Teen, Inc.

by Stefan Petrucha

Legally, a corporation is a person, so why shouldn't they be able to adopt a child?
Fourteen year old Jaiden's family is a corporation and his home is an office building. When his parents are killed in an accident caused by a faulty piece of equipment manufactured by NECorp, the company adopts him and raises him in its headquarters. Now as a teenager, Jaiden, is longing for a normal life―attending high school, living in a house, having a girlfriend―and is starting to rebel in search of it.
With the help of his new friend, Jenny, he uncovers some disturbing and scandalous information about NECorp and must make the tough decision to stay loyal to his "family" or to follow his instincts.
Jaiden's funny and fresh voice makes this a quick, enjoyable read and the suspenseful plot will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Fiction, Contemporary, High School, Humor

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 18, 2007

About the author

Stefan Petrucha (born January 27, 1959) is an American writer for adults and young adults. He has written graphic novels in the The X-Files and Nancy Drew series, as well as science fiction and horror.
Born in the Bronx, he has spent time in the big city and the suburbs, and now lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, fellow writer Sarah Kinney, and their daughters. At times he has been a tech writer, an educational writer, a public relations writer and an editor for trade journals, but his preference is for fiction in all its forms.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Teen, Inc. has a truly fascinating premise. Jaiden Beale is the legal ward of a corporation, NECorp to be exact. For 14 years he has lived in a giant building, roomed in an office, been raised by a “team” specifically assigned to him. Despite this, his life is fairly normal. He’s got a crush on this girl at school and a best friend with buckteeth (who conveniently is a computer nerd). Things are changing, though. The corporation is no longer a family and things are getting dangerous. NECorp has been accused of poisoning the water with mercury and Jaiden may be the only person who can prove it.
But will he accuse the “family” that raised him?
Giving credit where credit is due, Teen, Inc does not descend to “big business is always bad”. In fact, the premise seems to be more “corporations may have issues but they are made up of good people and bad” or something like that. I was glad the novel did not descend to such simplicity. Unfortunately, there are several levels of simplicity and Teen Inc, while avoiding one pitfall, falls headfirst into another.
It’s got a seriously cheesy plot. Beyond cheesy. It’s….hard to fathom. ‘Bout to give away some major spoilers, so be prepared. Let’s begin with Jaiden. Let’s even stretch. We’ll assume somehow a boy with an entire branch devoted to his upbringing, a boy who lives in an office building where everyone goes home at night, a boy who has no strong parental influences except for a crazy manager and a constantly changing director could somehow have the emotional maturity of a normal 14-year-old boy. How a child with no real playmates for almost all his life…and everything else that makes Jaiden-Jaiden, the boy who went on retreats with the accounting department to learn math, the boy forced to read self-help books with all the CEOs could be…so….normal? Could even begin to develop mentally and emotionally? Or maybe even, as I want to know, could be so dumb. Like, how has he not become the perfect big business expert yet? Anyway. We’re gonna just assume that’s possible.
I’ll skeptically buy the convenient romance with the love interest. I’ll buy her Dad is like….NECorp’s arch nemesis. I’ll buy that all the freakin’ CEOs want him to spy on said nemesis while dating said girl. While I’m at it, I’ll even buy that Jaiden’s best friend is a computer whiz who can break through the security codes of a billion dollar company.
In fact, while I’m at it, I’ll buy that a 14-year-old knows how to hook a webcam up to an e-mail database and live stream to police/Father/etc.
I’ll buy the crazy CEO.
I’m trying here!!!
But two things just…push me over. The first is Jaiden. How stupid can that boy be? He’s supposedly raised by this corporation from like, two days old. So keep that in mind. His entire world is this company. And yet, his girlfriend’s Dad criticizes the company and suddenly he believes it? No doubts? ‘Well, obviously if you claim there is mercury poison there must be mercury poison in the water.’ Obviously if my fry cook says the company doesn’t care about me, the company must not care about me. Obviously…obviously…obviously. Does this boy not think? What’s he been doing for the past 14 years? Doesn’t he have anyone close, anyone who nurtured him? Nope? Just old Mr. Sunshine what’s-his-name in the cafeteria? And the kooky CEO? And a like, what, alcoholic and highly stressed out manager person? BECAUSE NORMAL PEOPLE JUST BELIEVE WHAT THEY ARE TOLD ABOUT THE CLOSEST THING THEY’VE KNOWN TO FAMILY? I just can’t buy it. He puts up no defense/argument. His whole mercury poisoning is completely glossed over. A little pain and he’s good. That could have been a major plot point, albeit a predictable one, but instead it’s just…yeah. Look how evil these people are. They’re poising the water.
Even that I could stand. I could. I’d have swallowed it…but the villain.
OhmygoshsomeonepleasehelpIdon’tevenknowwheretobegin….
Mr. Bungrin is freaking evil-incarnate. He’s shooting at teenagers? Just gonna wack ‘em in cold blood? Got his boss forcibly retired somehow? A real mover and shaker who’s certifiably insane? He was just so evil. It was like a scene from a really cheesy comic book, or a movie that’s cool when you’re like….five. I almost feel like re-reading it to double check that it wasn’t all my imagination, but then I’d have to like...re-read it. So not worth it. There are no other words besides cheesy. Ridiculous. Absolutely bonkers. He reveals his entire plan. His identity (HOW DID HE EVEN GET A JOB IN THE COMPANY AGAIN? THEY DO BACKGROUND CHECKS. AND WOULD HAVE RECOGNIZED HIS FACE!) And…and plans on just killing the kids, even using the good old let-me-reveal-my-entire-plan-and-how-I-will-explain-your-‘accidental’-deaths rant was great in like…the Hardy Boys. When I was like…8.
I’m flabbergasted.
I really am.
Alright, so maybe I need to step back and realize I’m not the intended reading audience. Possibly this is good stuff…when you’re a 14-year-old boy. It’s clean enough (except for that random kissing scene. Ewww….they’re 14?) And…and the cheesy plot might not have been so miserable if I was, well, less well read.
And if it hadn’t been done.
In every other cheesy superhero/adventure/Hardy Boys novel.
But it’s got a clever premise. Oi.
I really don’t know what to do with myself. At least the book didn’t get dystopian, though I find Jaiden’s final comments about how “Big Brother” changes incredibly naïve. You know what Big Brother does? It kills you if you don’t conform.
That’s what it does.
Don’t trust it.
OH! AND ANOTHER THING. The villain’s rant about how making money is the end all and…and how the government should regulate it and blah blah blah? WHATEV. That got on my nerves. Stupid.
Very stupid.
Okay. I think I’m done. I like the front cover. It’s cool, and the model looks like someone Jaiden might be.
Pretty much, a clever premise with an incredibly cheesy ending. And middle. And possibly beginning? Who am I trying to kid.

