The Bar Code Rebellion

THE BAR CODE REBELLION, by Suzanne Weyn, is the second book about seventeen-year-old Kayla Marie Reed and the world she lives in. In 2025, when the novel takes place, everyone, at the age of seventeen, is required to be tattooed with a bar code. The bar code is what people use for everything, from paying for bus fare to getting a job. In the first book about this world, The Bar Code Tattoo (Point Thriller), Kayla's neighbor, the now-famous Gene Drake, was killed in a struggle because he had discovered something terrible about the tattoo, and wanted to tell the world. More terrible, it seems, than what Kayla and other bar code resistors already know: that the tattoo contains each person's genetic code, gained from the blood sample taken when they are tattooed. These codes can ruin a person's life, if they have problems such as bipolar disorder or Parkinson's disease in their family. That's what happened to Kayla's friend Amber and her parents. Following Gene Drake's example, people everywhere are resisting the tattoo, even though it means forfeiting any chance at a normal life as a part of society. People are burning off the tattoo, or, if they join in time, refusing to get it in the first place. One day, Kayla sees a girl on TV with her face, telling people how happy she is about the barc ode tattoo. Next thing she knows, this girl is everywhere, pretending to be Kayla, and promoting the bar code tattoo. Is she a digital fake? Or is there more to it than that? Suzanne Weyn's novel takes place in a scary future society. It's especially scary because it really could come true. We've all read books about what the future will be like, and chances are, none of them are exactly right. Everyone predicts, though, that the government will have more and more control over our daily lives, maybe even getting to the intense and frightening level like that in BAR CODE REBELLION. In this story, characterization takes a backseat to the action, but that's okay, as it's meant to be more about the plot and the setting than it is about the characters. Even though the characters feel a little two-dimensional, it's still a book worth reading, especially for fans of The Bar Code Tattoo (Point Thriller). Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!! IT TALKS ABOUT THINGS THAT MIGHT HAPPEN IN THE NEAR FUTURE!!! IT'S A LONG BOOK! BUT IT IS WORTH EVERY MINUTE OF READING!!! YOU'LL LUV THIS BOOK!! YOU WON'T WANT 2 PUT IT DOWN!! TAKE MY WORD 4 IT!!! it talks about real life situations that might happen in the near future not puppies rainbows and unicorns :D

Kayla is back. A march on Washington turns into a disaster but Kayla manages to escape. On the run and not knowing who she can trust Kayla is beset by visions of other Kaylas. One seems to be a spokesperson on television saying how wonderful the tattoo is. Kayla is sure it is a doctored image of herself. It is getting harder and harder to survive without bar codes but Kayla meets many who are against the bar codes. In this way Kayla gets involved with a growing network of resistance that is actively working to bring down the bar code tattoo. Kayla still does not know what part she will play in everything but she is sure she will have one. then she starts to meet others who look just like herself. Maybe the image on television is true. But it all doesn't come together until it is discovered just what horror really lurks withing the bar code and the tattoo. The revelation pushes Kayla and the rebellion forward until the conclusion of the book. This is a little more fanciful than the first book but it does take the story to a definite conclusion. Unfortunately the corporation still operates like there are no people in it. This time it is stated that there is no link between the President and the corporation (he was a major shareholder in the first book). Although not quite as compelling as the first book, it does bring the story to a satisfactory conclusion. Check it out.

If you loved The Bar Code Tattoo like I did, this is the sequel you have to read. So many things from the first book are expanded on and there are some unbelievable surprises along the way. You won't be able to put it down, trust me!