like to finish with a note about the writing; it is sparse and simple and beautiful. And on that note, I’ll leave you with this quote from the book and a reminder to read Hive first:
"There was only one distant light now, and it came from my left, out above the ocean. Impossibly, it was the colour of fire, contained as a ball. It rose up along a wall that didn’t burn but changed its colours, not one at a time but altogether, fusing golds, reds, pinks, yellows and blues that shifted together and spread. I sat mutely while ‘sun’ and ‘sky’ worked their bewildering magic."
In Hive we learn the story of Hayley and discover she is living in a vault under the ocean. Her world has definable limits and her society’s language reflects the world in which they live and nothing more. Hayley is curious and wants to know more than just the bees she tends to. At the end of Hive, Hayley has left the world she has known since birth and floats on the oceans of a world beyond her own. This is where the story of Rogue begins.
Bees sometimes run away from the hive; they become rogue. The title of the second book is apt; Hayley was a beekeeper and now she’s a runaway. The world building in both books is phenomenal. Hayley has plenty of questions about her new world and as readers we sometimes know more than she but oftentimes we don’t. Betts has created a world built around the themes of environmentalism and social justice uncomfortably reflecting Australian politics. In the hands of Betts these themes are skilfully woven throughout the narrative without leaving the writing dry nor the reader hopeless.
While Hive was a more gentle book in terms of pacing, I found myself staying up late to read Rogue. I just had to know what would happen next; a hallmark of great storytelling.
Rogue has a terrific cast of characters with plenty of villains and the occasional kind soul. I particularly enjoyed Hayley’s relationship with Kid.
I’d like to finish with a note about the writing; it is sparse and simple and beautiful. And on that note, I’ll leave you with this quote from the book and a reminder to read Hive first:
"There was only one distant light now, and it came from my left, out above the ocean. Impossibly, it was the colour of fire, contained as a ball. It rose up along a wall that didn’t burn but changed its colours, not one at a time but altogether, fusing golds, reds, pinks, yellows and blues that shifted together and spread. I sat mutely while ‘sun’ and ‘sky’ worked their bewildering magic."
January 10, 2025
3.5
didn't quite hit as hard as I wanted it to. I got so bored I was just skimming parts.
didn't quite hit as hard as I wanted it to. I got so bored I was just skimming parts.
July 8, 2019
Rogue was better than Hive but I still felt as though it was missing a fair bit.
For instance the action or something? It was really drawn out with Hayley doing small and meaningless tasks. If these tasks were taken out of the book, it would be a whole lot more interesting and not so drawn out. By drawing it out it took value away from the story and the character development.
I do love that that this book is based in Australia. There honestly is not enough books based in Australia. And out of all the usual popular place in Australia that a book can be based (pretty much it is always in Sydney) this is actually based in Tasmania. I mean if you haven’t been to Tasmania, you should. It is absolutely beautiful!
I also think there should have been about the ‘law’ of this story? It is over shadowed and I was left wondering what the law was and how it works, to me it should have been explained. I don’t really like being left wondering. But that’s me personally, to some it could add to the mystery of it all.
Rogue was written brilliantly compared to Hive and out of the two this would have to be my favourite as the story had more depth as well.
For instance the action or something? It was really drawn out with Hayley doing small and meaningless tasks. If these tasks were taken out of the book, it would be a whole lot more interesting and not so drawn out. By drawing it out it took value away from the story and the character development.
I do love that that this book is based in Australia. There honestly is not enough books based in Australia. And out of all the usual popular place in Australia that a book can be based (pretty much it is always in Sydney) this is actually based in Tasmania. I mean if you haven’t been to Tasmania, you should. It is absolutely beautiful!
I also think there should have been about the ‘law’ of this story? It is over shadowed and I was left wondering what the law was and how it works, to me it should have been explained. I don’t really like being left wondering. But that’s me personally, to some it could add to the mystery of it all.
Rogue was written brilliantly compared to Hive and out of the two this would have to be my favourite as the story had more depth as well.
