The Bar Code Tattoo (the Bar Code Trilogy, Book 1): Volume 1

by Suzanne Weyn

Book Overview

The first book in the exciting Bar Code series.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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0545470544
• ISBN13: 9780545470544
• Release Date: October 2012
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

It started off interesting enough. I had high hopes for it, but as I got further in, I was severely disappointed. It became choppy, squished, poorly detailed, had terrible character and relationship development, and altogether weird. Not to mention it was almost as if whenever the author didn't know what to do, they just changed scene. And although a lot of books give their characters powers, sadly this one makes it sound cheesy, and like they were all high tree hugging hippies. I could go on, but I have said enough, and don't want to bash it anymore than I already have.

~kCs~ The Barcode Tattoo

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.

Tyranny Takes Hold

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.

High School Librarian review

When a 16 year old boy at our school (one of our most athletic stars and a very reluctant reader) wanted me to recommend a book that he could 'maybe tolerate' so he could get a review done for his English class I gave him this book with great results. He couldn't put it down. Even though it is written from a female perspective he could see a part in it for him. In his review he also could see it was a very real possibility for the future.

The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyne

The year is 2025 and the latest craze is the Barcode Tattoo. It `s very convenient. Credit cards, debit cards, checks, cash, change... no longer needed. All information is now contained in the barcode tattoo. Now, even a teenager's allowance can be controlled by the barcode tattoo. To many, in this high-tech world, the barcode tattoo is great, convenient, and the thing to have. But is it really? What is really contained in a barcode? 17-year-old Kayla begins to question the use of them when her father, an FBI researcher, becomes insane over the tattoo and commits suicide trying to remove it. Her mother, a nurse, also makes some amazing discoveries about what the tattoo really contains. In fact, she too commits suicide trying to remove the tattoo. Now orphaned, Kayla runs for her life with an organization called "Decode", trying to escape the new law that has just been passed issuing everyone to be tattooed on his or her seventeenth birthday. This riveting science fiction tale will be a best seller among our young adults. Weyn incorporates a lot of today's technology such as email, credit cards and just pumps up the technology slightly to make this story very realistic. She points out how things can be traced with credit cards, email, and cellular phones and incorporates how the tattoo is even more dangerous as modern society begins to take on Marxist beliefs. She also incorporates some new teen lingo into the story. Throughout the story she uses terms such as "people are all banged out"(mad, bent out of shape) and it adds some appeal. Character development is great, and the story is realistic. This book is a winner. Kelly Anthony Librarian Rogers CAPA/ Greenway Middle

Excellent Book

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.