Sign in with Facebook
126th out of 491 books
—
4,394 voters
The Unidentified
by
Rae Mariz
Kid knows her school’s corporate sponsors not-so-secretly monitor her friendships and activities for market research. It’s all a part of the Game; the alternative education system designed to use the addictive kick from video games to encourage academic learning. Everyday, a captive audience of students ages 13-17 enter the nationwide chain store-like Game locations to pla...more
Hardcover, 296 pages
Published
October 5th 2010
by Balzer + Bray
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
http://www.theunreadreader.com/2010/1...
Not good. Not awful. Just boring.
I'm not really sure what else to say about The Unidentified except that I had to force myself to finish it, and the ending left me feeling disappointed that I had even bothered.
The slow beginning was torturous, and the story never really picked up. At first I thought the idea of a school sponsored by corporations sounded different and kind on interesting. But as I read, the whole thing fell apart. I couldn't support the con...more
Not good. Not awful. Just boring.
I'm not really sure what else to say about The Unidentified except that I had to force myself to finish it, and the ending left me feeling disappointed that I had even bothered.
The slow beginning was torturous, and the story never really picked up. At first I thought the idea of a school sponsored by corporations sounded different and kind on interesting. But as I read, the whole thing fell apart. I couldn't support the con...more
Read This Review & More Like It At Ageless Pages Reviews
Katey "Kid" Dade is a 15 year old girl in The Game. No, not the rapper or Triple H, Kid lives in a not too distant future where the education system has been sold to sponsors who provide schooling in return for market research. "Players" attend classes and take art, music, and gym electives, while fighting for social rankings to join cliques that will get them branded by sponsors and increase their personal social media scores.
Wait, did...more
Katey "Kid" Dade is a 15 year old girl in The Game. No, not the rapper or Triple H, Kid lives in a not too distant future where the education system has been sold to sponsors who provide schooling in return for market research. "Players" attend classes and take art, music, and gym electives, while fighting for social rankings to join cliques that will get them branded by sponsors and increase their personal social media scores.
Wait, did...more
3 likes · like · see review
The Unidentified by Rae Mariz: Urban YA Speculative Fiction of the Year
I know it’s only March, but I have chosen my UYASF Book of the Year and it comes as no surprise. With friends like Hannah Moskowitz and Cory Doctorow endorsing her novel, Rae Mariz has her foot, leg and body in the best-seller door with her debut novel. She creates a dystopian society by turning high school into “the Game” where lectures are video games, projects get you points and your popularity gets you branded by major co...more
I know it’s only March, but I have chosen my UYASF Book of the Year and it comes as no surprise. With friends like Hannah Moskowitz and Cory Doctorow endorsing her novel, Rae Mariz has her foot, leg and body in the best-seller door with her debut novel. She creates a dystopian society by turning high school into “the Game” where lectures are video games, projects get you points and your popularity gets you branded by major co...more
Have you ever wanted to have all the latest technology in your hands? The newest ipad that came out yesterday? Wanted to play video games all day and it be considered learning? You probably wish you played the Game. Well, lucky for you, Kid does.
The government has left education funding to the sponsors. the result? market research schools like the Game where you advance up levels as you spend your day with friends.
But Game life isn't so simple. Who are the Unidentified, that group that rebels ag...more
The government has left education funding to the sponsors. the result? market research schools like the Game where you advance up levels as you spend your day with friends.
But Game life isn't so simple. Who are the Unidentified, that group that rebels ag...more
May 17, 2013
Josh
added it
The purpose i think that the author wrote this book for is to entertain the reader, She was not trying to inform the reader of anything just to keep the reader engaged in the book. I think the purpose of this book was just because people are different doesn't mean you should treat them any different than you would want to be treated. I think that the author was saying behind the text, everyone should be treated the way they want to be treated. The theme of the book is that everyone is different...more
Imagine living in the future, where everything is controlled and every aspect of your life is basically part of a giant game from how many friends you have on facebook , to what you eat, wear, who you hang out with, your grades and what you do in your spare time. There are still your infamoyus cliques, but they control that part of society and of course their are those who rebel against the system, the society . They are called "the unidentified". When Kid notices a stunt pulled by the group and...more
My sister wanted me to read this book (even though she herself has not), and, personally, I loved it! The Unidentified could be compared to the Uglies series in that it's set in a future that just about everyone agrees is a good thing (as opposed to The Hunger Games, where a lot of people know that the world they lived in is...effed up?).
