The Bar Code Tattoo is a young adult

Young adult literature

Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...

 science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 novel written by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author Suzanne Weyn

Suzanne Weyn

Suzanne Weyn is an American author. She primarily writes children's and young adult science fiction and fantasy novels. she has written over fifty novels and short stories, and is best known for The Bar Code Tattoo and The Bar Code Rebellion books...

. It takes place in the not so distant future, and is about a girl, Kayla Reed, as 17 year old girl who can get a bar code tattoo as an ID, but suspects that there is something politically wrong with the tattoo.

In 2005, the American Library Association

American Library Association

The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....

 named it as a Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. The Nevada Library Association nominated the novel as a 2007 Best Young Adult Fiction.
The Bar Code Tattoo was translated into German and in 2007 was nominated for the Jugendliteraturpreis

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis

The Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...

 given by the Federal Republic of Germany.

Plot summary

In 2025, the Human Genome project has finally understood the entirety of the human genetic code - enough to have the code imprinted onto bar codes, along with other personal information regarding things such as bank accounts, social security numbers, and purchase records, allowing doctors to predict future diseases based on genetic history. Kayla Marie Reed is about to turn seventeen, the age when she can get her bar code tattoo (or "too" as often referred to in the book). Despite her friend's assurance, she is still somewhat indecisive about the idea of branding herself. This is furthered when her father commits suicide, triggering an expanding suspicion of the tattoos. After moving away with Kayla and gradually changing her behavior, Kayla's mother begins to go insane and loathe the tattoo. Immediately before her death in a kitchen fire, Kayla's mother reveals dire information to her daughter about unknown happenings at the crack attic and reveals other data stored in the tattoo including genetic information which will make it incredibly difficult to become insured by insurance companies and even hired if one has a bad genetic history. Kayla's mother believed that the "tattoo" was the reason her father died. After becoming wanted by the police for the possibility of murdering her mother, Kayla goes on the run and makes friends who are against the tattoo, including her former classmate Mfumbe that have joined together with Senator Young to form an organization known as "Project Decode" whose aim is to make the tattoo a personal option. Soon, it becomes illegal not to wear the "too" by the United States Government (whose President is also the CEO of the multinational corporation Global One, commonly called G1). After evading the authorities for some time, Kayla finds that the police have taken in a girl who was previously a member of her resistance group and begins promoting the law and, along with a former member of resisters, becomes the spokesperson for Tattoo Gen. Near the end of the book, Kayla has a sort of vision of a group of people marching to a great white marbled city with a large defense wall and a voice whispering in her ear "Keep going."

Main Character

• The main character is Kayla Marie Reed: She decides not to get a tattoo. An orphan by the end of the book.

The secondary characters

• Amber Thorn: Kayla's best friend. She has the tattoo. Her parents' bar codes stop working and the Thorns have to move to Nevada in order to have a place to live. Kayla sends her a letter near the end of the book.

• Mfumbe: One of Kayla's classmates and later her second love interest. He's very smart and qualified for a scholarship, which he could not claim because he didn't have a tattoo. His family is very healthy and the tattoo could give him advantages, but he decides not to get one anyway. Kayla finds him when she's on the run.

• Zekeal: Kayla's first love interest and an avid member of Decode. He had a relationship with Nedra. Zekeal turns out to be a double agent working for Tattoo Gen.

• Nedra: A member of decode who was undecided on whether to get a tattoo. She does end up getting one, and turns out to be a double agent for Tattoo Gen, recruited by Zekeal.

• Allyson: The most brilliant member of the resistance group. She receives a scholarship and gets tattooed in order to claim it once everyone starts leaving.

• August: One of Kayla's friends. He gets a tattoo after Zekeal, Nedra, and Allyson do and Kayla and Mfumbe leave. He later burns it off with acid and escapes to the mountains, where he meets up with Kayla.
• Kayla's parents: Die because of the bar code tattoo (mother died of burns trying to remove her tattoo, father attempted to cut his out)

• Amber's parent's: bar code made them move with amber's cousin (Emily)

• The Alans: tried to help and take care of Kayla