Book Review: Swipe

What if you had to provide proof of a tangible mark in order to buy or sell, to get a job, or to have a bank account? Scripture has prophesied such a time is coming. Evan Angler, in this first book of his Swipe series, takes this premise, creates the hypothetical scenario, and places tween/teen characters into the mix. I think he does an outstanding job in fleshing out what, until now, seemed like science fiction. This premise is not science fiction. Today, we face a world none too different from the one Angler presents in these middle-grade apocalyptical books.

Back cover blurb: "Logan Langley is just months away from his thirteenth birthday and the biggest day of his life - the day he will finally be Marked. The Mark lets people get jobs, vote, even go out to eat or buy concert tickets. Becoming Marked means becoming free. Or so he is told. Five years ago when Logan's sister went to get her Mark she never came back. Now Logan can't shake the feeling he's being watched... and then he finds the wire."

Angler not only provides a believable scenario (a drive for comprehensive compliance that pressures the unmarked), but also believable characters. Logan wants to know what went wrong with his sister's marking ceremony. His new friend Erin wants to find a way back to her old home in Beacon, to a time when her family was still intact and her father not yet assigned his top secret mission. Together, these tweens chase down the truth. This book grabs you and doesn't let go. Now that I have both the first and second book (Sneak) under my belt, I'm anxious to read the final two in the series. I'm also eager to discover why Evan Angler's social media presence abruptly disappeared not long after the publication of his fourth book. Hmm. Is it a publicity ploy? Or does Angler's premise hold some truth others don't want him revealing?