[Colette · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cute read, but I would suggest it for Middle-Grade readers over The YA genre. Though this book was written a few years ago, the messages are still relatable to kids today. Overall 2/5 stars.

[Tasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jaiden Beale wishes he lived an ordinary life, but when you are the child of a corporation, yes as in a business, it’s a little hard. See when Jaiden was just a few weeks old his parents were killed in an explosion that was caused by a faulty valve made by NECorp, who is the same company that “adopts” him.

Now in middle school, Jaiden just wants to fit in, but that’s a little hard when you have a whole team of people trying to make decisions for you. When he finally finds the perfect girl to date (after many meetings where he gets shown a slideshow of possible girls that don’t appeal to him at all) his plans for a study date get immediately foiled. After enough persuasion though Jaiden is able to convince his guardians to let him use the company house and have the girl over. As soon as she steps in the house though, he wishes he had never pushed so hard. In short the date was a disaster and Jaiden is furious with the corporation.

Now he has to face how to grow up in a nonconventional environment and maybe, just maybe have somewhat of a normal teenage life. And maybe there is a chance for him to make up with the perfect girl and work things out.

Well the book started out really well and I was really excited about the concept, but by the end of the third chapter it started to go down hill. The plot didn’t really move much and the story became so predictable that I didn’t really want to continue. I thought that Jaiden’s character became very whiny and unenjoyable, and he I felt like he kept talking abut the same thing over and over again. While I didn’t like the story, I thought that the author’s writing style was really good. He made the book feel real and provided enough detail to answer my questions, but not too much that it was a bore. Overall I was disappointed with the book, but think it may work out better for a younger audience.

