3. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Doctorow, Cory. Little Brother. Tor Teen. 2008. ISBN: 9780765319852.

Plot Summary
Marcus is a teenager living in San Francisco who knows his way around computers and technology. He is known for tapping into his high school's security system in order to avoid getting caught skipping classes or showing up late. One day he and his friends decide to skip class in order to play a popular online game which requires them to wander the city and find clues in order to beat other teams playing at the same time. During the game they hear sirens and soon find themselves in a large crowd heading for a fallout shelter. They find out that the Bay Bridge has been destroyed in a terrorist bombing. After one of his friends, Darryl, gets stabbed in the mayhem, they try to get help and instead are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The DHS considers them a threat and takes them all to an undisclosed location where they are brutally tortured, humilated, and accused of being terrorists. After days of this treatment the DHS releases Marcus and his friends, Van and Jolu, forcing them to sign a statement saying they were voluntarily held. There is no sign of Darryl. Marcus is determined to find out what happened to Darryl and to expose the DHS especially now that they've turned the city into a police state where they monitor the populations every move from how many buses they take to how many times they cross the other bridges. Marcus decides to start an underground movement to expose the DHS and to find Darryl but it will take all his tech smarts and a lot of luck to outsmart the corrupt government. Will he succeed?

Critical Evaluation
The interesting and somewhat frightening aspect about Little Brother is that Marcus' situation is one that could actually happen somewhere in the near future...if it isn't already happening. Doctorow takes the reader on a paranoid journey full of government corruption and teens trying to do the right thing amidst concerned parents and fear. Many of the scenes, like the demonstration at Dolores Park where Trudy Doo tells the kids "Don't trust anyone over 25!" and "Take it Back!", could be scenes from any war demonstration throughout history. The tortuous interrogation scenes are so vivid and realistic that Doctorow put's the reader in the same room as Marcus. They make the reader want to root for Marcus through the whole book and say, "Down with the DHS!" This book is a must read for older teens who like hard science fiction because it can possibly happen.

Reader's Annotation
Marcus Yallow is a 17-year old with extensive knowledge about technology. He skips school with his friends one day and they soon find themselves captured by the Department of Homeland Security after a terrorist attack on the San Francisco Bay Bridge.

About the Author
Cory Doctorow is a science fiction novelist, blogger and technology activist. He is the co-editor of the popular weblog Boing Boing, and a contributor to The Guardian, the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Wired, and many other newspapers, magazines and websites.

He has won the Locus and Sunburst Awards, and been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and British Science Fiction Awards. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in London.

Genre/ Subgenre
Hard Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties
Sociology

Booktalking Ideas
1) If you were Marcus, would you fight for what you believe, or let the corrupt government have control?
2) Do you know of other situations in American history where people demonstrated against the government?
3) Does your school have a surveillance system? Metal detectors? How do you feel about them?

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 15+

Challenge Issues
Sexual situations
Violence
Drinking, smoking, and references to drugs

Challenge defense ideas
-Become familiar with the book and its content.
-Refer to the collection development policy of the library, see http://sfpl.org/pdf/about/policies/collection-development-plan.pdf
-Refer to reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly available for viewing on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Little-Brother-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765319853
-Try to get reviews of the book from teens who have read it.

Why Included in Titles Selected
Required reading for course