Teen, Inc.

by Angela Wilson

What could an author possibly do with a Big Brother storyline that hasn’t already been done a thousand and one times? 

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He could allow a child to be adopted by a corporate powerhouse as a PR move after the company killed his parents.

This idea becomes a brilliant, uniquely entertaining novel set in today’s corporate-controlled society, where spin is everything and the legal department of NECorp runs 14-year old Jaiden Beale’s life.

Jaiden’s an orphan. His parents were killed by faulty equipment manufactured by giant NECorp when he was a baby. Attorneys quickly moved in to get a fat paycheck (and $40 million for Jaiden when he turns 25). To get some positive spin and focus the issue not on Jaiden, but of topics like Can a child be raised by a company?, NECorp adopts the baby and sets him up in a corporate suite near Marketing & PR.

Jaiden is incredibly smart when it comes to spin and the stupid antics of corporate yahoos (He says the ones who make the most money are the least intelligent.), but his hands get sweaty and his tongue ties up when he tries to speak to his first crush, Jenny Tate.

The plot thickens when we find that Jenny’s father advocates against NECorp, saying the company that won all these EPA awards is actually poisoning the environment. Jaiden discovers it’s true, and has to decide where his loyalties lie, and if a 14-year old stands a chance of standing up to Big Business.

Teen, Inc. is a great read, pulling together elements of Big Brother, the crap everyone has experienced in the workplace, and the trials and tribulations of being a teen. Petrucha – known for his Wicked Dead horror novels - also offers up extensive knowledge of business, and explains it with a dry wit that youth can appreciate. He also doesn’t talk down to them in this first-person narrative, but sits down and chats with them, knowing that kids are smart and they “get” the world as we humdrum adults know it.

That said, the book is ranked for 12 years and up, but some content is for a more mature audience and would be better understood by those 15 and up. Adults will certainly enjoy this adventure through the eyes of a teen who says exactly what we think about Corporate America.