Teen, Inc., by Stefan Petrucha, is the somewhat contrived story of Jaiden Beale, a teenager who is adopted by a corporation after his parents are killed in a freak accident.

This book is aimed for audiences of the ages twelve and older. It is a light read, with a straightforward plot, conveyed in first person. Told from the point of view of Jaiden Beale, the reader gets strong insight into his personality.

The plot seems contrived and predictable. Nothing happens for the sake of happening, but rather to achieve the greater objective of furthering the plot. The idea of having a teenager dealing with the issues resulting from his adoption seems like a typical plot line, but the creative twist of portraying a teenager’s reactions to being adopted by a company is nothing more then a modified version of the film The Truman Show. In the movie, Jim Carey’s character is adopted by a TV corporation, and his life displayed on air as a reality show. The medias differ in that Carey’s character was oblivious to his adoption, but parallels can be drawn between the similarities of their reactions to truth.

The characters in this book are archetypes, but the book is short enough so that they seem to have no depth to their personality. Beale is the typical teenager, dealing with crushes, the pressures of his first kiss, dealing with friendship, and trying to figure out his parents, or in this case, the company. Nate is the traditional best friend who gets away with poking at Beale’s emotions while remaining ever loyal and clingy. Jenny, Jaiden’s crush, is written in with the sole purpose of giving an insight to Jaiden’s mind, and forces Jaiden to decide where his loyalties lie.

Despite the superficial aspects of the book, it is a fun, casual read that answers all of the questions that it raises. It demonstrates the benefits of perseverance and family loyalty.

Teen, Inc. is to be published in October 2007 with a tentative page count of 240 pages. The hardcover addition will cost $16.95.