Doctorow, C. (2003). Little Brother. Cambridge, NY: Tom Dohery Associates. ISBN: 9780765319852
Plot Summary: Marcus Yallow and his friends love playing Harajuku Fun Madness. But during an in-person game session, a terrorist attack on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge immediately makes him and his friends suspicious targets for authorities. They are mysteriously detained, interrogated for their knowledge about digital communications and encryption techniques and tortured by agents of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Upon his release, Marcus discovers his city has become a police state. He is reunited with two friends, yet a third friend is never released by authorities. Incensed that leaders have taken away the people’s civil liberties, he dedicates himself to fighting back against the DHS, while relationships with his friends and his parents start to erode. While organizing the resistance movement under the assumed identity of Mikey, he develops a new friendship and love interest with Ange. She helps him progress his activities as well as the development of the underground wireless network, Xnet, that allows young people to foil and embarrass their oppressive government.
After finally locating his lost friend and releasing the truth of his identity to a powerful newspaper reporter, a series of events leads to his final confrontation with the DHS. Detained and tortured again, he is rescued by the reporter and the local state patrol who ultimately help him expose and publicly condemn the DHS’ actions.
Critical Evaluation: A very interesting, timely read for teens involved with so much technology today. Doctorow manages to craft a good narrative, realistic characters and a story that doesn’t insult the intelligence of teens. It covers a lot of political, historical and consciousness-raising content that is rare in young adult fiction. We see Marcus begin as a smart-alecky, active and carefree teen, who undergoes a traumatic, unjust event that makes him aware of his own fears, anger and sadness. Rather than repressing the experience, he is able to channel it into a greater sense of outrage and become an activist on behalf of his people, his country, his generation. We see his character make tough decisions as he deceives his well-meaning parents and friends while fostering a mutually respectful love relationship with a new friend. He must think like an adult while he's running scared from a force much greater than one teen would usually be able to contend with. This novel will appeal to both teen genders and especially those intimately familiar with the culture, geography and history of San Francisco.
Reader’s Annotation: Big Brother is watching you. One seventeen-year-old doesn’t think it’s right for the government to pry into the details of your life. He figures out how the system works and uses his computer, his cell phone and his encoding skills to outsmart the surveillance state. He and his friends are winning the fight, but the only problem is he must sacrifice what he loves and run for his life before they catch him…
Information About the Author: Cory Doctorow was born in Toronto, Canada and achieved early career fame for his involvement with the popular blog, Boing Boing. Since then, he launched a free software company called Opencola and has become an highly visible activist for digital rights management and other technology initiatives, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other groups who advocate for liberalizing copyright laws. He is currently living in in Canada with his wife and daughter and continues to pursue his newest incarnation as a full-time blogger, journalist and science fiction writer. His book, Little Brother, has won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Prometheus Award and the Sunburst award, all in 2009.
Genre:
Teen Issues: Activism, Crime and Criminals, Missing Teens
Adventure: Survival, Espionage and Terrorism, War
Science Fiction: Utopia/Distopia
Historic Novels: 21st century
Curriculum Ties: English class, History class, Government class, Psychology class, Humanities class, Book Clubs, Technology Clubs, Recommended Books for Reluctant Readers
Booktalking Ideas:
1.) How should a government protect its citizens after a scary terrorist attack? Should they be able to closely watch everyone for signs of trouble?
2.) If you think the government should respect your civil liberties, how would you let them know and what actions would you take?
3.) Can you relate to Marcus or Ange or Jolu or Van?
4.) How much do you know about technology and can you use it for good or evil?
5.) What would you do if you believed in something so much yet had to hide yourself from your friends, your family and live in constant fear of being kidnapped and tortured by nameless people in power?
Reading Level/Interest Age: Age 15-25
Challenge Issues/Defenses:
Potential Challenges:
• Negative depiction of government
• Portrayal of rebellious teens involved with sabotage, protest and deception
• Adult language
• Nudity and sexual content
• Inclusion of drug, alcohol or cigarette use
• Depictions of crime and violence
Defense Strategy:
• Provide our Collection Development Policy (which includes Young Adult scope): http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp
• Refer to awards earned by this book:
http://us.macmillan.com/littlebrother
• Provide advisory website for parents about this book's content and age appropiateness:
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Little-Brother.html
• Provide book reviews from readers on a publicly accessible website:
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Brother-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765319853
• Provide website links that encourage productive activism by teens:
http://www.teenactivist.org/
http://www.gurl.com/findout/guides/articles/0,,653763,00.html
http://www.charityguide.org/volunteer/fewhours/do-something.htm
Why This Book Was Included: I’m glad this book was introduced to me as our class assignment. Most likely, it isn’t a novel I would have immediately selected for pleasure reading. However, it’s a good read, a novel that older teens would enjoy and one that is very timely considering today’s focus on the "War on Terror." I view it as an important, landmark work of young adult literature. It entertains, yet also educates youth. It will leave them thinking about their lives and their government long after the end of this story.
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