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The Bar Code Tattoo (Bar Code #1)

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 5,908 ratings · 644 reviews

Individuality vs. Conformity

Identity vs. Access

Freedom vs. Control

The bar code tattoo. Everybody's getting it. It will make your life easier, they say. It will hook you in. It will become your identity.

But what if you say no? What if you don't want to become a code? For Kayla, this one choice changes everything. She becomes an outcast in her high school. Dangerous things h...more

Paperback, 256 pages

Published September 1st 2004 by Scholastic Paperbacks

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Oct 31, 2007 Jonelle rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of utopia/dystopia, pre-Orwell

Shelves: youngadultlibrary

I'm only about 70 pages in and it seems to be a book for YA/Ad Lit readers/teachers if they are looking for utopia/dystopia readings.
Essentially, the future (about 2020/2025) has each person tatooed with a bar code. Some believe, "if you're not doing anything wrong, why worry about it?" where others realize the danger of information that could be created and passed on within that bar-code. An interesting read in the age of the Patriot Act and for readers who are (or will one day be) familiar wi...more

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Apr 28, 2008 Ruben acebes rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Ruben by: teenagers

this is a book that talks about the future, 2025. the government of the USA makes every person to get a tattoo in their wrist. this is requiredfor every single citizen at age 18 and so.
but this girl found something about the tatoos. their family died for these tattoos.
The bar code tattoo talks about the new kind of identity in the United States, and also in the developed countries. It’s to get a bar code tattoo as if we were things. After some months when a girl called Kayla who refuses to get t...more

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Apr 30, 2008 Sylvia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: july2007-now

this book was on what will happen if everyone in the world was only identified by a code. In the book, getting a bar code was a cool thing and you get it when you turn a certain age. (16? 18?) but the government was corrupt and was killing everyone that was did not have the perfect DNA. and anyone with a history of cancer would be killed and the bar code tracked the movements of everyone. I thought this was wrong and so did the protaganist of the book; she decided to run away from her communtiy....more

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Aug 15, 2008 Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-of-summer-08, dystopia, gave-up-on-series, meh, no-me-gusta, young-adult, sci-fi, romance, insta-love

Another futuristic-society-where-everyone-conforms kind of book. Okay, not extremely original, not very well-written, dialogue kinda lame, characters not all that interesting, plot twists were lame, didn't make a lot of sense. Sorta reminded me of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, although not even close to being as good. But it had the same kind of idea: a society where all teenagers have to get a certain operation, and what happens when someone decides to refuse it... Relies completely on plot...more

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Sep 30, 2009 Sarah added it

To me, this novel was anything but original. Hey, what would happen if the government forced us to all get tattoos that recorded all the information about us on our own skins? See what I mean? This type of novel has been done tons before. Kayla lives in a world where all seventeen-year-olds have to receive a bar code tattoo on their wrists. Of course, the huge conglomerate that owns everything in America (including the government) has included genetic information on the tattoo. Some people recei...more

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Mar 06, 2009 Marissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Marissa Freeman

Mrs. Baltz

Pre-AP English

6 March 2009

The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn

I have never been in such an awful situation like Kayla. It looks into the future of 2025; the government is making everyone get a tattoo of a barcode on their wrist. It holds your life practically, like your credit cards, your driver’s licenses, and your birth certificate it holds everything under your name.

Everyone is dieing to get this “tattoo.” Kayla’s parents were getting her this for her 18th birthday an...more

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Dec 28, 2008 Karin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian, realistic, science-fiction, young-adult-fiction, psychic-powers, borrowed-from-the-library