[Mica · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot definitely intrigued me. Jaiden was raised by the corporation his parents worked for, the NECorp. Since he doesn't have anyone to look for him, NECorp decided to take the custody because partly, they are to blame for the death of his parents. Anyway, he didn't exactly have a normal life because 1) he's living in an office 2) NECorp controls his life including his dating life 3) well, he's raised by a corporation. I think 3) sums it all up.

The first part kept me interested. It was amusing. But then when it came to the falling action, it became unrealistic. Sure, the corporation thingy is already unreal. But that last part is kind of an exaggerated action movie where the protagonists are doing this spy thingy and they thought they succeeded but then the antagonist came and pointed a gun at them. Just when he was about to shoot one of them, the police came and everything went back to normal.

I dunno. I think I find it odd that Jaiden's friends have all these sort of "secret" supplies for that breaking in. And that in the ending, after all the events that have happened, NECorp doesn't have that much trouble. Like, it just went back to normal. POOF. I think it just weirded me out. But all in all, this was a pretty much good book. It's just a light read and I finished it in a day.

[Aryana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teen, Inc. written by Stefan Petrucha is a book I could've read in 5th grade and loved. But now, I got to admit, I felt a bit childish reading it.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Nevertheless, I must give some credit to Petrucha, because the main idea (which is a kid being raised by a corporation) is a new one for me. However, the language used and the plot line was very easy to understand. The voice of the protagonist- Jaiden, could be heard very distinctly.

The beginning of the book was a bit on the predictable side, but towards the end, Petrucha included subtle twists. I think he could've played more with the story line at the end, when Jaiden and his friends broke into the CEO's office to steal confidential data. I think this was a scene that could've turned out many ways, but the way it did seemed too predictable to me.

I really don't have anything else to say, other than this was a very easy read. Unless you are really bored and are just whiling your time away, I would suggest reading this book to pass your time, IF you are looking for an easy read.

[PageTurner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea of this book was really interesting: an orphaned kid being raised by a corporation that was responsible for his parents’ death. It seriously is hilarious when all aspects of his life are handled like a day in the office. For example instead of his parents advising him about first love his ‘manager’ holds an office meeting about ‘dating options’!

I found this book entertaining from page one as the main character, 14-year-old Jaiden has a really funny/satirical voice. And his attempts to still live a normal life are funny especially as he wants to impress a girl. For which he goes as far as arranging a pretend family home (his actual bedroom is a converted room in the office) and mum.

The end fizzles out a bit but overall found it a funny read and the idea is very original.

[cmtan cmtan · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were so many things that I didn't like about this book that I don't even want to list...

[Dennis Littrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, clever and totally harmless

Jaiden Beale is an orphan being raised by NECorp (not to be confused with Japan's NEC Corporation, I presume). He's just your ordinary 14-year-old with a yearning for parents and a normal life. Seems that a faulty valve manufactured by the company caused an accident that killed his parents when he was a baby. He was awarded $40-million in damages to be paid when he turns 25. Additionally NECorp was ordered to become his guardian. So for the past 14 years Jaiden has been living at the corporate headquarters with some of its officers serving as his overbearing guardians and helicopter parents.

This is a cute premise sure to catch the eye of Disney or somebody making movies for kid TV. Petrucha, who is a veteran author of over 100 young adult novels, has a style, how shall I say?...carefully wrought. The story is told in Jaiden's words and from his POV. Whether Petrucha has captured an authentic voice of an upper middle class American teen is something beyond my ability to judge, but my feeling is that Jaiden has lived a way sheltered life. While it is nice to note that none of the multitudinous incantations of the infamous "f" word make an appearance, I think some contemporary deviations from standard English would bring a sharper shade of realism to this otherwise charming little tale. One gets the sense that Jaiden's vocabulary was approved by a middle school committee of the PTA.

Putting that aside, how about the story and characterizations?

Jaiden himself is just about perfect. He doesn't stand out in any particular way, but he has a sense of goodness and honesty about him that is admirable. He is apparently an average sort of guy in the high school social jungle, but attractive enough to please the eye of pretty Jenny Tate, who becomes his bio lab partner and the recipient of his first kiss. There is also his bud, Nate, a socially-challenged computer geek whose hacking skills come in handy in the latter part of the novel. And there is Ben who serves him bacon, eggs and home fries for breakfast every day. (I think Petrucha needs to consult the USDA's healthy food pyramid, or actually the Harvard School of Public Health's recent corrective of said pyramid.) Anyway, in the movie Ben will be Afro-American and shrewdly paternal. There is Nancy, the straitlaced corporate exec who looks after Jaiden in a rigid, hands off style that keeps deeply buried a human heart. And there is Mr. Hammond, the kindly CEO who has fatherly feelings toward Jaiden. And finally there is the evil Ted Bungrin (uh, kind of a name joke there, possibly) who has designs on taking over NECorp.

