Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Young Adult Realistic Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780765319852
138 pp.
Suitable 15+

Readers Annotation: High-tech teenager geek Marcus and his friends try and take down the DHS in the aftermath of a San Francisco terrorist attack.

Plot Summary: Marcus and his fellow technological-geek friends are into gaming and really have fun with it. However, when a terrorist attack occurs in their city, San Francisco, Marcus and his friend Darryl, mistakenly get arrested as terrorists. Marcus gets released and vows to take revenge on the unfair treatment, one could even say torture, that he received from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The DHS becomes paranoid and suddenly becomes reckless in their terrorist accusations. He sets up X-Net, an underground Internet, that allows a network of users to infilitrate, or jam, the DHS and cause havoc in causing them to wrongfully accuse civilians as terrorists. He believes in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and that America should have freedom and feels that what he's doing is right while the DHS has got it all wrong, taking freedom away from Americans, spying on them via the Patriot Act II. Marcus even meets, Ange, his smart girlfriend and first love who becomes his partner in crime while he also tries to get the old gang together, getting his fellow jammers together in protest movements while also trying to not destroy his family, who have different beliefs than him. Which side will win?

Critical Evaluation: Where to begin with this story? Each chapter is dedicated to a bookstore that has influenced the author. And beyond the story is America and what it stands for, which is freedom and liberty. While overreacting to a terrorist attack is understandable, those freedoms are very much at stake and you can see the motives of Marcus in trying to take it down. It feels like as if he is the new age hippie, one who uses technology to protest. And boy, is there lots of technology, to the point where the reader feels that he/she is inside the computer crawling along the cable networks like an underground rat. Its this cat and mouse game between Marcus and the government that keeps the reader at the edge of their seat, unable to move, reading on to see what happens. The writing style is informative, revealing, humorous, and detailed, giving the reader an insight on the exposition, technology, and the detail of the well-written characters. They seem too smart for their age, however, and the amount of technology used is eye-popping. But the author does a nice job portraying the influence of technology on society has in a terrorist scenario that is quite believable where something old, like the Bill of Rights, still has an influence today no matter how society advances.

Author: Cory Doctorow is a Canadian blogger, journalist, and science fiction author. He was born in 1971 and is an activist for liberalizing copywright laws. He has an interest in technology and founded a software company, Opencola, in 1992, while also serving on numerous committees.

His first sci-fi novel was Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, which won numerous awards. It was released under Creative Commons License, which prohibits commercial usage; his other novels have been released in this format. He has also advocated file sharing and his works revolve around technology of this sort.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Terrorists
2) DHS
3) Technology
4) X-Net
5) Unjustice/torture
6) Sex
7) Underage Drinking

Challenge Issues: There are some challenge issues present such as graphic details of torture, mentions of sex and underage drinking, and negative talks about the DHS and government.

A librarian should state that the ALA mission is "to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all," which is embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association's basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. Librarians must act as an extension, making sure that they educate the general public, and themselves, about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.

Why Included: This was assigned to us for class and I'm glad it was; a rare sci-fi novel that I truly enjoyed with many "what-if" scenarios.