July 17, 2019
Last year I read Hive, the first novel by A.J. Betts in her two part dystopian YA series about a community who live in a hexagonal world. At the end of Hive, Hayley, our protagonist, was aided in her escape from the only world she’d ever known and propelled out into the ocean. At the time of reading Hive, I expressed the opinion that I wished this story was one bigger novel instead of two smaller ones released a year apart. Now after having read Rogue, I stand by this opinion. I really do think sometimes that publishers do YA novelists a disservice by always releasing in series form. Hive itself wasn’t a very long novel, and despite really enjoying it at the time, I just didn’t remember enough of the specifics to fully enjoy Rogue.
The world Hayley discovers is an altered Australia, 100 years in the future. Global warming has indeed changed the surface of the earth, and as you might expect, there are more islands. Betts provides an eerie vision that is typical on some levels but innovative on others. As Hayley grapples with surviving up above, she spends some time contemplating life that is still going on down below.
‘Even if it was a mistake that had kept three hundred people in an underwater vault, at least it had been a fortunate one. They’d lived happily and safely, unaffected by the famines and storms and wars that had plagued this world above.
A greater mistake now would be to tell them the truth. It would be too cruel to show them the atlas and point out their smallness. It would trivialise everything they’ve done and believed in.’
I didn’t mind Rogue but it didn’t have me as enthralled as Hive. Hayley’s sheltered naivety offers at times an overly simplistic outlook and I found the ending somewhat rushed and oddly timed, with little preceding warning of the ultimate outcome. An easy ‘happily ever after’ out, if that makes sense. It’s in this that the novel rears its YA head, reminding me why I prefer fiction for adults. One thing I did really like about this story is the absence of romance driving the narrative. Hayley is a strong character who is relying on her wits and inner strength to get her through the challenges that are thrown in her path, and for this, I highly commend the series as a whole. It also places a great emphasis on friendship and trusting others to help you through the hard times. If you read Hive, you’ll want to follow it up with this one, even if it’s just to find out why Hayley’s world was originally constructed. But it’s not a novel that can be read as a standalone so if you’re new to this series, I recommend you pick up Hive first.
Thanks is extended to Pan Macmillan Australiafor providing me with a copy of Rogue for review.
The world Hayley discovers is an altered Australia, 100 years in the future. Global warming has indeed changed the surface of the earth, and as you might expect, there are more islands. Betts provides an eerie vision that is typical on some levels but innovative on others. As Hayley grapples with surviving up above, she spends some time contemplating life that is still going on down below.
‘Even if it was a mistake that had kept three hundred people in an underwater vault, at least it had been a fortunate one. They’d lived happily and safely, unaffected by the famines and storms and wars that had plagued this world above.
A greater mistake now would be to tell them the truth. It would be too cruel to show them the atlas and point out their smallness. It would trivialise everything they’ve done and believed in.’
I didn’t mind Rogue but it didn’t have me as enthralled as Hive. Hayley’s sheltered naivety offers at times an overly simplistic outlook and I found the ending somewhat rushed and oddly timed, with little preceding warning of the ultimate outcome. An easy ‘happily ever after’ out, if that makes sense. It’s in this that the novel rears its YA head, reminding me why I prefer fiction for adults. One thing I did really like about this story is the absence of romance driving the narrative. Hayley is a strong character who is relying on her wits and inner strength to get her through the challenges that are thrown in her path, and for this, I highly commend the series as a whole. It also places a great emphasis on friendship and trusting others to help you through the hard times. If you read Hive, you’ll want to follow it up with this one, even if it’s just to find out why Hayley’s world was originally constructed. But it’s not a novel that can be read as a standalone so if you’re new to this series, I recommend you pick up Hive first.
Thanks is extended to Pan Macmillan Australiafor providing me with a copy of Rogue for review.
October 5, 2021
5000 stars for Rogue! AAAHHHHHH!! I am crying at the ending. I did not expect it to go like this. The start felt a bit slow, but overall I was completely captured. I suspect I will never read anything quite like this again; I feel like there are a lot of books that all sort of copy each other and have very similar premises and ways of getting there. Not the Hive series. I can't say definitively, as I haven't read every book ever written, but this just hits different. Consequently, I have added all of AJ Betts' other books to my to-read list.
June 22, 2020
This book take an unexpected turn for me from the other book. I enjoyed it but I think it moved on very fast. Hayley met many new characters but I didn't think she stayed long enough and most of them remained just names for me.
