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The Bar Code Tattoo Suzanne Weyn 9780439395625 Books

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The Bar Code Tattoo Suzanne Weyn 9780439395625 Books

(Spoilers ahead)

I quite liked the first half of this book. It's actually more unnerving than a lot of other dystopian novels since it's very, very close to life right now. The idea that people would get tattooed with a bar code that contains all their ID and financial information is sort of the direction we're going now: paperless, efficient... I'm not a conspiracy theorist and I loves me my debit card and internet shopping, but this novel, only a step or two down the path we're on, actually gave me pause.

I liked it so well, in fact, that I found myself wishing the author weren't writing for a young adult audience; the book could have been fleshed out and expanded and would probably be appreciated by readers of all ages. A little more depth would have done it justice...but that's not to say that I wasn't enjoying reading it as it is.

And then around the middle of the book, it got a little too bizarre. First I could overlook the extremely rapid move from nebulous oppression to characters who just happened to stumble on the malevolent new world order of genetic modification and cloning and wholesale slaughter of the imperfect. I could even overlook the wildly implausible escape by a girl too stupid to know that email could be tracked and who kept managing to stumble across friends and enemies while traveling and hiding out in a huge region. (One coincidence is fine. Lots of them tell me that the author is getting lazy.)

Well, I guess I didn't overlook these things so much as suspend judgment until I could see where it was going.

Where it went was a step through a trans-dimensional portal and into the Celestine Prophesy. Suddenly humans fighting the bar code have evolved virtually overnight into superior beings with funky mental powers. And never mind that I was disliking the protagonist more and more; she starts out asserting that she despises those girls who put on an act just to nab a boyfriend, and then turns into one of those very girls. I mean, a character that unaware of herself and that judgmental without even a nod to the irony in her own new love isn't terribly likeable. (You can almost hear her whining, "but you don't underSTAND how real this is!")

The problem, I think, is that the initial appeal of this book was in its realism. Its potential for predicting reality. And if the author had just put down the hash pipe and held off her new age conversion for a hundred pages or so, this book would have been quite good. And that almost-awesomeness actually makes me dislike this book more than I would have if it had just started out all weird. Instead, it's like a bait and switch.

Meh. I'll give it two stars since the beginning was good and the length meant I only wasted a few hours of my life. But all the shaking-my-head-in-disgust keeps me from giving it any more than that.


Tags : The Bar Code Tattoo [Suzanne Weyn] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <DIV>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,Suzanne Weyn,The Bar Code Tattoo,Scholastic Paperbacks,0439395623,Family - General (see also headings under Social Themes),Fantasy - General,School & Education - General,Conformity;Fiction.,High schools;Fiction.,Identity;Fiction.,Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Conformity,Fantasy & Magic,Fiction,High schools,Identity,JUVENILE FICTION School & Education,JUVENILE FICTION Science & Technology,Science & Technology,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Young Adult Fiction Family General (see also headings under Social Themes),Young Adult Fiction Fantasy General,Young Adult Fiction School & Education General

The Bar Code Tattoo Suzanne Weyn 9780439395625 Books Reviews

I could not wait to dive into this book. It totally held my attention and was a truly scary look at a future that is not too far off the line. This author had some very detailed foresight and there were details that were mind boggling. I cannot imagine not having a choice but to get a bar code because of convenience ... and ultimate control. People may think that bar coding is a futuristic idea - it is not so far fetched! This book will really bring some insight into what a government will or attempt to do to each of us. It is fiction with an edge. Great read - couldn't wait to read the second book!
It was okay. The beginning really grabs you. The author does a good job of setting up a believable dystophia.

