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A sinister threat. A shocking betrayal. A single rose.

Jan has poured her grief over her brother's death into finishing his work—crippling the terrible system they'd unknowingly helped to build. But when a strange gift beckons her to seek out Kevin's betrayer, will she find the answers she needs? Or will hate and anger shatter everything she holds dear?

A short story

Semi-finalist Indie E-Con 2018 Writing Contest, with extended and deleted scenes

24 pages, ebook

Published August 7, 2018

32 people want to read

About the author

Angie Thompson

49 books1,110 followers
An avid reader and incurable story-spinner, Angie Thompson also enjoys volunteering in her church’s children’s program and starting (but not always finishing) various kinds of craft projects. She currently lives in central Virginia near most of her incredible family, including two parents, six brothers, one sister, and six siblings-in-law—plus four nieces, ten nephews, and several assorted pets!

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5 stars
8 (36%)
4 stars
11 (50%)
3 stars
3 (13%)
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Lilian.
267 reviews11 followers
November 17, 2018
Review:
This is such a creative book! The idea of betrayal within a family always intrigues me, so I was really excited to pick this up. And I wasn’t disappointed! The pacing was excellent for being such a short story (34 pages), and the plot was thought out well. The cover is really unique, and I love that there’s a flower on the cover, which ties into a little something in the book. I found the characters to be well-developed; I understood quickly the why behind their fears and doubts, which is always great to see in a book.

What I Didn't Like:
I would have liked to see some more backstory at the beginning of the book, since I was definitely confused at first as to what was going on. As the book went on I understood what was happening though. 🙂

Conclusion:
Looking for a short, interesting story to help tie in your Goodreads Challenge? I would definitely recommend Code! I think Angie has such high potential in writing, and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more of her works! 4 stars.

Recommended to children 11+ years old.

*FTC DISCLOSURE: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.*
Profile Image for Mikayla.
1,182 reviews
September 29, 2018
This was a short, dystopian-ish kind of story. I loved the emphasis on sibling relationships.
To be honest, though, I got pretty confused about who was who. I felt like I needed a more firm background on the characters.
But I loved the main girl. She was loveable.
Profile Image for Eva-Joy.
511 reviews44 followers
January 21, 2019
Oh my goodness. I need to read short stories more often - or at least those by Angie Thompson - because this was phenomenal. Code was a little confusing for the first few paragraphs but then everything straightened out. And since I understood the story, the stakes, etc., I could appreciate the characters...

...and I love them all. Jan, with her smarts and her love for people. Craig's fire and remorse. Kevin's sweetness and self-sacrifice. And JAAAACK. *heart eyes*

I honestly didn't know what to expect going into Code but what I got was a well-written, well-plotted short story about the power of family, all wrapped up in strings of computer code and a tantalizing dystopia. One hundred percent would recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Stellae Books. A positive review was not required. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.
Profile Image for R.A..
Author 32 books87 followers
August 11, 2018
This was a very exciting read! I really enjoyed it! It was very well-written. The story - which if I say much, it'll be spoilers - really caught my interest!

The siblings relationships were really well done!

And, hey, I love it because I was mentioned in the acknowledgements! <3
Profile Image for Kate Willis.
Author 23 books566 followers
October 13, 2018
FTC DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of this book. A positive review was not required. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

After enjoying another short story by this author, I jumped at the chance to read and review this. It certainly did not disappoint!

The main character, Jan, had quite a loving soul, and I liked her bravery and attempts at peacemaking. The whole theme of computer hacking was awesome, and now I need more techie books in my life. My hands-down favorite part of this book was the sibling relationships (both by blood and by marriage) that stood strong despite politics, mistakes, and betrayals. I teared up a little bit at that part in the shaft. <3

I would have loved a little more physical description of the characters since I got them a little bit confused at first and never got a good handle on how old they were.

Just a note, it is mentioned that an evil man

Best quote: I study his face, wondering why people can’t be scanned and fixed as easily as simple strings of code.

Altogether, I enjoyed this short story, and I look forward to reading more of this author’s work. ;)
Profile Image for S. Daisy.
200 reviews61 followers
December 22, 2021
This is a short clean dystopian fiction story. Jan (computer programmer, hacker, and child prodigy) must race against time to destroy the massive intel-gathering computer program she and her brother Kevin (child genius) had helped create, thus saving the locked-down futuristic world from unimaginable privacy invasion and corruption.

At first, I found the book rather confusing. It was written in a way that left the reader one step behind the plot and characters as the story unfolded. However, by the end of the story, the majority of loose ends were tied up nicely. Although the story is clean and makes a couple nods at God, I did not think it was incorporated in the work enough to list "Christian" as a sub-genre. It also felt like the story could have been three times as long and talked a bit more about the kids' parents roles and what they were doing while the happenings in the story took place, and I think the work could have used a bit more world-building. Still, the story was fantastic and left me wanting more. Four stars.
Profile Image for Katja Labonté.
Author 30 books330 followers
September 29, 2020
5+ stars & 6/10 hearts. This was a intriguing read that I greatly enjoyed. It was rather exciting, humorous, and full of lovely characters (Jack is my favourite <33). At first it was a little confusing, but I caught on to what was happening fairly quickly—though I was still left wondering a little as to the details of what they were doing and what the villain was doing. Poor little Kevin + Jack were amazing... and Jan was lovely too. I’ve found a new favourite Indie Author and I’m looking forwards so much to reading more of her works!! 

A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “Jack’s eyes are warm and soft underneath their teasing sparkle.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “An eerie, cackling laugh fills the room, and I jump about a foot off the couch. Jack nods toward the old sci-fi show still blaring in the background. I try to coax my heart rate out of orbit. ‘Could you turn that off?’ The creepy music of whatever crisis is impending is not improving my calm.”

*I received a copy of this book from the author but I was not required to write a review. These are my honest opinions.*
Profile Image for Molly Fiscus.
15 reviews6 followers
May 10, 2019
I enjoyed this short story after reading “Love Blind” by this same author. I especially liked that the story was about siblings! I do wish that Jan was as protected and loved as Kevin by Jack. But, it’s understandable he would have more attention ( since he had been hurt.) But, overall it was a pretty good book!
Profile Image for M.L. Milligan.
Author 12 books103 followers
July 13, 2021
Can she do it??

Jan is working like mad to end the terrible reign of the Governor. This short story was fast paced and laced with suspense and secrets. Secrets that could change everything. . . This is one story I will reading again soon :)
219 reviews9 followers
December 12, 2023
It takes a bit of work at the start to understand what's going on, but when it comes together, it Comes Together. It's so short that I feel like anything I say about the characters, plot, or themes will be spoilers, so I'll just recommend you take a look inside for yourself.
Profile Image for Erika Mathews.
Author 29 books173 followers
June 12, 2022
This book kept me on my toes! There were so many dramatic twists in this little story.
Profile Image for Serenity F. Helzerman.
Author 4 books27 followers
May 31, 2024
Yet another amazing short story! I’ll have to read it again!!!

*I received a free ebook copy from the author and didn’t have to write reviews but these are for you, @Angie!*
Profile Image for Sarah Rhomberg.
Author 1 book23 followers
November 22, 2019
FTC disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Stellae Books in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.

This story was a little confusing at times. Of course, it is a short story and not every detail has to be clear. Still, it took me a moment to tell the different character apart and also understand the setting. Once I did though, I really liked the idea behind it!! I enjoyed the theme “forgiveness” that was explored at the end and the necessity to apologize even when it was simply miscommunication, for example.

Quote: “Explaining computer programing to my brother is like talking Spanish to a Norwegian.”

Star rating: 4 from 5
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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