Helpful Score: 15
This is an excellent book for anyone who is concerned about the future of the United States government and their citizens. It's hard to believe, but the incidents occurring in this story could actually happen someday soon to the citizens of the United States. The soryline deals with the government's control over their citizens and what happens when citizens "resist" the government's control. Topics discussed in this book are welfare, healthcare, genetics, employment, mental health and the legally enforced "Bar Code Tattoo". I found this book very powerful and a true "page turner"; I read it in one day! I couldn't put it down! This book opened my eyes and made me see what could happen to the United States citizens in the future, and what could currently be happening now without our knowledge.
THIS IS A MUST READ!!!
THIS IS A MUST READ!!!
Helpful Score: 5
My 14y.o. daughter & a couple of her classmates enjoyed this book
Helpful Score: 4
This is the first book in the bar code duology by Suzanne Weyn. It was a very good book, with engaging characters and a fast-paced plot that made the book difficult to put down.
In the year 2025 almost everyone has a bar code tattoo. It is not law yet, but most people get a bar code when they turn seventeen. At a few days to her birthday Kayla is trying to decide what to do; should she get the tattoo? See the thing is that her dad got the tattoo seven months ago and since then he has been a different person, depressed and miserable. Kayla wonders if the bar code has something to do with it. She ends up getting involved with a rebellious faction called Decode that is fighting against the bar code. Unfortunately the bar code is on its way to becoming law. The president of the US is part of the corporation doing the bar code tattoo and this corporation runs everything from the schools to the hospitals. What will Kayla choose? As she notices society getting stranger and stranger and notices more weird things happening to both the un-tattoed and the tattooed she is uncertain.
Overall this was a wonderful book. The characters are engaging. The premise is interesting, and Weyn takes it to lengths that are horrifying and frighteningly realistic. The pace of the book is relentless, the action never stops and you are pulled from disaster to disaster. For such a short book there is a ton packed in here both in action and in thought provoking material. Has this type of thing be written about before? Yeah, it sure has. Just think about Scott Westerfield's Uglies series and you have an example right there (of course that was published after this book) another example would be the Tripods series by John Christopher or some of Neal Stephenson's works. Still, Weyn does a great job making the story realistic and has the story centered around a young woman which was interesting.
I do have a couple pet peeves about this story though. These are mainly personal and of a technical nature. I have unfortunately worked with bar codes and RFIDs personally and I know that you can only hold a small amount of data on a 2D bar code like Weyn describes. With a little tiny bit of research Weyn would have known this. I realize it's a fantasy but it bothered me. The other thing that bothered me was the character's inconsistent technological know how. At one point Kayla says, "Send me your new web address, I'll e-mail you all the time." Okay, this is just odd I mean a web address is for a website, not to email someone. Really, you shouldn't screw that up in a sci-fi techno novel like this. The last thing that bothered me was when Kayla was at a house initially she was all worried about the government being able to track her computer use. Then later when she is hiding out with a rebel group, she decides to use the dusty old computer there. Then when someone tracks it she is, uh duh, I didn't realize that someone could track me here. Wow, that is just completely inconsistent!
Besides the above complaints, I enjoyed the book. I just tried to shrug the techno inconsistencies aside. This is a quick read and overall an interesting and fun read. I wish the small inconsistencies had been fixed, then this book would have been spectacular. Still, I am excited to read the next (and last) book "The Bar Code Rebellion".
In the year 2025 almost everyone has a bar code tattoo. It is not law yet, but most people get a bar code when they turn seventeen. At a few days to her birthday Kayla is trying to decide what to do; should she get the tattoo? See the thing is that her dad got the tattoo seven months ago and since then he has been a different person, depressed and miserable. Kayla wonders if the bar code has something to do with it. She ends up getting involved with a rebellious faction called Decode that is fighting against the bar code. Unfortunately the bar code is on its way to becoming law. The president of the US is part of the corporation doing the bar code tattoo and this corporation runs everything from the schools to the hospitals. What will Kayla choose? As she notices society getting stranger and stranger and notices more weird things happening to both the un-tattoed and the tattooed she is uncertain.
Overall this was a wonderful book. The characters are engaging. The premise is interesting, and Weyn takes it to lengths that are horrifying and frighteningly realistic. The pace of the book is relentless, the action never stops and you are pulled from disaster to disaster. For such a short book there is a ton packed in here both in action and in thought provoking material. Has this type of thing be written about before? Yeah, it sure has. Just think about Scott Westerfield's Uglies series and you have an example right there (of course that was published after this book) another example would be the Tripods series by John Christopher or some of Neal Stephenson's works. Still, Weyn does a great job making the story realistic and has the story centered around a young woman which was interesting.
I do have a couple pet peeves about this story though. These are mainly personal and of a technical nature. I have unfortunately worked with bar codes and RFIDs personally and I know that you can only hold a small amount of data on a 2D bar code like Weyn describes. With a little tiny bit of research Weyn would have known this. I realize it's a fantasy but it bothered me. The other thing that bothered me was the character's inconsistent technological know how. At one point Kayla says, "Send me your new web address, I'll e-mail you all the time." Okay, this is just odd I mean a web address is for a website, not to email someone. Really, you shouldn't screw that up in a sci-fi techno novel like this. The last thing that bothered me was when Kayla was at a house initially she was all worried about the government being able to track her computer use. Then later when she is hiding out with a rebel group, she decides to use the dusty old computer there. Then when someone tracks it she is, uh duh, I didn't realize that someone could track me here. Wow, that is just completely inconsistent!
Besides the above complaints, I enjoyed the book. I just tried to shrug the techno inconsistencies aside. This is a quick read and overall an interesting and fun read. I wish the small inconsistencies had been fixed, then this book would have been spectacular. Still, I am excited to read the next (and last) book "The Bar Code Rebellion".