Summary:
Kid knows her school’s corporate sponsors not-so-secretly monitor her friendships and activities for market research. It’s all a part of the Game; the a...more
Summary:
Kid knows her school’s corporate sponsors not-so-secretly monitor her friendships and activities for market research. It’s all a part of the Game; the a...more
The Unidentified was definitely not what I expected to pick up when I walked into the library a few days ago. Rae Mariz throws you right into the thick of things from the very beginning. I didn't want to put it down because I was so interested in finding out what happened. The ending could have been excecuted better, but while others complain about that, I think it gives readers enough of an open ending that they're free to make up what they think happens. I still would've liked to hear more on...more
Katey Dade, a 15 year old girl, lives her life in a future reality far different than our world today. Katey is just one of many players in ‘The Game,’ and spends her time coasting along while everyone competes to be at the top of the social hierarchy. As many things coincide to form her journey, we join Katey on her unintended rise to the top- and then somewhere.
The book was a very easy read with the challenge being in getting used to the vernacular the author was making a point of having. Onc...more
The book was a very easy read with the challenge being in getting used to the vernacular the author was making a point of having. Onc...more
Imagine a world where the school systems have broken down and education is taken over by corporate sponsors. A world where learning is turned into The Game, full of adrenaline producing, technology based experiences where points are accumulated to progress to the next level. A world where contact is made through a touch screen with minimum characters and teens strive to be "branded" - accepted into a society where your image is more important to who you actually are. Where OMG is short for Oh My...more
The Unidentified by Rae Mariz
Category: Science Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grades 7+
Publisher: Balzer and Bray
October 5, 2010
Reviewer: Kira M
Rating: 4 stars
In a futuristic alternative school, your education is based off of what you can produce for consumers. If you can create a product that investors are interested in, you can get branded. When you get branded, you can get scholarships to colleges and universities, popularity, elite parties and privileges, and lots and lots of money. Katey “Kid”...more
Category: Science Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grades 7+
Publisher: Balzer and Bray
October 5, 2010
Reviewer: Kira M
Rating: 4 stars
In a futuristic alternative school, your education is based off of what you can produce for consumers. If you can create a product that investors are interested in, you can get branded. When you get branded, you can get scholarships to colleges and universities, popularity, elite parties and privileges, and lots and lots of money. Katey “Kid”...more
Kid is a nobody in her school, but all that's about to change. In The Game (the new version of education: school is now run by corporations), students vie for sponsorships from major companies, which, if they gain, makes their lives easier, more glamorous and wildly popular. Kid has tried to stay below the radar and not attract any sponors' attention, but when what seems like a prank becomes an obsession for her, she begins to investigate a bit deeper into the whole Game realm. Suddenly her sleu...more
Following along my dystopian kick, I picked this one up after hearing someone discuss it at the ICFA in Orlando. I thought the concept was spot on and it had a combination feel of Monica Hughes' Invitation to the Game, MT Anderson's Feed and So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld.
Rampant consumerism, consumerized education, branded styles, trendsetters and cool hunters, popularity and technology all surround apathetic Kid who is more concerned with making music and just getting by than trying to get...more
Rampant consumerism, consumerized education, branded styles, trendsetters and cool hunters, popularity and technology all surround apathetic Kid who is more concerned with making music and just getting by than trying to get...more
What if Coke, Revlon, Taco Bell, and Apple ran the school systems? Wait don’t they already? Okay, what if they had complete control because they provide all the funding? It’s an extremely interesting question and “Unidentified” gives us a picture of it that eerily isn’t too far from what the reality would be.
“The Unidentified” is a riveting story of teenage angst coupled, corporate greed, social networking, and suspense. I love this book because it is a pretty accurate look at the youth of today...more
“The Unidentified” is a riveting story of teenage angst coupled, corporate greed, social networking, and suspense. I love this book because it is a pretty accurate look at the youth of today...more
This was an interesting read.
You can never be to sure of who your friends are, who trust, and who is watching you.
The teenagers in this book go to school that's all centered around The Game. You do things in the Game to to help you get to certain levels and higher scores. There are sponsors out there watching what you do and if they like what they see, or your a trend setter, you get branded by the label. This seems to be, mostly, what everyone in the Game wants. If you get branded, you get to...more
You can never be to sure of who your friends are, who trust, and who is watching you.
The teenagers in this book go to school that's all centered around The Game. You do things in the Game to to help you get to certain levels and higher scores. There are sponsors out there watching what you do and if they like what they see, or your a trend setter, you get branded by the label. This seems to be, mostly, what everyone in the Game wants. If you get branded, you get to...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
You know, when the inside cover of your book explains more than the actual story does, you know you're doing it wrong.