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The United States government has been taken over by Global-1 – they basically own everything imaginable – technology, medicine, food, politicians. Global-1 is trying to enact a law that requires everyone over the age of 17 to get a bar code tattoo. The tattoo is supposed to make everything easier, because it keeps all of the information about a person in one place – I.D., bank account, credit, medical history, everything. Lots of people love the tattoo, because it makes transactions so easy and...more The United States government has been taken over by Global-1 – they basically own everything imaginable – technology, medicine, food, politicians. Global-1 is trying to enact a law that requires everyone over the age of 17 to get a bar code tattoo. The tattoo is supposed to make everything easier, because it keeps all of the information about a person in one place – I.D., bank account, credit, medical history, everything. Lots of people love the tattoo, because it makes transactions so easy and fast, but the tattoo has some unexpected consequences as well. For instance, Kayla’s father commits suicide soon after he gets his tattoo. Kayla, weeks away from being 17 and being required to get her own tattoo, is left wondering why her dad killed himself over a bar code.

Kayla ends up joining a group of protesters around her age who are fighting the bar coding of America. They publish a zine on the dangers of the bar code, and speculate on just what information might be encoded in it. More and more people are experiencing the effects of barcoding – both positive and negative – and it becomes obvious that Global-1 is hiding something about the tattoos. Kayla stumbles upon it when she is able to access the encrypted file that contains the data stored in her father’s bar code. That’s when she learns that people’s DNA is stored in their files. That might not seem like it’s very important, but the information buried in the genetic code is being used by others to favor certain individuals over others – those that have good genes are the ones who receive promotions, medical benefits, awards, opportunities, etc. Those that have bad genes find themselves passed over, ignored, overlooked, and in some cases, exterminated.

This was a lot like the movie Gattaca. If you don’t have the right genes, you can’t really aspire to do anything meaningful. Measurements of your ability don’t have any meaning if you can’t present a flawless genetic profile. No one wants you.

This raises a lot of really good questions about sharing personal data and information and how it could go awry. I’m sure that some of this already goes on. People keep saying over and over that you don’t need to worry if you have nothing to hide, but why does the government need to have access to this information, and what will they do with it? There are some really scary possibilities. With genetics, you might not even know what you’re hiding. Even more importantly, is it ethical (morally right) to deny people access to care or medical attention based on their genes? And what about having a governing body (that hasn’t been chosen by its people, but rather by its monetary power base) that makes these decisions *for* people? To eliminate the weak in favor of the strong, the feeble-minded in favor of the intelligent, etc.? It’s taking selection out of the hands of nature. How much do we do this already? The implications are fascinating to think about.

This was not a great piece of literature. It was easy to read, didn’t use a lot of challenging words, and moved really quickly. Its strengths are the ideas that it sets out to examine – the ‘what if’ is truly the driving force, and that was enough for me to be fascinated by it. The story itself is kind of lame and predictable, except toward the end where it just veers off in a random direction. Not that the direction isn’t foreshadowed, just that it’s unnecessarily fantastic. Weyn’s point is that natural selection works differently than the kind of forced selection that Global-1 is implementing, and she’s concerned about the effects that our interference might be having on that process. She throws in this curveball ending where the humans who are resisting the bar code tattoos suddenly start developing psychic powers. Ok. You lost me there. Because they’re being threatened with tattoos, they develop new ways to communicate with one another? That’s just…confusing. And Weyn doesn’t really present any scientific evidence (real or fabricated) for that kind of amazing change (and in so many people at once!). Are these latent powers that everyone has that are suddenly stressed into expressing themselves? In that case it’s not a new mutation; it’s something that everyone already has. I could have done without this particular departure. There’s a bit too much to swallow in the ending of this book, but otherwise, it raises a lot of questions that would be great for discussion.
(less)

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Jan 22, 2013 t.A rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, finding-yourself, home-library, series

I read this book while I was still in high school. It was a short book, a very quick read, but I still remember that I liked it a lot.

This was before I started being interested in dystopia, future fiction, and books that bordered too close on what could be reality. But it spoke to me, as if I already believed in these things without even knowing about them.

