The Bar Code Prophecy

Gr 7–9—In 2025, tattoos are not only acceptable; they are required. Thanks to the manipulation of big business and crooked politicians, everyone over 17 must have a bar-code tattoo to access everything from spending money to college admission. Grace, 17, is looking forward to the 'too-it's a rite of passage. Who needs to listen to the fearmongers, who say that it is the evil tool of an overbearing government? But Grace's tattoo, far from being the ticket to adulthood, leads her straight into trouble. Her family disappears, security men from Global-1 begin chasing her, and a shaman tells her about a prophecy of "lines of destruction," and Grace appears to have a key part. She meets up with members of Decode, a group of rebel hackers and inventors committed to protecting Mother Earth and her children from strip-mining and other indignities perpetrated by greedy leaders. Most Decode members are Grace's age or slightly older. Third in a trilogy that includes Bar Code Tattoo (2004) and Bar Code Rebellion (2006, both Scholastic), this book reads best with the background of the previous books, but it can stand alone. Weyn relies at times on imagined newspaper articles, letters, and paragraphs of explanation to move the action forward. Some readers might question how teens easily hack government sites, produce sophisticated fake tattoos, construct magnetically propelled cars, and escape professional security forces time and again. Others will sit back and enjoy the action, the occasional romance, and the Native American conservation themes in this swiftly moving adventure.—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX