sakusha's review
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I read the sequel before the first book. This one seemed to move at a slower, more realistic pace. The characters were more fleshed out. In the sequel, it seemed like there were all these minority characters inserted just to score diversity points, but in this book they seem to be real people with personalities.
It’s realistic how Kayla first likes Zekeal because of his good looks but later appreciates Mfumbe for his intelligence and moral strength, how he acts on principle instead of simple self-interest (85). His character isn’t black for no reason; it’s a cause for his parents to pressure him to get the tattoo.
There is some mild sexual content in this book if you read between the lines, unless we are expected to believe two teens just kiss on top of each other without removing their clothes (124).
This book (series) really is a great primer for middle school age kids to learn about all the stuff going on in our world. Just like our government funded covid shot propaganda to increase uptake and persuade the hesitant, a similar thing goes on in this book (122). A government funded youth group promotes bar code tattoo pride (97). “If they see someone who’s undecided, they befriend hem and try to talk the person into it” (98). Adults who don’t get the tattoo are fired (105) just as people IRL were fired for not getting the shot.
Mfumbe’s words about the barcode apply to the covid shot too: “I don’t trust it, either. I don’t want to put something permanent on my body before I know what it’s all about. I don’t think they’re telling us everything there is. . . . The government is too determined to get everybody tattooed. I just know there’s something more” (85).
And these as well: “Can you believe they made up a disease to explain why people are so banged out by their bar codes that they try to burn them off? They don’t mention that these poor people didn’t start out completely detonated—the bar code has driven them crazy” (108). Just like covid shots have caused people to have “sudden adult death syndrome,” among many other health problems.
“Senator Young was hoping to block a bill in the Senate that would make the bar code required for anyone receiving public assistance” (86). I could see the covid shot being required for welfare or food stamps too, if Biden had gotten his way in mandating it.
Unlike in our world, the reporters in this book series sometimes seem to be objective in reporting the news; they don’t ignore stories or skew them just to suit their agenda or the agenda of their advertisers (95). But in another instance in the book, a newspaper doesn’t print a letter about what information was in the bar code. “Global-1 has a lot of influence with the papers. Information like that would scare people. They might not get tattooed. They probably want everyone tattooed before they give them the news” (159). Just like how adverse reactions to the shot are downplayed as rare and mild by the media so people won’t be scared out of getting the shot.
The book doesn’t only talk about the barcode issue, but also GMOs and how Global-1 owns all the food in the world (just like Bill Gates is trying to do) (40). The author correctly predicted a future in which schools would be spending time having students explore their feelings (105). In this book, the insurance companies encourage hospitals to kill people because nursing homes have become too expensive (173). Just like in our world where hospitals are encouraged to kill covid patients with ventilators and Remdesivir because that gets them more money from the insurance companies!
In the second book, it seemed like the bar code was only in the US, but this one says that the tattoo was used in Asia and Europe since 2006, and required in Europe since 2012, and in China and Japan since 2010 (114). Canada for some reason is still free of it, which sadly was not the case in the real world where Canada became one of the strictest enforcers of covid lockdowns and shots.
Possible error by the author:
Kayla had brown hair in this one (9), but I thought in the sequel she (and her lookalikes) had blonde hair. On p. 177, she cuts her long hair short. Was it short in the sequel?
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
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