October 13, 2019
A great part-two'er which had lots of action, intrigue and adventure. Really enjoyed this duology.
July 19, 2019
This duology is stunning. It's such a grueling and frustrating journey at times but the payoff is worth it. And it's great to have more hopeful cli-fi. Love it. Love this follow up.
July 13, 2019
This week is the online book tour for Rogue by A.J. Betts, the second book in the HIVE series. Read Hive now if you haven't already.
Thanks Pan Macmillan Australia and #AusYABloggers for providing an ARC so I can join the tour and write an honest review.
***This has spoilers from Book 1***
After Hayley left her sheltered life in Hive, she surfaces in a world unlike anything she's known. Water stretching to infinity. The ceiling a dome higher than anything Hayley could imagine. During the day a searing orb beats down on her. She can only open her eyes in the darkness of night, when the growlights stretch forever.
Don't worry, Hayley will learn: ocean, sky, star, and the words for all these other incomprehensible things. Before any of that, she washes up on a rocky shore, climbs a cliff to a wide plain with forest beyond. The crib abandoned, Hayley aims for the trees, the only recognizable thing she's seen since surfacing.
Has Hayley found sanctuary? A place almost familiar, but bigger. Or is this new world not as tranquil as it seems? What she faces on Maria Island is only the beginning of layer upon layer of worlds: Terrafirma, The Mainland, beyond. Further and further from Hayley's tiny hexagonal life with the drippings from the ceiling. (It's not always ok to eat fish.)
This new world seems much like ours, with echidnas, melaleucas and wattle flour to make the most heavenly food of all - pie. But there's a sinister undertone to the paradise of Maria Island. They can't talk outside the compound, there's a hiding place under the floor, and when Drifters arrive, Drones follow soon after.
The similarities between our world and what Hayley discovers is a pretty nasty dystopia, are chilling. Climate change has wrecked havoc on Australia, but not as badly as other countries and refugees swarm across the seas to find sanctuary. Turns out, that's not what's waiting. Sounds like Australia 2019. But don't worry, the asteroid Erebus doesn't arrive til 2020. (The naming of which is brilliant. Gigi, you're wrong about chaos achieving nothing.)
How can Hayley be happy in a world without bees? She's an apiarist!? Unfortunately for Hayley, that's the least of her worries. Snakes, lecherous men, pathologists - they're all out to get her when they find out where Hayley comes from. Although her skills with lying are exceptional, she can't fool the tech. And that tech is creepy as a lecherous old man, or a marion, or both in the same room together?
The reason for Hayley's hexagonal world and why they live under the sea is the cleverest answer to all her questions.
At a certain point, around when we met Romeo and Juliet, things went west of where I wanted to go, but if you're not romance-averse, you'll be fine. I did like the over-arching theme of love, in all its guises. And Hayley's quest to understand what love is.
And everyone, watch out for asteroids! The government won't tell us because they don't like Choas or its progeny.
Note to Hayley: leaving the dogs behind was your biggest mistake, of many.
Thanks Pan Macmillan Australia and #AusYABloggers for providing an ARC so I can join the tour and write an honest review.
***This has spoilers from Book 1***
After Hayley left her sheltered life in Hive, she surfaces in a world unlike anything she's known. Water stretching to infinity. The ceiling a dome higher than anything Hayley could imagine. During the day a searing orb beats down on her. She can only open her eyes in the darkness of night, when the growlights stretch forever.
Don't worry, Hayley will learn: ocean, sky, star, and the words for all these other incomprehensible things. Before any of that, she washes up on a rocky shore, climbs a cliff to a wide plain with forest beyond. The crib abandoned, Hayley aims for the trees, the only recognizable thing she's seen since surfacing.
Has Hayley found sanctuary? A place almost familiar, but bigger. Or is this new world not as tranquil as it seems? What she faces on Maria Island is only the beginning of layer upon layer of worlds: Terrafirma, The Mainland, beyond. Further and further from Hayley's tiny hexagonal life with the drippings from the ceiling. (It's not always ok to eat fish.)
This new world seems much like ours, with echidnas, melaleucas and wattle flour to make the most heavenly food of all - pie. But there's a sinister undertone to the paradise of Maria Island. They can't talk outside the compound, there's a hiding place under the floor, and when Drifters arrive, Drones follow soon after.
