The Bar Code Tattoo [Mass Market Paperback]

Suzanne Weyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

Individuality vs. conformity. Identity vs. access. Freedom vs. control.

The bar code tattoo.

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 happen to her family. There's no option but to run . . . for her life.

Indivuality vs. conformity..
Identity vs. access.
Freedom vs. control.

The bar code tattoo.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up - It's 2025, and the thing to do on your 17th birthday is to get a bar code tattoo, which is used for everything from driver's licenses to shopping. Kayla, almost 17, resists because she hates the idea of being labeled. Then the tattoos begin to drive people to commit suicide, Kayla's father among them, and she soon finds out that the markings contain detailed information about their bearers, including their genetic code. When the government, controlled by a corporation called Global-1, makes the tattoo mandatory, Kayla joins a teen resistance movement and falls for a gorgeous guy, unaware that he's a double agent. She discovers she has some psychic ability and has confusing visions of future events. Forced to run away after being implicated in her mother's accidental death, she eventually joins other resisters hiding in the Adirondack Mountains, finds romance with an old friend, and learns to harness her psychic powers to fight Global-1 and fulfill her visions. Like M. T. Anderson's Feed (Candlewick, 2002), this novel examines issues of individuality versus conformity and individual freedom versus governmental control. Because it also deals with the ethics of enhanced genetics and cloning, it tries to cover too much territory and relies too heavily on coincidence and far-fetched plotting. Stick with Feed. - Sharon Rawlins, Piscataway Public Library, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; Reissue edition (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439395623
• ISBN-13: 978-0439395625
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Fiction

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Bar Code By Suzanne Weyn, April 7, 2006

By 

Sarah "Sarah" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bar Code Tattoo (Mass Market Paperback)

This science fiction, breath taking thriller will capture your inner heart and make you wonder about the years that are to come. Seventeen year old Kayla Reed finds herself lost and confused about the new fad of how to carry all your personal information: the bar code. Only, what if you say know, by making that one choice Kayla faces serious consequences. Her whole high school starts turning against her, and terrible things happen to her family and friends. Nothing is left of the life she once had. Her only choice is to run for what she has left. Struggling for survival, danger follows her everywhere and can't seem to escape the horror of the bar code.

This was not one of the best books I have ever read, but it gave me a good visual picture in my head about what the future might be like. It was hard to relate to what they were talking about since it was in the future. It didn't really seem that believable at first but once the story and the plot got going you could relate a little bit easier. This would be a good story for someone who want to know what the future may be like someday.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, September 15, 2004

By 

kevin - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bar Code Tattoo (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book in only 3 days which is suprising because i am usually not a big reader but i just couldn't put this book down.
It takes place in the future where everybody is required to get a bar code tattoo when they turn 17. But what is really hidden in the tattoo? What does it do that it is changing so many peoples lives around? and what would happen if you didn't want get it?
You will not be able to put this book down as you read about the corruptness of the bar code tattoo.
I highly recommend this book and i found it very exciting and well written.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for teenagers who don't want to be challenged, March 20, 2005

By 

Crystal "Feet Eating Socks" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bar Code Tattoo (Mass Market Paperback)

Overall this wasn't a bad book. The premise was interesting, the action was fast-paced(although some events were far-fetched and a little too convenient), and it kept me entertained. A teenager looking for an entertaining book to keep them occupied in English class should pick this up.

However, readers looking for something complex and deep in the story will be disappointed. The characters are underdeveloped and flat(Mfumbe and Zekeal are practically the same person), the plot-twists are often predictable or convenient, and the ending seems rushed. The author could have done so much more with this.