My friend told me to 'avoid this one at all costs' because it was confusing and boring. Me, being a rebel, decided to borrow it from her. When I saw that one of my favorite authors had approved this book as being awesome, I decided that it couldn't be too bad.
And at first, the idea wasn't bad. It was like a willing 1984. I was intrigued by what everything was, why their 'school'...more
My friend told me to 'avoid this one at all costs' because it was confusing and boring. Me, being a rebel, decided to borrow it from her. When I saw that one of my favorite authors had approved this book as being awesome, I decided that it couldn't be too bad.
And at first, the idea wasn't bad. It was like a willing 1984. I was intrigued by what everything was, why their 'school'...more
4 likes · like · see review
Pros: good writing, fast paced, nifty concept, true to life high school atmosphere
Cons: takes a while to understand the school/game setting, plot twists were often obvious
For Parents: there's a little swearing, minor violence, no sex
In a future where corporate sponsors run school as a game, a group of kids wants to reclaim their privacy as the Unidentified.
Katey Dade (@kidzero) is in the pit when the Unidentified pull off their first publicity stunt. Her interest in the act propels her into the...more
Cons: takes a while to understand the school/game setting, plot twists were often obvious
For Parents: there's a little swearing, minor violence, no sex
In a future where corporate sponsors run school as a game, a group of kids wants to reclaim their privacy as the Unidentified.
Katey Dade (@kidzero) is in the pit when the Unidentified pull off their first publicity stunt. Her interest in the act propels her into the...more
Recap-
Kid has reached level 15, but for her the Game has really just begun. All across America, teenagers are attending high school at "the Game," which in Kid's case is held in a converted mall. Rather than being led by teachers, the Game is run by corporate sponsors who trademark every aspect of their lives, right down to their notebooks.
While popularity has long been an ultimate goal for many high-schoolers, the Game has taken popularity to a whole new level: the more friends you have on yo...more
Kid has reached level 15, but for her the Game has really just begun. All across America, teenagers are attending high school at "the Game," which in Kid's case is held in a converted mall. Rather than being led by teachers, the Game is run by corporate sponsors who trademark every aspect of their lives, right down to their notebooks.
While popularity has long been an ultimate goal for many high-schoolers, the Game has taken popularity to a whole new level: the more friends you have on yo...more
The Unidentified starts off with a great concept (not only for a novel, but I think maybe in real life too.) Schools resemble shopping malls, and students play them like a video game. They rack up points for things like screen time and workshops, and they pass through levels in various subjects dictated by their wants and needs.
The problem is that like with most large organizations, rules start taking over, there is a control issue, and the fact that the whole thing is financed in the name of ma...more
The problem is that like with most large organizations, rules start taking over, there is a control issue, and the fact that the whole thing is financed in the name of ma...more
In another dystopian society, the government can no longer pay for schooling. Instead, children are sent to Game Centers to market themselves and new creations for a points and to be branded by a company. It’s eerily plausible and equally scary, especially when the “players” are given cell phones with GPS tracking and are fully required to update the higher-ups with status changes on online communities reminiscent of Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.
Katey Did – aka Kid – is the 15-year-old heroine...more
Katey Did – aka Kid – is the 15-year-old heroine...more
3 likes · like · see review
As budgets shrink, educational quality shrinks, too. That is, until the corporations volunteer to take over, turning abandoned shopping malls into Game Centers that feed students educational content through video games and challenges. Social networking is a fact of life, and getting branded (a game sponsor taking an interest in you personally, using your every move as PR for their company) is the best thing that can happen to a student. Katey--Kid--is vaguely uncomfortable with the surveillance,...more
Not awful.. not fantastic.. kinda ho-hum and a little boring.