However, the plot has all the subtlety of a drunken frat boy. Everything that you think is going to happen, happens. Evolution doesn't respond to politics within the same generation. I didn't find any of the characters particularly compelling. This book would have benefited from at least an extra 100 pages, if not being split in two.
This book was amazing when I read it years ago. Reading it now, it's still good; however, some of the parts don't flow well enough or I felt like I was cheated on details. I still would recommend this book because of the ethical issues discussed and the sci-fi (
I just read the book in about 10 hours. As a fan of Utopian/Dystopian/Social fiction, I was intrigued when I heard about it. It is geared to younger readers, which may explain the sometimes superficial approach to a very involved background. I grew more aware as I neared the end that the book was always meant to be serial in nature. That's not a terrible thing. If you enjoyed taking the author's journey by the end of the book, you won't mind buying the sequels. I'm not certain if I will continue, because I could almost see actors and actresses from "Gossip Girl" playing the parts of the story's teens, and I don't even watch "Gossip Girl." A lot of concepts are thrown around, with genetic modification, cloning, and totalitarian control by a non-government organization representing the bad side, and an odd but interesting Paganism-meets-evolution neo-culture representing the good side. If individuality versus collectivism is a theme, there is a schism in the theme, since the opposing sides appear to both be heading toward a collectivist end. The bad guys represent a fascist enforcement of conformity while the good guys are ascending into unified spiritual/philosophical beings. All in all, the book was worth the read, and was an easy read. It's kind of like watching a show for the pleasure of it, rather than for its ability to make you think too hard. That's not meant as a negative. Filet mignon and Big Mac, "Citizen Kane" and "Sorority Boys," and "Brave New World" and "The Bar Code Tattoo" are all enjoyable, according to mood and purpose.
I enjoyed this book. It was realistic and I could see how we could eventually move in the direction this book takes. That said, I lost interest at times.

The fact that the government in the USA is wiretapping places without warning makes the message in this book flare to life. If people could keep tabs on us, it'd be a very scary world indeed. We'd lose all of our rights, and would be at the mercy of whoever had control over the information they had on us. That's what I kept thinking through out this book that it could happen, if it hasn't already.

Do I recommend this book? Yes and no. It's not a horrible book, it's got a good message and was for the most part interesting. Then again, I wasn't emotionally invested as much as I get with an AMAZING book. I suggest you try a sample & see what you think of that 1st.
(Spoilers ahead)

I quite liked the first half of this book. It's actually more unnerving than a lot of other dystopian novels since it's very, very close to life right now. The idea that people would get tattooed with a bar code that contains all their ID and financial information is sort of the direction we're going now paperless, efficient... I'm not a conspiracy theorist and I loves me my debit card and internet shopping, but this novel, only a step or two down the path we're on, actually gave me pause.

I liked it so well, in fact, that I found myself wishing the author weren't writing for a young adult audience; the book could have been fleshed out and expanded and would probably be appreciated by readers of all ages. A little more depth would have done it justice...but that's not to say that I wasn't enjoying reading it as it is.

And then around the middle of the book, it got a little too bizarre. First I could overlook the extremely rapid move from nebulous oppression to characters who just happened to stumble on the malevolent new world order of genetic modification and cloning and wholesale slaughter of the imperfect. I could even overlook the wildly implausible escape by a girl too stupid to know that email could be tracked and who kept managing to stumble across friends and enemies while traveling and hiding out in a huge region. (One coincidence is fine. Lots of them tell me that the author is getting lazy.)

Well, I guess I didn't overlook these things so much as suspend judgment until I could see where it was going.

Where it went was a step through a trans-dimensional portal and into the Celestine Prophesy. Suddenly humans fighting the bar code have evolved virtually overnight into superior beings with funky mental powers. And never mind that I was disliking the protagonist more and more; she starts out asserting that she despises those girls who put on an act just to nab a boyfriend, and then turns into one of those very girls. I mean, a character that unaware of herself and that judgmental without even a nod to the irony in her own new love isn't terribly likeable. (You can almost hear her whining, "but you don't underSTAND how real this is!")

The problem, I think, is that the initial appeal of this book was in its realism. Its potential for predicting reality. And if the author had just put down the hash pipe and held off her new age conversion for a hundred pages or so, this book would have been quite good. And that almost-awesomeness actually makes me dislike this book more than I would have if it had just started out all weird. Instead, it's like a bait and switch.

Meh. I'll give it two stars since the beginning was good and the length meant I only wasted a few hours of my life. But all the shaking-my-head-in-disgust keeps me from giving it any more than that.