The similarities between our world and what Hayley discovers is a pretty nasty dystopia, are chilling. Climate change has wrecked havoc on Australia, but not as badly as other countries and refugees swarm across the seas to find sanctuary. Turns out, that's not what's waiting. Sounds like Australia 2019. But don't worry, the asteroid Erebus doesn't arrive til 2020. (The naming of which is brilliant. Gigi, you're wrong about chaos achieving nothing.)
How can Hayley be happy in a world without bees? She's an apiarist!? Unfortunately for Hayley, that's the least of her worries. Snakes, lecherous men, pathologists - they're all out to get her when they find out where Hayley comes from. Although her skills with lying are exceptional, she can't fool the tech. And that tech is creepy as a lecherous old man, or a marion, or both in the same room together?
The reason for Hayley's hexagonal world and why they live under the sea is the cleverest answer to all her questions.
At a certain point, around when we met Romeo and Juliet, things went west of where I wanted to go, but if you're not romance-averse, you'll be fine. I did like the over-arching theme of love, in all its guises. And Hayley's quest to understand what love is.
And everyone, watch out for asteroids! The government won't tell us because they don't like Choas or its progeny.
Note to Hayley: leaving the dogs behind was your biggest mistake, of many.
July 13, 2019
When a dystopian is set in a confined environment, there’s a 50/50 chance that the sequel will suck. Sometimes the mystery and magic is just inexplicably lost once the characters escape their confines. I’m happy to report that this wasn’t the case with Rogue and I really liked it!
I LOVED how Aussie this was! It’s so atmospheric and I really felt transported to the Tasmanian bushland. You can practically feel the sun on your skin, smell the saltwater, and hear the birds cawing in the trees. After living within the sterile and climate-controlled confines of the Vault in Hive, it was such a wonderful (and well executed) change to be amongst nature in Rogue.
Where Hive is quieter, confined, and takes a while to set the sakes, Rogue is the antithesis of this. We get so much action, adventure, chases, deception, and travel, which creates a feeling of chaos that serves as a polar opposite to the controlled peace in the Vault. It was a wild ride, y’all!
As for criticism, I confess to needing more world-building and history on the I understood this future as a commentary on climate change and Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers, but without the proper world-building it felt like AJ Betts was trying to do too much and spreading themselves too thin.
I also wish the author had really committed to taking the risk at the end. She dipped her toes in but then it seemed like she got scared and bailed. Sometimes the painful ending is artistically better than the happy one, and I wish she’d committed to the painful one.
That being said, AJ Betts still had me bawling my eyes out for the last 20 pages and reduced me to tears thinking about bees. I never thought I’d ever cry about bees. Turns out there’s a first time for everything!
4 stars.
May 12, 2019
Strong follow up to HIVE. Satisfying resolution.
Review to come.
Review to come.
July 7, 2019
http://jessjustreads.com
Rogue is the second and final book in the Vault series by Australian author A.J. Betts. Vault is a dystopian YA series about a young girl — Hayley — who lives in an enclosed vault with a large community and her curiosity leads her to the discovery that they’re in fact living underwater.
Rogue picks up exactly where Hive left off — Hayley travels up in the pod and arrives on land. She has no idea where she is, or even what this place is. Over the course of the novel, you find out why Hayley’s community was living underwater and what happened to those people who were left on land and where they are now.
“Time behaved differently in this world. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with it. There were no coloured grow lights to signal when to eat, work, rest or sleep. There were no morning meetings to allocate jobs. No bath-time rituals. No prayers, and though I still felt the impulse, I wasn’t sure what to pray for here.”
There were so many possibilities for where this book could go, but I just feel like nothing much happened. This is a really short book and I stand by my original thought that Hive and Rogue should just be one book, but with two parts.
Hayley travels a lot in the book, and it’s kind of boring. Sure, she meets people and they build a family together and there are hurdles she has to overcome and danger she must avoid, and information about the land and the people that she has to learn really quickly. But ultimately, I finished this book quite disappointed at the lack of plot. The final 50 pages has a lot going on but by then, it felt too late. I think this book is let down by its structure and its plot, which is a shame because A.J Betts is a really talented writer and I freaking loved Hive.