Helpful Score: 3
There are some inconsistences that detract slightly from the story, but overall it's a fast and enjoyable read. In a not-too-distant future, a law is enacted forcing all citizens to get a bar code tattoo on their seventeenth birthday. The bar code contains your whole identity, tracks your every move, and can either make your life better or destroy your future. Kayla Reed doesn't want the tattoo. She knows something is wrong with it. So, she's forced to run. But, how can she have a future without the tattoo?
In a world with trackable credit cards, licenses with bar codes, eye scanners, and talk about identity chips, this book is all too believable. While reading it, one can only hope that our desire for 'security' never convinces us to allow the government this extreme level of control, while being simultaneously aware that we are growing ever nearer to this point every day.
In a world with trackable credit cards, licenses with bar codes, eye scanners, and talk about identity chips, this book is all too believable. While reading it, one can only hope that our desire for 'security' never convinces us to allow the government this extreme level of control, while being simultaneously aware that we are growing ever nearer to this point every day.
Helpful Score: 2
i love this book!! it gave me something to think about.
Helpful Score: 1
I liked it a lot until the last 3 or 4 chapters...very good though, it just wasn't the type of book I usually read.
I loved it!! One of my new best reads!! I would recommend it to any YA fantasy buffs out there.
Helpful Score: 1
I love young adult/middle grades dystopian books, but I found this book to be pretty disappointing. The writing was poor, it jumped from thought to thought and was pretty inconsistent. The editing was poor as well, as events were repeated without having acknowledged that they were mentioned before. I love the idea of this book, but the execution was sub-par.
Just finished reading this and found it very absorbing. It's futuristic content is an interesting twist and could conceivably happen sometime in the further future. The characters are interesting and well established. Couldn't put it down.
BROOKLYN RUSSELL (brooklynrussell) -
Got into this book quick. It was an easy fast read and really hit a topic that could looking like our future.
This was a very interesting read, about a girl named Kayla not wanting the bar code Tattoo, but when your 17 you have to, unless you run and hide. Very good book, and fast read.
I had a lot of problems with this book and I am for the sake of my review going to have to reveal a few things, but don't worry not giving away spoilers. I liked that the book was a quick and easy read; teens could get through it in a day or two. I also liked how there were thought provoking topics that are relevant to today's world, such as the taking away of civil liberties in the name of safety. However, Weyn tries to pack too much into one short YA novel. Read the rest of my review at www.bourgette.com
I read about this book Threw Goodreads and thought it sounded really interesting. The story isnt that far life to this reality of technology. most of everything that happens in this book could still possibly happened, shoot some things already happened.
Its a great read to help prepare for the future. The book isnt to far off in the future, the year is 2025. it is short of a dystopian read, which i loved about cause dystopians are my favorite reads.
A lot of people have the Bar Code Tattoo. The Bar Code is the new way to live. it has all you money and life in the bar code. They say you have the choice but soon Kayla finds out you don;t have a choice and youre one stop closer in being controlled into slaves. Global-1 controls you, they have all your data.
Kayla is betrayed by who she thought was her boyfriend. She discovers that he works for them and has been tricking her to get the Bar Code. Kayla is on the run after her house goes up in flames and they blame her for her mothers death.
Lay;a falls in life with the only person she could trust a person who has been her friend. they start heading towards the resisters up in the mountains towards Canada.
I liked the whole concept of the story how close it was to reality, but still fictional. The story is just so close to reality Suzanne weyn really hit the mark on this one. i am huge in the what-ifs of things that could happened. now there are parts that are fictional, like Kayla having some kind of psychic ability seeing flashes of the futures and other things.
it is a short read but a really funny stand-alone book. i read this book in a heartbeat. i wanted to know more about each characters in this book. i didnt really liked the cover thought it was really boring. i didnt really understood why she had the bar code on the cover because in the book she doesnt get the bar code.
the ending left me confused and i hope the 2nd book is better to be honest. i just thought more towards the end the book was rushed and i couldnt really grab on whats going on.
Overall: A fun read for all ages. could of been a little longer and not rushed. but i still recommend to any dystopian reader.
Its a great read to help prepare for the future. The book isnt to far off in the future, the year is 2025. it is short of a dystopian read, which i loved about cause dystopians are my favorite reads.
A lot of people have the Bar Code Tattoo. The Bar Code is the new way to live. it has all you money and life in the bar code. They say you have the choice but soon Kayla finds out you don;t have a choice and youre one stop closer in being controlled into slaves. Global-1 controls you, they have all your data.
Kayla is betrayed by who she thought was her boyfriend. She discovers that he works for them and has been tricking her to get the Bar Code. Kayla is on the run after her house goes up in flames and they blame her for her mothers death.
Lay;a falls in life with the only person she could trust a person who has been her friend. they start heading towards the resisters up in the mountains towards Canada.
I liked the whole concept of the story how close it was to reality, but still fictional. The story is just so close to reality Suzanne weyn really hit the mark on this one. i am huge in the what-ifs of things that could happened. now there are parts that are fictional, like Kayla having some kind of psychic ability seeing flashes of the futures and other things.
it is a short read but a really funny stand-alone book. i read this book in a heartbeat. i wanted to know more about each characters in this book. i didnt really liked the cover thought it was really boring. i didnt really understood why she had the bar code on the cover because in the book she doesnt get the bar code.
the ending left me confused and i hope the 2nd book is better to be honest. i just thought more towards the end the book was rushed and i couldnt really grab on whats going on.
Overall: A fun read for all ages. could of been a little longer and not rushed. but i still recommend to any dystopian reader.
I enjoyed the book but a little like some things where not resolved at the end of story.
funny how the book has a bar code to identify itself.
Small crease on the front, otherwise great condition.