The plot turns on the discovery that NECorp is dumping poisonous mercury into the local waters.
This is not by any stretch of the imagination an attack on corporate malfeasance. Indeed, Petrucha's attitude toward the corporate structure and its place in the modern world suggests that a corporation is just an economic tool to be used for good--or not so good--by fallible humans. But you might want to check out The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (2004) a book by Joel Bakan or the documentary on DVD of the same name for a different perspective.

While I think this well-constructed and easy-to-read novel is mostly pablum for parents and harmless escapist fare for preteens (I think most teenagers would find it a bit juvenile) there is a hint in the pages of something more, of a talented artist yearning to breathe free of the commercial mold and say something that might not gain the Good Housekeeping seal of approval. For example on page 181 Petrucha has Jaiden thinking about cigarette companies. Jaiden muses: "It's like building this really cool ultrarobot, full of guns and lasers, programming it to be a perfect killing machine, then being totally shocked when it shoots you and doesn't understand for the life of it why you think it's wrong."

I also noted this on pages 217-218. A bullet has shattered Nate's Taser gun. Petrucha has Jaiden observe: "There was also this weird little time lag that's hard to describe; you're watching the gun fire, hearing the sound, seeing the Taser disintegrate all in slow motion. For a flash, you're removed from it, thinking, huh, that's not so bad, it couldn't possibly have anything to do with me, but then out of nowhere, the rest of your body catches up with what you're seeing and your glands start pouring tons of adrenaline into your body and you realize you might die at any second."

This insight is the famous half-second delay in conscious awareness discovered by experimental psychologist B. Libet some years ago. What this suggests to me is that if Petrucha wanted to, he could go deeper into the psychology of not only his characters and their interactions than he has here. Indeed, I suspect there is a deep, socially conscious, not so politically correct, adult novelist inside Petrucha ready to explode with literary power, if only Petrucha would just give him a chance!

--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”

[Nathan Pozen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teen, Inc.

Teenagers, the group of young adults who mainly are lazy, rude, and want nothing to do with responsibilities, but in the book Teen, Inc., by Stefan Petrucha, a 14-year-old boy is apart of a multinational corporation. Jaiden Beale, the son of the previous owners of N.E. Corp. before the “accident”, is not a normal kid. Around 1 week old, Jaiden’s parents both died from faulty equipment produced by their own company N.E. Corp. Ever since, Jaiden hasn’t had real parents, but replacement parents were set in place before a lawsuit could begin. Jaiden’s new parents were all the employees, but mainly the executives, of N.E. Corp.. Life was different being the first kid to ever be raised by a company, less fooling around, an office as a bedroom, and over 10 assigned people watching your every move, let alone the rest of the company. Finally though, around age 14, Jaiden is feed up with being different. Now he has new problems, like doing well in school, but mainly making friends and even girlfriends, which is all monitored and must be approved by his many parents. After a school project scares away Jenny, a girl Jaiden likes, but unapproved my N.E. Corp., Jaiden is at his breaking point. So like a regular teen, be pulls an impulsive move, to run away from his house (the office building), and go into the unknown where he will finally have some freedom. But the results are like putting a fish in a shark tank, Jaiden gets chewed up and spit out only on day 1. The next day though, is no better, when Jaiden gets caught up with a gang, and then the police. What has Jaiden done to his confined life which is now appearing to be quiet nice and pampered? Jaiden is on the run, and now what will he do next?

By the end of this book, you will know every detail of the adventures and life of simply a different kid. Though detailed and precise, the story couldn’t be more personable or clear. Telling the way the story is yet formatting it in a way appealing to readers, Mr. Petrucha does a great job.