“I tried to recall what Will had said about the first generation, and why they went down. They had a problem, you understand? Was it a famine that had caused our ancestors to flee the terrestrial world?”
Rogue explores many themes, including climate change and asylum seeking. The book is mainly set in Tasmania, which is now called Terrafirma. Terrafirma is essentially a prison for drifters — this setting feels really relevant in 2019 and there is a terrifyingly strong connection between Terrafirma in Rogue, and Manus and Nauru in Australia.
Hayley’s characterisation is a strength in the book — she’s thrust into a new world that she has no knowledge of and she’s forced to adapt to her surroundings. She’s resilient and she trusts her instincts, and she is incredibly courageous.
“I’d once resented Will for his freedom. I’d envied his privilege, as the son, to wander unquestioned through the houses, and I often imagined the things I would do, if I were him. I would go to the kitchen for no reason but to smell the nutmeg and touch the polished copper pots.”
The Vault series is recommended for young adult readers, aged 12+
Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rogue is the second and final book in the Vault series by Australian author A.J. Betts. Vault is a dystopian YA series about a young girl — Hayley — who lives in an enclosed vault with a large community and her curiosity leads her to the discovery that they’re in fact living underwater.
Rogue picks up exactly where Hive left off — Hayley travels up in the pod and arrives on land. She has no idea where she is, or even what this place is. Over the course of the novel, you find out why Hayley’s community was living underwater and what happened to those people who were left on land and where they are now.
“Time behaved differently in this world. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with it. There were no coloured grow lights to signal when to eat, work, rest or sleep. There were no morning meetings to allocate jobs. No bath-time rituals. No prayers, and though I still felt the impulse, I wasn’t sure what to pray for here.”
There were so many possibilities for where this book could go, but I just feel like nothing much happened. This is a really short book and I stand by my original thought that Hive and Rogue should just be one book, but with two parts.
Hayley travels a lot in the book, and it’s kind of boring. Sure, she meets people and they build a family together and there are hurdles she has to overcome and danger she must avoid, and information about the land and the people that she has to learn really quickly. But ultimately, I finished this book quite disappointed at the lack of plot. The final 50 pages has a lot going on but by then, it felt too late. I think this book is let down by its structure and its plot, which is a shame because A.J Betts is a really talented writer and I freaking loved Hive.
“I tried to recall what Will had said about the first generation, and why they went down. They had a problem, you understand? Was it a famine that had caused our ancestors to flee the terrestrial world?”
Rogue explores many themes, including climate change and asylum seeking. The book is mainly set in Tasmania, which is now called Terrafirma. Terrafirma is essentially a prison for drifters — this setting feels really relevant in 2019 and there is a terrifyingly strong connection between Terrafirma in Rogue, and Manus and Nauru in Australia.
Hayley’s characterisation is a strength in the book — she’s thrust into a new world that she has no knowledge of and she’s forced to adapt to her surroundings. She’s resilient and she trusts her instincts, and she is incredibly courageous.
“I’d once resented Will for his freedom. I’d envied his privilege, as the son, to wander unquestioned through the houses, and I often imagined the things I would do, if I were him. I would go to the kitchen for no reason but to smell the nutmeg and touch the polished copper pots.”
The Vault series is recommended for young adult readers, aged 12+
Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 16, 2019
Oh... my... WOW!
I had to wait an entire year for this book to come out and I can tell you right now that I was NOT disappointed.
After reading Rogue I found it to be very interesting because the duology is definitely set up so that Hive is just there to begin, set up and introduce everything that happens in Rogue.
Everything this duology is about, happens in Rogue. It's such an amazing novel and I can't believe how well AJ Betts has done with this.
I loved exploring the world with Hayley as she discovers why and how her "world" came to exist. She meets some beautiful (and not so beautiful) people, discover so many things that didn't exist in her world, goes to places that she never could even have imagined.
Betts put in so much thought into how the world changed and how climate change actually affected everything, how it made everyone live they way they were. The process of the world falling apart until nature basically doesn't exist and EVERYTHING is artificial.
This review only shows a small amount of my appreciation for this book, but I thought it would be best if I didn't rant forever!
I had to wait an entire year for this book to come out and I can tell you right now that I was NOT disappointed.