It's about standing up for who you are, what you believe in, even when it makes things tough, even when the whole world seems to judge you fo...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Danielle Smith rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read this book when I was 15 and loved it....while re-reading it as an adult I don't like it as much. The concept is cool but a few things irked me. 1) biblical revelation reference. I have done a lot of independent study and understand that everyone has their own interpretation of revelations...this author just seems a little misinformed about the whole buy/sell/666 mark. 2) the year in which the story takes place (2025) the book was written in 2004 and I think the author should have chosen a...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars

In this YA dystopian novel set in the near future, everything about you is contained in a bar code tattoo that most young 17-year olds eagerly receive on their birthdays. Kayla, however, has misgivings about the tattoo. It has been destroying her family for reasons she is unsure of. She joins a small group of anti-tattoo students at her high school who are supporters Decode, the resistance movement that is slowly gaining momentum across the United States.

The U.S. Government is now controlled by...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I had some decent expectations for this book and ended up being disappointed. It was no where near as good as I thought it would be, not to mention I am not particularly fond of the author's writing. It's a YA novel but to be honest I feel like it was written by a teenager. The language wasn't rich nor interesting, it made the story flat. The only perk to the book would be the plot, the idea of a society where every 17 year old needed to get a bar code tattoo containing everything about themselv...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Amy Jacobs rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

After reading the summary on the back of this book, I was intrigued. It seemed to me like it could be a cool new read in the Young Adult genre.

In the future, everyone is getting the new Bar Code Tattoo. Every bit of information in your life is recorded in that tattoo. Some believe this to be a good thing, while others are not on board with it. With the hints of deception and suspense, I was excited to start this series. Unfortunately, it wasn't what I was expecting. The plot and story wasn't bad...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

The Bar Code Tattoo is a quick read that I ultimately found disappointing. Kayla is weeks away from turning seventeen, in just a few weeks she'll have to choose whether she wants to conform or rebel against society and the government. The tattoo is relatively new--at least to the United States, having been tested first in Europe and Asia. And the tattoo is changing lives, for better or worse. For some who receive it, their lives improve dramatically: new opportunities at work, pay increases, etc...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Alecia rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There are multiple problems with this book, first being the overall flow of the story-there wasn't one. Usually you'll have a build up to a climax but this book is lacking that, rather it has many small disappointing peaks. Just when you think the main character is going to have to fend for herself and show her inner strength someone appears to rescue her. The big let down in that is that friends from the beginning of the book reappear at 'just the right time' which took away any shred of realis...more There are multiple problems with this book, first being the overall flow of the story-there wasn't one. Usually you'll have a build up to a climax but this book is lacking that, rather it has many small disappointing peaks. Just when you think the main character is going to have to fend for herself and show her inner strength someone appears to rescue her. The big let down in that is that friends from the beginning of the book reappear at 'just the right time' which took away any shred of realism-hard to come by in a YA work of fiction so I hope you understand my meaning.

The writing style itself made this book difficult to read. The author at the beginning seemed to repeat and reword sentences; almost like a school student trying to get a word count in a book report. I realize the book is MEANT for young adults but it felt like it was written BY a young adult. She used phrases such as final level, banged out, and astral which may fit the stereotypical futuristic story they grated on my nerves. It felt like the author was watching a lot of the Jetsons during this writing. Entirely to forced.

Teachers sometimes tell a student to write what you know and it seems to have been used here-but ruined with so many themes. Paranormal plot twists, government conspiracies, GMOs, modern technology run amok. It felt like she was reaching to grab so many different genres and readers that the story and characters didn't get enough depth.

I also disliked the 'secret love affair' that crops up between the main character and the predictable dark, brooding, male lead at the beginning. He is dating another girl and our main character tolerates him dating another woman.More frustrating than the damsel in distress behavior that I see so much of is this one. A terrible example for young girls. There were questionable behaviors that fit the circumstances and in context are easy to dismiss but yet another weak female who the author tries to portray as strong...a waste.

I think the only part of the book I actually enjoyed was the short news articles inserted after the previous mentioned little peaks in the story. The flashbacks-or should that be flash forwards?