This entertaining book definitely has higher vocabulary, some sections take multiple pages to fully comprehend the intended story, and in addition, the main character is 14 years old. Also, since this book was written in 2007, some references and technology (like My Space) to readers in 5th grade today would come up as a total mystery. Due to those reasons, I think readers in the 6th through 9th grade would enjoy this book the most. With great morals, twists, and turns, anyone could still have fun with this book no matter what their age.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jaiden is in an unusual situation. His parents died due to a defective part in their stove, leaving their son an orphan. As part of a settlement, the corporation that caused Jaiden's parents death adopted him. He lives at the corporate headquarters and attends public school. The only problem with that is that he now has exposure to information that has not been scrubbed. More specifically, he learns that the corporation is doing business in a way that is causing mercury poisoning. Is there anything he can do? Will the corporation let him do anything?

[Thanh Doan]

GOOD NOT BAD AS A BOOK THAT I READ IN MY FREE TIME :DD

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com

Jaiden Beale has never had a normal life or a normal family. Well, he had a mom and a dad -- that is until they were caught in an explosion at their home while heating up some milk, due to a wrongfully made gas valve by Safe Warm. NECorp, who was indirectly responsible for his parents' deaths, thought it would be right to raise Jaiden themselves, and to make sure that nothing bad happens to the company's money or reputation.

So now, not only is Jaiden's family a corporation, but also his home.

All he has ever wanted was for everything to be normal. But that doesn't really happen when you don't get to make all of your own decisions. The decision making belongs to NECorp and the time that runs Jaiden's life. Everything is decided through meetings and discussions and organized to where everyone knows Jaiden's business. He can't even find the perfect girl to date without Team Jaiden making slideshows and gathering all the information they can about possible candidates and the ones he should date.

When he does find the perfect girl, Jenny, his first date (well, study date) goes terrible wrong, since some of the corporation's lawyers think it's best for Jenny to sign some pre-nups that are more like waivers.

So what does Jaiden do when he can't stand how everything is working out? He runs away. Unfortunately, he doesn't run too far. That is until he finds secrets that could ruin his family and possibly be the missing puzzle piece for his freedom and his chance at leading a normal life. Will Jaiden use these secrets to take down the only family he's ever known? Or will he come to terms and finally understand that this family of his is what he needs the most?

Satisfying, unique, and very charming, TEEN, INC. is one of the very few novels in its genre that stands out the most. Jaiden is the one character that everyone will fall in love with, and NECorp is one family you don't want to mess with. Readers will have mixed responses on whether they would want to have a life like Jaiden's. Sure, having others make decisions may seem nice, but not all the time. And having any sort of family is the greatest, even if yours may be a corporation. Stefan Petrucha stirs up a novel that makes readers want seconds, and more after that.

[Sarah F Vasquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teen, Inc is about a boy ,named Jaiden Beale, who never had a normal life. His parents died when he was a baby, due to explosion because of NECorp. The company then, claimed responsibility for it and decided to adopt him, until he was old enough to take care of himself. Now, he is fourteen and just wants to be a normal teenager. Jaiden was later enrolled into Webster County were meets a girl named Jenny. Jenny's dad works for JenCare ,a company that hates NECorp, and she never really noticed him. Until they end up doing a biology project together, and Jaiden learns from her dad, that maybe NECorp is hiding something from him.

This novel was written by Stefan Petrucha and published on September, 18th, 2007 by Walker Childrens. Stefan writes young adult books, and has written graphic novels for the Nancy Drew series and X-Files. Some other genres that he is known to write is horror and science fiction. Teen, Inc is 224 pages long and $5.49 on the NOOK or $14.95 at Barnes and Nobel. It's realistic fiction and for teenagers sense it's written in Jaiden ,a high school students, point of view.

I really liked this book and I would definitely recommend it. I feel that everybody would like it, because it has something for everybody from romance to suspense. It's an easy read and doesn't drag on like those really long books do. The only thing that I wish was different about it was the ending. I thought that it had no definite conclusion. But, other than that it was very relevant and relatable to me,sense it's about a teenager. I think, that the author did a good job of making the book unpredictable and I loved his writing style. Overall, it's a solid 4 out of 5 stars with the ending dragging it down.

One of my favorite quotes from the book was "if I smashed anything, Team Jaiden would just get me into a behavior modification program, or maybe some doctor would put me on drugs for my ADD or bipolarism or depression". I like it because it just sounds to me like a teenager would definitely say something like that.

Read this book to figure out what NECorps big secret is and if Jaiden does anything about it. I hope that if you do read it you will like it as much as I have.