I really wanted to like this book more then I did.. unfortunately the intriguing premise of UNIDENTIFIED didn't quite rise to it's potential and ultimately I was disappointed. This dystopian tale set in our immediate future, where schools are located in refurbished malls and run by sponsors; as the kids compete for popularity status and "branding" all while their education is fed to them in "Game" form. Sounds good, edgy even right?.....more
I really wanted to like this book more then I did.. unfortunately the intriguing premise of UNIDENTIFIED didn't quite rise to it's potential and ultimately I was disappointed. This dystopian tale set in our immediate future, where schools are located in refurbished malls and run by sponsors; as the kids compete for popularity status and "branding" all while their education is fed to them in "Game" form. Sounds good, edgy even right?.....more
This is your typical futuristic sci fi fare with real life implications. The educational system is broken. The government is bankrupt and can no longer support it. Big business has taken over control of the schools and corporations use students as marketing research guinea pigs. School buildings are abandoned malls (Game Centers) and instruction is all virtual in nature and supported by sponsors selling anything and everything. Administrators and corporate sponsor monitor every move in order to...more
This book definitely crept up on me. I started off thinking it wasn't going to grab me and next thing you know I could not put it down. It's not an action packed story but it is so fitting in the society we live in today and honestly it would not really surprise me if at some point we live life like this. The teens in the Game are so hooked into social networking that it's used for schooling purposes, socializing and advertising. All the students who participate in the Game are given an intouch...more
Do you ever get creeped out at how much access Google has to information on you? Forget it, because it Unidentified, that’s just a fact of life. In fact, ‘Google’ is so accepted as an all-knowing entity that it has replaced ‘God’ in common phrases, i.e. “For the love of God,” is now, “For the love of Google.”
This is the world that Katey, aka ‘Kid’, is growing up in. It takes place at an undefined point in the future U.S. She is educated by corporate companies who monitor and analyze her decision...more
This is the world that Katey, aka ‘Kid’, is growing up in. It takes place at an undefined point in the future U.S. She is educated by corporate companies who monitor and analyze her decision...more
Kid is a really great character. She is just kind of there in the Game -- she's not obsessed with branding. She doesn't wear the latest clothes. All she cares about is making her music, the one thing that defines her.
And, really, that's kind of a good way to describe this book. There was *so* much that could have been done with this story. But instead, it's just kind of there.
I wanted The Unidentified to be an edgy, gritty look at consumerism. I was expecting something amazing and stellar and to...more
And, really, that's kind of a good way to describe this book. There was *so* much that could have been done with this story. But instead, it's just kind of there.
I wanted The Unidentified to be an edgy, gritty look at consumerism. I was expecting something amazing and stellar and to...more
I won this book in a FirstReads Giveaway.
I chose this book because the premise intrigued me.
At first glance, the plot and setting seemed futuristic and sci-fi.
But in today’s technological environment where many educational options are available, it didn’t seem so far-fetched. With the advent of DVR's and TiVo, consumers are now
able to skip ads while watching their favorite TV shows so corporations and the parties they contract to market and promote their products have to come up with ingenious...more
I chose this book because the premise intrigued me.
At first glance, the plot and setting seemed futuristic and sci-fi.
But in today’s technological environment where many educational options are available, it didn’t seem so far-fetched. With the advent of DVR's and TiVo, consumers are now
able to skip ads while watching their favorite TV shows so corporations and the parties they contract to market and promote their products have to come up with ingenious...more
1 like · like · see review
My husband won this book through a goodreads giveaway, and since he knew I was excited for it, he let me read it too!
This book would have earned five stars from me because it really was amazing. I found myself thinking about it when I put it down, and I was anxious to get back into it. The only reason it lost a star is because there were a few unanswered questions that I would have liked to see resolved. I'm not sure if there is a sequel or not, but I would like to read
one.
This book was really...more
This book would have earned five stars from me because it really was amazing. I found myself thinking about it when I put it down, and I was anxious to get back into it. The only reason it lost a star is because there were a few unanswered questions that I would have liked to see resolved. I'm not sure if there is a sequel or not, but I would like to read
one.
This book was really...more
This is an uncomfortable read. This is part fiction, part non-fiction, quite honestly. Although no year is indicated, it can be assumed that the story takes place in the not-so-distant future. Although no specific current programs are mentioned by name, popularity is calculated by the number of "friends" you have following you.
In this reality, the government school system no longer exists. The educational programs are carefully crafted "games" where there are no teachers but simply different ro...more
In this reality, the government school system no longer exists. The educational programs are carefully crafted "games" where there are no teachers but simply different ro...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RE: Personal Profiles | 1 | 13 | Nov 28, 2011 07:42pm | |
| Points to Ponder | 1 | 8 | Nov 28, 2011 07:40pm | |
| the reflection to our life | 2 | 7 | Nov 28, 2011 07:33pm | |
| Ari---a Villain??? | 3 | 11 | May 14, 2011 09:01am | |
| Symbolism | 1 | 5 | Apr 19, 2011 06:07pm | |
| Prison talk | 1 | 2 | Apr 18, 2011 05:43pm |
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“I was like the runner-up to Miss Mediocrity and my prize was awkward silence.”
—
18 people liked it
“Who are you when you're alone? When no one is watching? What's left then?”
—
10 people liked it
More quotes…
Dec 14, 2011 05:24am
Feb 21, 2013 09:20pm