It's been quite awhile since I've read a book I disliked THIS much. It immediately went into my pile to add on paperback swap. Curiosity and the desire to write my first review is what kept me reading it, otherwise it was not a page turner by any stretch. By the last quarter of the book I had a hard time finishing it. Normally a book like this would be a one day read-it took three days. (less)

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Apr 14, 2012 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book had potential, but unfortunately it didn't live up to it. The author has an engaging writing style, and she does a good job of keeping the reader enticed and wanting to turn the pages. I thought the basis of her story was what had potential, and it actually excited me when I started reading. It reminded me of a mixture of the Christian Left Behind series, combined with the futuristic dystopian societial issues of Hunger Games. As the book progressed, my delight disappeared. What I hope...more

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Mar 02, 2012 06mirandah rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Bar Code Tattoo
by: Suzanne Weyn

Summary: Kayla Reid is a sixteen-year-old who is about to turn seventeen which means she will have to get the bar code, a new way that Global-1(the government) can keep track of everyone in the United States. The bar code is simply a tattoo that goes on your wrist to identify you, but what Kayla and many others don't know is that the bar code has every piece of information about you, you just don't have access to it.
After a series of depression, Kayla's father...more The Bar Code Tattoo
by: Suzanne Weyn

Summary: Kayla Reid is a sixteen-year-old who is about to turn seventeen which means she will have to get the bar code, a new way that Global-1(the government) can keep track of everyone in the United States. The bar code is simply a tattoo that goes on your wrist to identify you, but what Kayla and many others don't know is that the bar code has every piece of information about you, you just don't have access to it.
After a series of depression, Kayla's father dies. Kayla's mom keeps on saying that the barcode killed her father, but she doesn't know how. A few weeks later, Kayla's neighbor Gene got killed while trying to force everyone out of getting the barcode. Amber, Kayla's best friend has to move becuase her parents' barcodes aren't working and Kayla's mother dies in a house fire soon after. The only people Kayla has are those in an anti-code group, August, Zekeal, Nedra, Allyson and Mfumbe.
Zekeal invites Kayla to an anti-code meeting where she learns all of the secrets that the government isn't telling her. She visits an online website with a head devise, and sees Eutonah, a woman against the code and finds out more secrets. Kayla falls for Zekeal, but Nedra saw him first. Nedra goes against the group and gets the bar code
Kayla feels betrayed after she finds out who Zekeal really is, a Tattoo Gen Spy, who has been trying to get her to get the tattoo all along. The cops think that Kayla killed her mother so Kayla's only choice is to run, but who can she trust?

Rating: I would give this book five stars. There was constant excitement and never had me bored. All of the characters were very well described and easy to tell apart. I really enjoyed the ending and am excited to read the next book.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books about rebelious teens and government lies. This book is about a teenager who finally finds her place in the world but then has to run off and find herself. If you enjoy mysterious, "ready for war" books this is the book for you.(less)

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Feb 21, 2012 Jill rated it 2 of 5 stars

It is 2025, and Kayla Reed is about to turn 17, the age at which all citizens are qualified to receive a bar code tattoo. The tattoos track data on every citizen so that it can easily be scanned to show I.D. and driver’s licenses, pay for goods and services, gain admittance to anywhere, and so on. Increasingly, places are refusing to do business with anyone not having one, so even adults who never got them tend to get tattooed. Kayla’s parents got them seven months ago.

Kayla doesn’t like the ide...more

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Dec 29, 2011 Katie Kenig rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, ya

This book is a great illustration of how quickly things can change when you are writing of the future. While the novel was created in 2004, not long ago by any means, it already reads as out of date, due to the author having dictated changes that began taking place in 2006, and continued with major events in 2010 and 2011. Unfortunately for me, that kind of thing breaks my ability to suspend disbelief while reading.

The plot, though, was compelling enough to keep me going.