[Justin Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jaiden Beale was born with two parents, when all of the sudden, they were killed by the faulty equipment manufactured by the company they worked for, NECorp. Since NECorp didn't want to abandon Jaiden, they decided to take him and adopt him as their own. With a team that was organized to make Jaiden's life better and all the things that a boy ever wanted, he still lacks in having a family. His focus group decides what he does, where to attend for his education, even decides who he should date, and had meetings every time he does something wrong that NECorp thinks is wrong for him. When he starts becoming involved in a biology project with a girl who has an anti-corporation father, NECorp gets even more involved. Jaiden suddenly realizes that the place he was living in was lying to him about how they were safe and how they were never going to do anything to environment. NECorp was lying about their mercury pollution problem they were putting in the water systems. Jaiden also realizes that once the executives found out about how he knew about the mercury problem, they would soon threaten him that if he was going to say anything about this problem that they would send him off to a foster home somewhere far away.
I think this book was a great book to read. With the different humor and storyline combined, it was really easy and there were moments where I had some laughing moments. The plot of the story however, was a but confusing at sometimes. The problem was really rushed into the end and was not throughout the story. This can also grab young reader because of how easy it is to read this book. It also teaches that even though you may be a nobody at school, things can change through the story of your life. This is what exactly happened to Jaiden's life in the book. When he realizes that his company is lying to him, he starts changing throughout school and his entire life. This is what i truly liked about this book.
If you are a person who likes action, adventure, romance, and humor and is a realistic fiction, then this book perfectly fits you.

[Harshita Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teen Inc. by Stefan Petrucha tells the story of how Jaiden Beale is raised by a corporation. The corporation takes the role of a ‘parent’, and acts like a parent. The story shows the many complications of legal matters through the tale of a teenage boy.
The whole story is written in first person, from the eyes of Jaiden Beale. I think this really brought out his character and helped enhance Petrucha’s writing in a special way. I really enjoyed reading the story because it felt like something that could happen to just anyone, but that was also one of the downsides of the book. It started off with descriptions and events that were quite normal, but towards the end, a lot of almost impossible things started happening, which made me a little bored. It seemed like a bunch of action was forcefully packed into the end of the story, and I didn’t like that very much. I think one of the important themes of the book is that you can do anything if you have the willpower. This is especially conveyed when Jaiden completely changes the way the plant works just by being persistent with the CEO. I think a subtler message the book conveys is to be quick thinking and use what is available to you when confronted with a stressful situation. I really like the way the theme was woven into the story- not really obvious, but conveying a strong message anyway. Another main reason why I found this book interesting is that it isn’t like any other book I’ve read- the plot, writing style and character combinations are really unique.
I recommend this book to everyone who is looking for a quick, entertaining read.

[Patrick Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Teen, Inc” by Stefan Petrucha is about fifteen year old Jaiden Beale. Jaiden lives a normal life, almost; When Jaiden’s was just a baby his parents were killed by an explosion caused by faulty equipment manufactured by NECorp. In order to save themselves from a lawsuit NECorp adopted baby Jaiden and raised him under tight circumstances.

This book has it all action, adventure, romance and humor all in a realistic fiction. But that is why I rated this book three stars. I rated this book three stars even though I like action, adventure, romance, and humor it was the plot that I thought was the worst part throughout the book. Humor was scattered throughout the book but the author set up the jokes poorly and the author even designed a character who is a heavyset antisocial nerd who was a crush on one of the hottest girl in school. Also romance is scattered throughout the book too, Jaiden has a crush a girl from his biology in which Jaiden tries to get throughout the book but is told to stay clear of her because her father is threatening to take down NECorp . There were only two major action scenes, one where Jaiden runs away from the police over a misunderstanding and the other is the is the ending final chapters which I thought was impractical considering that 15 year olds would not know how to break into a fortune 500 company with just a laptop and a tazer.

Overall I thought that the book was a pretty good read, it was moderate paced book and a really easy read. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a fast easy read.

[Chelsea · Rating 1 out of 5]

What looked to be a intriguing, if unlikely, premise - when a faulty heating system kills Jaiden's parents, the corporation that produced the system adopts him out of some combination of real guilt and the desire to get some good press - got annoying very fast.

