Customer Reviews

The Bar Code Tattoo

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

After reading the back of the book, I decided to read this. The premise was unique and interesting, and it sounded good. However, after reading it I regret ever having done so. The writing was poor, and the author seemed to flit from one thing to another without a thought of consistency or plot development. One moment she meets new people, then she flees again, then she suddenly develops an aptitude for telepathy. Its hard to figure out where the author is trying to go with anything, and the book as a whole was just a mess. I definitely do not recommend this.

In the world of the near future, people are getting bar codes tattooed on their arms to make life easier. If you want to pay for something, just flash your tattoo. It can't be stolen or lost and its very secure. But despite the advantages there are still some how do not trust the tattoo. They feel their rights and freedoms are taken away by the tattoo. Kayla is one who does not want the tattoo. Then things begin to go very wrong starting with the suicide of Kayla's father.

Kayla's best friend is out on the street when her family's tattoo seem to have stopped working. They need to move to a relative's house. More and more trouble seems to be brewing. Then Kayla finds herself on the run from the law and it becomes criminal not to have a tattoo. Kayla joins up with other resisters and work on strengthening themselves for a confrontation with the world of the tattoo. Is there something sinister in the bar codes? What is really going on with the tattoos? You will have to read to find out.

A very good and scar story that shows how freedom can be lost slowly without resistance. Although the story idea come from the Book of Revelations, this is not a religious story. Nor is it political. It is mostly emotional. Kayla makes a wonderful backdrop to view changing society against. I was somewhat confused by the corporation behind the tattoo. It seems to be an entity unto itself without actual people behind it. It is had to believe that anyone behind the tattoo would use it to make the masses smarter, stronger, healthier and more powerful than themselves. I think people should read this book before something similar happens in the real world. Check it out.

This book only sounds good in the plot review. In truth, it is an absolutely horribly written book with plot twists that are so predictable and cookie cutter characters. There is hardly any real worth to reading this book, which is dissappointing because the idea behind it is very interesting, although not original.

This book is really quite good because it shows where the world is probably headed unless we get some good people to lead out country. In the beginnig, it it very morbid and depressing. The bad aspects (while they really add to the story and make it better)are quickly over, and it becomes and man- or woman, in this case- vs. herself vs. nature type of novel. Kayla is just trying to survive and overcome her fears, with the addition of becoming a fugitive in a few short months and the ever-present fear of becomeing insane due to a family gene. The Bar Code Tattoo is something anyone who works for the government should read, especially id they are high up. It is also a good book for science fiction fans, as it takes place in the future. I myself have read it four times.

This is easily one of the worst books I've ever read. The plot is poorly thought out, with new plot points springing from the pages without warning and without just consideration. Rather than flowing seamlessly from one event to the next, it seems as though the author added in random ideas whenever she got bored. Every time the scene becomes too static, she introduces a betrayal or kills someone off.

And because of the poor planning of this novel, the story begins a million miles away from where it ends, leaving many of the plot points unresolved or only hastily, untidily wrapped up.

How would you feel if everyone was getting a barcode tattoo because it was suppose to make your life better?
Well in the year 2025 Kayla Reed is turning 17 soon and once she's 17 she is qualified to get a barcode tattoo, which is what everyone is paying with. The tattoo has all your information on it so you don't have to carry anything. Once her parents got the tattoo her dad lost his job so she decided to become against getting one. Her friend insist she gets one until the day her father commits suicide and her mother keeps blaming it on the tattoo but Kayla doesn't know why.
When her best friend's parents loose their job and there tattoos don't work, they are forced to move to their relative house she makes friends with a bunch of seniors who are against the barcode too. Not too long after this, the barcode is forced by law. That means everyone has to get the tattoo and if you don't have it you'll be charged with a crime and be forced to get it. After seeing all the tragedies that happen with people with the barcode tattoo, Kayla decides to fight with her new friends to stop the new enforced law. After her mother kills herself trying to get the barcode off, Kayla has to run from her home because the Global-1 officers are after her and know she does not have the code. She is constantly on the run and she also tries to find out what's in the barcode that's making everyone so miserable? Will she be able to avoid the tattoo?
This book is a real page-turner and I recommend it to children over the age of 12 because of the level of maturity. I'm not too sure if the book is written in a Christian perspective or not. The author's craft is that she can end each chapter with something to catch your attention. Mass is also excellent with flashbacks. The theme of this book is free choice and everyone gets to make there own choices and no one can make it for them. The pacing in this book is well paced for the storyline. I think that everyone over 12 should read this book.

Kayla Reed thought her life was over when she didn't get an art scholarship. But that was all before her father died and the Global Officers were after her. In the year 2025, you get coded on your 17th birthday. Kayla's parents had the bar code and her best friend, Amber, had it too, so why was Kayla against it? Kayla's father never wanted the bar code, but she didn't see why until her mother claimed it killed him. Since her father died, Kayla's mother did everything to get rid of her bar code and warned Kayla not to get it. When Kayla wanted to know why, her mother always told her it wasn't safe for her to know.
The bar code tattoo started in Europe and worked its way around the world. It becomes required in the U.S. halfway into The Bar Code Tattoo. Without it you become an outcast. Funny things happen to people who get the tattoo. Some miraculously get promotions, others get demoted until they become nothing. When Kayla discovers the secret behind the tattoos, she is fully against bar codes.
I loved this book because I always wanted to know what would happen next. The Bar Code Tattoo is the prequel to The Bar Code Rebellion. Readers ages 12+ will enjoy this book as much as I did.

-Connie Liu