I would not be surprised...more

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Dec 05, 2011 Aubrey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

The barcode tatoo by suzanne weyn is mesmerizing.
The Barcode Tattoo. Everyones getting it because it will make things easier. People dont have to carry around wallets and cards or money. If your coded like a cereal box then you get easy acces to evcerything.And the gov gets easy acces to you.
when Kayla and her friends dont get the tatoo they become outcasts, denied the right to shop, or even get a job.
But then things happen even to people who have the tattoo. They get fired, arent allowed...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Anne rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was really excited when I started this book. I love the science fiction concept and the YA ties to books like Fahrenheit 451 and many others. I loved the storyline up until halfway through the book when a few problems reared their ugly heads.

The heroine can't decide who she seems to love and it appears that she'll make out with any boy that she is left with for a length of time. I just couldn't understand this girl's motivation since the writing was very much tell with little show about her th...more

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Jun 09, 2011 Kien-hung rated it 4 of 5 stars

One of my favorite thriller series, the Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn illustrates the dystopian society that uses bar codes as a human identity. The bar code characterizes, and overtime, replaces human’s values. The thriller has a very interesting type of diction that captures readers’ attentions. The tone is extremely suspense and heroic. The diction is simple yet strong, therefore they are able to take an extremely important role in the novel, which is described here: “They came to a hillsid...more

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May 24, 2011 Elaina Aragona rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn was an okay book. I liked it, but there was certain things I didn't like about it. Like for example I liked what it was about, the government trying to control people by making them get a tattoo and people rebelling against it. What I didn't like about it was it didn't really explain why the tattoo was so bad, yeah it had all your genetic info on it and that can in someways be bad, but so what? Also it didnt't really change from scene to scene good.
This book...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Jenni Merritt rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian-post-apocolyptic, ya, on-my-physical-shelves

Why I picked up this book:
The cover, the synopsis, and the many reviews saying it was worth reading

My thoughts:
I was intrigued by the synopsis, sold by the cover, and hopeful for the outcome. What happened? Well, to me... the book didn't.

I loved the idea that Weyn created, of the government being taken over by a corporation, which gradually made it a requirement for every citizen to wear a bar code on their arm. It replaces money, cards, ID, everything. Kayla, the main, is thrown for a loop tho...more

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Feb 23, 2011 Chrissy rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. As a dystopian novel, this book had so much potential. Everyone is forced to get a bar code tattooed on their wrist that contains all their financial, health, personal and genetic information. That has to be a pretty interesting story, right?

Unfortunately, this story falls woefully flat. The plot is little more than Character A moves to Plot Point 2 and must fall in love with Character B who is really working for Villain Alpha. Character C is forced to move across country with her family and has...more As a dystopian novel, this book had so much potential. Everyone is forced to get a bar code tattooed on their wrist that contains all their financial, health, personal and genetic information. That has to be a pretty interesting story, right?

Unfortunately, this story falls woefully flat. The plot is little more than Character A moves to Plot Point 2 and must fall in love with Character B who is really working for Villain Alpha. Character C is forced to move across country with her family and has little bearing on the actual plot, but Character A needs a best friend in this formula. Weyn probably needed three times as many pages to tell the story she was aiming to tell in a short story format (the author’s note at the end says that she originally began this as a short story). None of the important scenes get the development they need in order to bring the reader into the story. It’s almost like everything is just background noise - there is no motivation to care about anything here. Plus, the ending is very contrived - having the bar code somehow frustrates evolution so much that people without the bar codes start developing psychic powers. Just for fun, it seems. Even for a science-fiction story, that is too far-fetched.

This book obviously has an agenda to push and while many authors’ beliefs seep into their stories in subtle ways, Weyn’s beliefs don’t “seep” as much as they flood the plotline, overshadowing any semblance of a story and the whole thing comes across as preachy and arrogant (doesn’t help that there’s the obligatory love triangle thrown in there just as an afterthought).