After reading Rogue I found it to be very interesting because the duology is definitely set up so that Hive is just there to begin, set up and introduce everything that happens in Rogue.
Everything this duology is about, happens in Rogue. It's such an amazing novel and I can't believe how well AJ Betts has done with this.
I loved exploring the world with Hayley as she discovers why and how her "world" came to exist. She meets some beautiful (and not so beautiful) people, discover so many things that didn't exist in her world, goes to places that she never could even have imagined.
Betts put in so much thought into how the world changed and how climate change actually affected everything, how it made everyone live they way they were. The process of the world falling apart until nature basically doesn't exist and EVERYTHING is artificial.
This review only shows a small amount of my appreciation for this book, but I thought it would be best if I didn't rant forever!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 1, 2019
I was lucky enough to be selected to review ROGUE by AJ Betts as part of the AusYABloggers book tour, special thanks to #macmillanaus for the ARC.
ROGUE is the sequel/follow up to HIVE and continues on the adventure of Hayley. AJ Betts has created a futuristic world that really intrigued me and captured my imagination right from the beginning. Whilst the story is set in the future, it is only a few generations away from the present, making is seem like a realistic possibility for what the world could become. The characters are well developed. And Hayley. In particular is relatable and captivating.
An incredible journey through a dystopian world with beautiful characters and a compelling plot. This is my fave duology! If you haven’t read HIVE and ROGUE, get to it! This is one YA read that you definitely won’t regret!
ROGUE is the sequel/follow up to HIVE and continues on the adventure of Hayley. AJ Betts has created a futuristic world that really intrigued me and captured my imagination right from the beginning. Whilst the story is set in the future, it is only a few generations away from the present, making is seem like a realistic possibility for what the world could become. The characters are well developed. And Hayley. In particular is relatable and captivating.
An incredible journey through a dystopian world with beautiful characters and a compelling plot. This is my fave duology! If you haven’t read HIVE and ROGUE, get to it! This is one YA read that you definitely won’t regret!
September 23, 2022
DNF
I loved Hive and was so excited to read this but it just didn't live up to the quality of the first one. It wasn't the writing style it was the plot. All of the things that were happening were just a bit too far fetched and there was a multitude of climate change guff which just made me disinterested. Yes I understand it's an issue but I see it everywhere irl, I don't need to read about it as well.
This one just fell flat. I was expecting something really unique and original like the first one but it just didn't suffice.
Ages 13+
I loved Hive and was so excited to read this but it just didn't live up to the quality of the first one. It wasn't the writing style it was the plot. All of the things that were happening were just a bit too far fetched and there was a multitude of climate change guff which just made me disinterested. Yes I understand it's an issue but I see it everywhere irl, I don't need to read about it as well.
This one just fell flat. I was expecting something really unique and original like the first one but it just didn't suffice.
Ages 13+
October 4, 2019
3.5**** I was really looking forward to Rogue because I absolutely loved Hive. But this one didn’t quite meet my expectations. There were parts where I was completely absorbed and parts where I felt it dragged. It was a good follow up because I really wanted to know what was up there and I really liked the ending. I think it would have been better either combining the two books into one or not having a huge 12-month gap between them. Overall a good read, but nowhere near as good as Hive.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace Book Club and Pan Macmillan Australia for a copy in return for an honest review.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace Book Club and Pan Macmillan Australia for a copy in return for an honest review.
June 19, 2019
Review to come upon Australian Publication Date - 25th June! A big thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia for providing me with a copy of this book to review.
September 22, 2019
Maybe more 3.75?
March 5, 2022
A great, moving conclusion to Hive.
March 11, 2022
Read in one sitting. A nice ending but that’s about it.
December 16, 2019
I really couldn't handle this book. It was such a let down after the build up of the first - not that I particularly enjoyed that one. Nothing really happened, everything felt unplanned, the story did not flow well at all, characters were boring and 2 dimensional. Really sad to say I did not enjoy this book, not even being set in Tasmania could rescue it!
August 1, 2019
What else can I say but WOW! When I picked up Hive I was in love, but Rogue... I love the way the story is written and the storyline, especially the adventure and everything Hayley goes through. A.J Betts has done an amazing job with this book and I will definetly be going to buy her other books too.
