Swipe

Title: Swipe

Author: Evan Angler

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publish Date:  8 May 2012

Pages: 288

ISBN:  9781400318360

Source: Publisher   

Genre:  YA, dystopian, romance

Series:  Swipe

Other books in series:  Sneak

Rating: Liked – loved

Everyone gets the Mark. It gives all the benefits of citizenship. Yet if getting the Mark is such a good thing, then why does it feel so wrong?

Set in a future North America that is struggling to recover after famine and global war, Swipe follows the lives of three kids caught in the middle of a conflict they didn’t even know existed. United under a charismatic leader, every citizen of the American Union is required to get the Mark on their 13th birthday in order to gain the benefits of citizenship.

The Mark is a tattoo that must be swiped by special scanners for everything from employment to transportation to shopping. It’s almost Logan Langly’s 13th birthday and he knows he should be excited about getting the Mark, but he hasn’t been able to shake the feeling he’s being watched. Not since his sister went to get her Mark five years ago . . . and never came back.

When Logan and his friends discover the truth behind the Mark, will they ever be able to go back to being normal teenagers? Find out in the first book of this exciting series that is Left Behind meets Matched for middle-grade readers.

What if what everyone is telling you to believe was a lie?  This is what happens to Logan Langly.  He was almost 13.  13 is when you go and get your Mark.  This is an important time in a person's life.  Getting the Mark means you can buy things, get a job, become a responsible person in society... Logan isn't as excited as he should be.  Years before when his sister, Lily, went to get her Mark, she never returned home.  She flunked.

Ever since then, Logan has had the feeling that he has been watched.  He has to make sure his house is secure by checking everything over before he will be able to sleep.  His parents think he is paranoid.  Maybe he is, maybe there isn't anyone after him.

Then there is the new girl at school, Erin.  Erin comes from Beacon.  Her father works for DOME or the Department of Marked Emergencies.  They had her dad transferred here to help with some of the Markless in the area.  Erin isn't too thrilled about this because her mother is still in Beacon and she wants her family intact.  Her mission is to find a way to get her and her dad back to Beacon to be with her mother.

What will happen to Logan and how is Erin involved?  Is Logan really being watched, and if so, who is the one who is watching him?

When I first read the synopsis of this book, it sounded like a good read, and it was.  I will admit that I had a little trouble getting into the book because it gives you a lot of history at the beginning.  It didn't really start to pick up until the latter half.  Once I got intrigued by it, I couldn't put this book down.  This book keeps you interested with all the action, secrets, and romance.

In Swipe, there are multiple point of views, but you never feel as though you are getting whiplash from switching from person to person.  I loved how Erin and Logan interacted and how they both felt differently about the Markless.  I can easily see how this series could become a reality and that is what makes it a good read.  I recommend this series to anyone who likes dystopian books.