This could have been a very well-crafted story of how people get so caught up in the new trends and technology of society and even follow big corporations and big government policies blindly to their downfall, but it just doesn’t work here. There’s not enough background on the characters to make the reader care about them. Frankly as a reader, I was insulted that I was expected to take this premise seriously (evidently there’s a sequel. I don’t know why).(less)

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Feb 19, 2011 Elisa Nuckle rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young teens

Shelves: 2-stars

I bought this God knows how long ago and let it collect dust until four months ago. I'm bad, I know. Anyway, this book started off good but fizzled out and left me disappointed in the end.

The author spends a lot of time setting up this new bar code reality and, when things start to go south for the main character, the story suddenly hurls into fast-paced motion. Around the end, (WARNING: mild spoiler here) when she makes it to the mountains, things become vague. Too vague.

Ultimately, the endin...more

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Jan 01, 2011 Debbie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Debbie by: Scholastic Book Club

I enjoyed the beginning of this book. It outlines some of the concerns adults, especially left-wing adults, have about privacy and the government, and presents it in a way that is not overly preachy but is described well and also connects those concerns to typical responses that various groups have. Then, it becomes more of a thriller, with mysteries and chases and suspicions, which is really exciting. However, the final part - the resolution, but I don't feel it's a very satisfying resolution -...more

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Oct 31, 2010 Moriah Writes-a-lot rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really liked this book. It was anything but a slow start but it was not some girl who was magically swept up in a rebellion, she had reasons, doubts, and a slow progression before she was put full tilt into a radical opinion; something many authors skip over. Still the plot was pretty good, though feel this book could stand a few more revisions.

What the barcode actually contained was a surprise and delightedly something I never thought of, which is an unfortunate rarity.

I didn't like Weyn's t...more

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Sep 29, 2010 Ivy Slade rated it 3 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved the Barcode Tattoo.. until the end.

The story was just awesome. Maybe the whole conformity and rebellion thing has been done before but this twist on it was different. The whole book kept me hooked, the beginning because it was extremely good and hard to come away from, and the ending because I wasn't quite sure how it fit into the story.

Kayla rebels against the barcode tattoo and joins a rebellion group in the city. Then when she runs away things started going downhill. When s...more

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Feb 21, 2010 Jamaica rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-lit

Okay, so this book started off sooooo good! Like amazing kinda good! It totally had everything I was looking for in dealing with this potential issue i.e. a world in which everyone is conforming to a numerical form of identification--a permananent form of one--one engrained into the very etchings and layers of your skin (chip, or tattoo) that holds all your personal records, as well as your credit card information, billing info etc. ((I know, you see a two star rating, and I'll totally get to th...more Okay, so this book started off sooooo good! Like amazing kinda good! It totally had everything I was looking for in dealing with this potential issue i.e. a world in which everyone is conforming to a numerical form of identification--a permananent form of one--one engrained into the very etchings and layers of your skin (chip, or tattoo) that holds all your personal records, as well as your credit card information, billing info etc. ((I know, you see a two star rating, and I'll totally get to that))

The book expounds upon the Mark of the Beast mentioned in Revelations, but it doesnt shout out you with that Biblical reference. It takes other hot-pressed issues of the Human Genome Project, Cloning, and the issue of identification aside from social security and branches out on all those possible explanations of the barcode tattoo; has anyone else heard of the proposals about computer chips in your skin for credit info? If not, look it up--its crazy, and any free-thinker would totally deny its use!!! But what happens when the governement forces this mandate? That every person at age 17 and above must get the barcode tattoo (or chip) ? Where your only form of living, buying, and selling depends on that tattoo (or chip)?? Weyn totally explores this-and the read is definitely fast-paced and CRAZY (just like this phenomenon is, but the potentials of it becoming a reality are still there!!!)