July 2, 2019
Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you to the teams at MacMillan Australia and Ya BookBloggers for sending me a review copy of this title. I have loved being able to read a book in this setting!
As you can see, I only gave this title three stars. For me, it felt a little everywhere but also as though something was missing. The negatives first: I felt as though we spent the whole book following Hayley around, doing menial tasks, she didn't learn very much and her character develpment during this time was minimal. I found the pacing quite slow also, so her travelling seemed to take forever and it took away from the main aim of the plot. I also found that, there are so many mentions of the 'Law', yet we only saw a tiny snippet, of what life was like in the city areas. I still have so many unanswered questions.
The good stuff: I was so excited to see the setting of this book. Tasmania! Now, I don;t want to give too much away, but I loved having Hayley to to places that I have been, I have seen the coastline of Triabunna, I have walked in the wilderness that she did, it gave me an extra special connection to the book. I also adored the support characters. I felt a closer connection to them ,than to Hayley, in for a lot of the book. I think it was her naivety, from growing up in the Vault, that made it hard to connect to her. But Kid and his family were amazing. Such open, caring and kind people, who, even though live in their own kind of isolation, still had hearts big enough to fit the world in.
This book is well written, well researched and really does take you on a journey. You will meet characters from all walks of life and experience new technologies that are both amazing and a little scary. It feels nothing like Hive though, which did let me down a little bit, and you will probably have a lot of unanswered questions also. But at least it gives the reader some freedom to imagine those answers.
A good read. If you are a Tasmanian, I reccommend you read Hive and Rogue. It is such a trip!
As you can see, I only gave this title three stars. For me, it felt a little everywhere but also as though something was missing. The negatives first: I felt as though we spent the whole book following Hayley around, doing menial tasks, she didn't learn very much and her character develpment during this time was minimal. I found the pacing quite slow also, so her travelling seemed to take forever and it took away from the main aim of the plot. I also found that, there are so many mentions of the 'Law', yet we only saw a tiny snippet, of what life was like in the city areas. I still have so many unanswered questions.
The good stuff: I was so excited to see the setting of this book. Tasmania! Now, I don;t want to give too much away, but I loved having Hayley to to places that I have been, I have seen the coastline of Triabunna, I have walked in the wilderness that she did, it gave me an extra special connection to the book. I also adored the support characters. I felt a closer connection to them ,than to Hayley, in for a lot of the book. I think it was her naivety, from growing up in the Vault, that made it hard to connect to her. But Kid and his family were amazing. Such open, caring and kind people, who, even though live in their own kind of isolation, still had hearts big enough to fit the world in.
This book is well written, well researched and really does take you on a journey. You will meet characters from all walks of life and experience new technologies that are both amazing and a little scary. It feels nothing like Hive though, which did let me down a little bit, and you will probably have a lot of unanswered questions also. But at least it gives the reader some freedom to imagine those answers.
A good read. If you are a Tasmanian, I reccommend you read Hive and Rogue. It is such a trip!
December 10, 2019
Rogue by A.J. Betts is the conclusion to this duology that began with Hive. I can't say too much about this book without spoiling the ending of Hive for those who may not have read it yet, so this review will be brief.
The dystopian aspect of the story ramped up in Rogue and we learned more about the establishment of Hayley's original home. The author did a great job imagining a dystopian Australian future and painted a worrying picture for the reader.
Hayley continues to adapt quickly to her surroundings and fight for the future she wants. While an event close to the end of the book took me pleasantly by surprise.
Quick and easy to read with a satisfying conclusion, I recommend this Australian duology of Hive and Rogue to YA readers and those who enjoy dystopian fiction.
* Won in a Pan Macmillan giveaway hosted by The Very Hungry Thesaurus on Instagram *
The dystopian aspect of the story ramped up in Rogue and we learned more about the establishment of Hayley's original home. The author did a great job imagining a dystopian Australian future and painted a worrying picture for the reader.
Hayley continues to adapt quickly to her surroundings and fight for the future she wants. While an event close to the end of the book took me pleasantly by surprise.
Quick and easy to read with a satisfying conclusion, I recommend this Australian duology of Hive and Rogue to YA readers and those who enjoy dystopian fiction.
* Won in a Pan Macmillan giveaway hosted by The Very Hungry Thesaurus on Instagram *
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