Jaiden himself was pretty flat - a stereotypical teenage boy who is embarrassed by his "parents" (that is, parent company), likes a girl who doesn't know he exists, and is really into video games. For a kid who was raised by a rotating team of managers, and grew up in a converted office, there's nothing off about him, which struck me as very false. With an upbringing as unusual as that, he shouldn't be your average dorky teenage boy.

I was working my way through that, though, until I came to the passage where Jaiden begins to question the integrity of his parent company (that is, the plot begins). And then he says it.

"Was their evil in my blood?"

No, you fucking moron. Not only is evil not hereditary, you are also NOT BIOLOGICALLY RELATED TO THE COMPANY THAT IS LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU.

I don't care how metaphorical it was meant to be. People who say that in regards to their biological relatives are still morons, just not as special as Jaiden here.

[Addy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written from a different perspective of corporations, Teen Inc. is a book filled with action, modern day problems of the economy, and even a bit of romance. Jaiden is a fourteen year old boy who was adopted by NECorp after his parents died due to a faulty product of theirs when he was a baby. So, he was raised by a corporation. He lives in an office, and has a whole committee all for him. They chose his name, and they now also choose, basically, how Jaiden lives his life. Even down to who he dates.He goes to a public school, and there is really where he can do what he wants. But still, it's very limited. He gets assigned a partner, Jenny, for a project in chemistry. He likes Jenny. But, after a failed attempt to have her over to work on the project at his “house” (aka a house NECorp owns), he learns that Jenny's father has some beef with NECorp, something about a branch of their's has been dumping mercury into the water. The book follows Jaiden on how he learns about the company that raised him, and how much they really have control over him. But it doesn't make a lot of sense at the end, because after all of the drama and press, everything goes back to normal. Like, no. Not very realistic. At all. I liked the book, and the plot line, but I didn't really like the ending.

[Phaedra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really cool. I enjoyed reading how Jaiden really changed from the begging and then in the end. Its almost like he was on the corporations side, not really realizing or believing that they are polluting the water, but discovers the truth. He felt like the corporation was his parent, because the people in it raised him. I feel like if this corporation was partly responsible for the killing of my parents and decided to raise me to kind of cover it up from the media,(or if i was raised by a corporation in general) id be pretty pissed, but since he never really knew his parents it didnt bother him so much. the book lacked explaining how he felt towards his parents death and that kind of bothered me. Other than that i thought Jaidens voice was heard in this book. Jaiden doesnt really act like a 14 yearold though... atleast not any 14 year old i know.. he was a little childish with his language and stuff so....that also bothered me a little. other than that it was a pretty good book with an interesting plot.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book. Jaiden Beale has never had a normal life or family. Well, he had a mom and dad until two days after he was brought home from the hospital that is. his parents were caught in an explosion in his home while heating up a bottle of milk all because of a wrongly made gas valve by SafeWarm or NECorp. Since it was the corporations fault Jaidens parents died, they thought it would be best if they adopted Jaiden and raised him to make sure he got all his needs taken care of, and adopting Jaiden would also be a good publicity for the company. Now, Jaiden is in high school, and he meets a girl named Jenny. He has always had a crush on Jenny, but she never notices him. When they get partnered together, he has to go to her house for a study date. But everything goes wrong. Jennys dad is majorly against NECorp. What will happen when some of the things he says are true? I definitely recommend for everyone to read this book.

[Jeri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5/5 stars
The book had a great plot, but for whatever reason, it failed to keep me interested. I got maybe 100 pages in and just let it sit on my bookshelf for another week to a week and a half, just trying to muster up the motivation to read it. I finally got through, and the ending was good, but at the same time, things just didn't feel different. The only thing that got accomplished was Jaiden grew up a little and the bad guy who killed his parents was prevented from killing more people, which was what we thought had happened in the beginning. It seemed very Wreck-it-Ralph-ish to me. You know, guy is an outcast, wants something he can't have, tries to get it, makes a mess, discovers there's a bad guy everyone thought was gone, sidekick beats the bad guy, everybody goes home happy.

