Swipe by Evan Angler
Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic books are some of my
favorite, but it can be hard to come across a true dystopian novel. However, Swipe is one of them: all remnants of an
old life have disappeared for a corrupt, totalitarian government.
Swipe
is set in a future North America where the current country is struggling to
recover after war and famine. In this society everyone gets the Mark—a symbol
of citizenship—at the age of 13; this allows every citizen to reap the benefits
of being a citizen. The tattoo allows citizens to do everything from getting a
job to shopping. However, ever since Logan (the main character the book opens
with) witnessed his sister go in for the Mark and never come back, he’s had
doubts about going in for his. And when Logan befriends the new girl in town,
they begin on a journey to answer all his questions.
The futuristic North America, in which Swipe takes place, is so clearly built
you don’t question the society for its believability because readers know all
of the rules and workings for what the characters are going through: only
children over the age of 13 are considered citizens but only after they pass a
test to receive a bar code and even the way houses are set up—tall instead of
wide to take up the least amount of space.
Furthermore, the story and plot catch attention from the
first chapter. Once the story begins, it keeps going. Readers get a taste of
the entire society to see what’s changed and what’s going on. There’s an issue
introduced at the very beginning, but it is never forgotten nor is it thrown
away in favor for larger issues. Every issue introduced is readdressed for
further investigation in the next two novels (Sneak and Storm) or
wrapped up by the time Swipe ends.
However, no book is perfect, and there were some
characteristics that didn’t feel perfect:
1. The main characters (Logan, Erin, Dane, Hailey, etc)
are supposed to be 13. They do act as if they are 13 sometimes, but oftentimes when
reading these characters feel as if they are older teens (16-19) as opposed to
13. Their emotional intelligence is much more advanced than that of the
thirteen year olds I know and are able to focus on the bigger issues i.e. the
revolution as opposed to their own personal issues ever. Some kids act older
than their age, but until it is specifically written these characters are 13
and going to middle school it isn’t easy
to pick up on. The characters are well rounded enough that they seem real, but
the age feels like an arbitrary number give by the author because it is the
time in the society when people undergo a test to become citizens.
2. This book, while written in third person, jumped
focus quite often. We specifically go from knowing what Logan was doing to
Erin's activities to both of them together doing something with other
characters regarding the government. Sometimes, it could feel as if you just
got focused in one POV and one scene before being taken out for another
character’s POV. While I did eventually get settled, I still would have liked
to be grounded in at most two characters. Multiple POV’s are tough to pull off
and while I see why it was useful, I don’t think it was entirely warranted.
3. Another issue that I wish would have been addressed
earlier is that certain aspects of the novel are not specifically explained
when they are first mentioned. It can take a handful—sometimes more—mentions
before readers get an explanation of what things are such a DOME and Dust. Both
of which are government agencies in this society, but when they are mentioned
the first couple of times not only do readers not know what they are but have
no idea what they do. As it turns out both these government agencies are hugely
important. I understand the reason why aspects of the society are not explained
right away as the narrators are all people who are telling the story have
already adjusted and know, but the explanations could have come sooner.
4. Lastly, the supposed big twist that no one was
supposed to pick up on was fairly easy to pick up on. There is supposedly a spy
within the school the main character goes to, but no one knows who this is.
Except, apparently the readers, because the hints dropped only ever point to
one person, but none of the characters realize this until the very end where it
is meant to be a surprise - and it is not.
By: Ashley Noelle