AND THEN the last part of it becomes stupid -_- Which explains my low ranking. It veers completely from this potential reality into telekenisis and telepathy and ooo aaa yay Indian People. It's not that I have a problem with mysticim in books, but when you start off the story with a sense of realism in it, I want that realism to remain. So at the end you're like...well...okay then... so much for a real resolve to this potential threat and issue cause we can rely on our telepathic powers to communicate! woo! (yes, that's sarcasm) Anyways, I dont think that should've been the ending message, and now I'm like what the hell-it could've been such a great book and it was until the last few chapters. @_@ AND THEN- there's the main characters love interest(s)... She was a cool protagonist until her lapse in judgement there, but I suppose that represents a normal teen's struggle- but seriously though!?! After she found out what she had!?! oye!

Sorry, had to add that small part in there...*sigh* another dissapointing read for today; freakin' sadface.(less)

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Jan 08, 2010 Kewpie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Kayla lives in a society where paper money is extinct and soon credit cards will go by the wayside as well. When people turn 18, they are required to get a barcode tattoo to perform all of their monetary transactions. She refuses to get the tattoo, so she has to go into hiding. The book was OK, but I thought the author had very dated knowledge of computers and how they work. If this book were written in 1992, I would have been somewhat impressed. But the dated feeling was very strong and caused...more Kayla lives in a society where paper money is extinct and soon credit cards will go by the wayside as well. When people turn 18, they are required to get a barcode tattoo to perform all of their monetary transactions. She refuses to get the tattoo, so she has to go into hiding. The book was OK, but I thought the author had very dated knowledge of computers and how they work. If this book were written in 1992, I would have been somewhat impressed. But the dated feeling was very strong and caused major plot holes that seriously bothered me on several different levels and made what could have been a very interesting book a mediocre dystopian novel.

Here are the technological gaffes that bothered me:

Kayla takes all of these computer classes at school. These classes sound dated and this is supposed to take place in the future. Today, computers are already ubiquitous technology. You take your English class and you use the computer. You use the computer in your math class. Almost nobody has separate classes especially for learning to use a computer, unless it’s a class specifically for programming or computer repair. If she were really such a luddite, she would have suffered in all of her classes – not just the special “computer” classes.

I HATED the explanation as to why people needed barcode tattoos. Kayla was asking why didn’t people just use retinal or fingerprint scans. Someone explained that all those scans would do was tell you who you were. The barcode had all of your private information. DUH, DUH and DUH. If they had all of your private information already, they could ATTACH it to your fingerprint or retinal scan records. Seriously – does this author even vaguely understand how databases work? They wouldn’t need a whole separate barcode tattoo just to put information on it. Also, it would much easier to fake a barcode tattoo than it would be to fake a retinal scan or even a fingerprint scan. This basically ruined the entire book for me. The whole reason for needing a barcode tattoo was completely bunk. They could have easily taken her genetic information from her in a routine doctor’s exam, attached it to any file with her social security number on it and it and she would have been in just as much trouble without ever bothering to get the tattoo.

These kids were basically browsing websites in one scene—except that they were virtual reality 3-D things. It really bothered me that they seemed to have no control over what websites they got into. They acted like finding a website was a form of hacking and would say Cheesy things like “I’m in!” when they found one. I know these were supposed to be illegal websites, but it seemed uberlame to act like they were doing serious hacking. The super high tech virtual reality website viewer had a KNOB on it as if it were a 1980’s television set. They found websites by turning the knob as if they were tuning an old car radio. Do they make radios with knobs anymore?

Sorry to go on and on. I kept looking at the copyright date on this book to see if it was older than I thought it was. But no, it was written only a few years ago. I wish this woman would have at least learned a little bit about TODAY’S technology before she tried to write a book about a futuristic world that relied on technology.
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About Suzanne Weyn

Suzanne Weyn grew up in Williston Park, Long Island, New York. She has three sisters and a brother. As a girl she was very interested in theater and in reading. Louisa May Alcott was her favorite author, but she also read every Sherlock Holmes story. Suzanne lived pretty close to the ocean and going to Jones Beach was one of her favorite activities Even today, if she goes too long without seeing t...more

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“Mrs. Reed grabbed Kayla's wrist. "Good. You haven't gotten that damned tattoo. Whatever you do, don't let them make you get it.” — 7 people liked it

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