[Ms.Goldstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took a very interesting approach to some current world concerns, namely the environment and the power of corporations. Jaiden, the protagonist, is a high school freshman being raised by a corporation after his parents die in an accident caused by that corporation's product. The corporation has the legal rights of an individual, so instead of parents, Jaiden now has a team or corporate executives who are in charge of raising him. When Jaiden finds out that the father of the girl he likes is trying to shut down his "parent" corporation because of pollution, Jaiden finds himself dealing with issues of first love, loyalty, and doing the right thing. Despite the unusual premise, the book dealt with the issues it raised very realistically.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up in my library only to fake a reading grade for a class, but in reality i ended up enjoying this book more than most. It started out telling how this young man had been adopted by a corporation and was really just living in an office space. He ended up having many rules that dictated even who he could date in school, but the real kicker is what he finds out about this corporation that owns him. He starts to uncover lies about the mystery of production lines and special economical aspects that no other person knew about, and then, it all hit the fan. With a lot of action, suspense, and a little mystery, Petrucha only foreshadowed the greatest secret of the whole thing. Wow, it was a great book.

[TheSaint · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always amazed at how authors solve the "parent problem" in YA lit. In order to be in control of themselves (and the plot) the teenage protagonists need to be shed of their parents. Teen, Inc eschews the usual vacation, divorce, dysfunction, and death (sort of) in favor of having a corporation raise our hero, Jaiden. Child rearing by committee. Potential for a lot of humor there. But that would be a different book.
Once Jaiden's story is in full swing, this novel is a fairly typical example of boy wanting girl who is entirely inappropriate, finding out that they are actually of the same mind, and then having everything work out in the end.
Throw in a psychopathic CEO for a little exitement, and you have a real pager turner!

[Mabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jaiden is a 14 year old boy who doesn't have a family. No, he is not an orphan. He has a family, but his family is a cooperation that killed his parents in a work accident. Jaiden has lived his whole life trying to be a normal kid and hiding his true identity. He never really realized what could happen to him if his identity was spilled to the world and he never really had to think about it. When he finally starts talking to his crush his world is turned upside down. He realizes that the company that raised him his whole life, his family is actually an evil company that is slowly but surely killing with area he lives in. He is now forced to chose between his "family" and everything else he knows of.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Teen Inc. has a really good idea behind it and a child being raised by a corporation sounds interesting, but it's so obvious what's going to happen overall. The end has a good twist, but I could've guessed the rest of it from just the first few chapters. It's even more disappointing because I could imagine this being a great series like Airhead - they both have the idea of a teenager who's owned by a company, the difference being Meg Cabotmade her story addictive and fun to read. I would recommend this to nobody.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT.
First off, some annoying language, and stuff (But you gotta love Nancy). Although I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't any actual nasty stuff, so kudos for that part.
A delve into some political corporations-are-bad stuff that I was not expecting, and then a total lunatic break down at the end Which was kind of illogical because as far as my knowledge goes, even if you change your name, getting into business requires background checks where all that stuff would be evident. That wasn't explained or I skipped past it (which I did at some points in this book..
I mean, entertaining story, but wasn't much into that protesting stuff that happened. I don't t=know what I was expecting from this book, but it wasn't what I got...

[Agyiewaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book. I read it in a day which is something I haven't done in a long time. It's rather addictive. The first person dialougue was refreshingly real. As in, very much like the teenage mind without sounding too generic or by an adult.
The storyline was definetely interesting and rather unique. It was well explained but I think there are some parts that some wouldn't understand unless they took me 9th Grade/ Form 4 business class, but not bad.
I'm not sure what it is about this that isn't making me give it more stars. Maybe because it never truly excited me or drive me crazy to know what happened next though it was a fun read. Not bad at all.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meet Jaiden Beale, the first child to be raised by a corporation, now a teenager. Alternate summary: Corporations are eeeeevil. Another readable book without a whole lot of depth. The plot is pretty standard Evil Giant Corporation thing, with a bit of a twist because the protagonist is being raised by said EGC. I wonder if the author is not-so-secretly hoping to get this one made into a movie, because some of the scenes definitely feel like an action flick. Especially the climax. The denouement is a little too long, and a bit dumb. If you're looking for a good beach book, this might be one.

[♥{Miranda!®}♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay book, not the best. I really liked the way it was written, like to the reader and letting it really get into his head... head of a teen! The thing I really didn't like about it was that it was too expected, and the things that happend were too really, I guess. Like there's this one part at the end that he and his friends are chaced to the roof and they're held at gun point and then they start fighting and they bust him, and all the other workers show up and the cops come to arrest him. Stuff like that that's like only in movies... but it was okay!