Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Doctorow, Cory. Little Brother. Tom Doherty Associates Book, 2008. ISBN 0-7653-1985-3

Plot Summary

Marcus and his friends Jolu and Van are seniors in high school living in San Francisco. Marcus finds out that there is going to be a game of Harajuko Fun Madness so he gathers his apprehensive friends and they escape to the city. While they are out San Francisco experiences a terrorist attack and they are right in the middle of it. Jolu gets stabbed as massive mobs of people being to scurry throughout the city. Marcus attempts to get someone for help but all the cop cars were passing him by. A truck is the only one that stopped but Marcus soon regrets it. They are roughly thrown into the car with bags over there heads. After this incident Marcus life would never be the same. He wakes up and does not know where he or his friends are. Marcus undergoes brutal interrogations for what seems like forever. Marcus is believed to be part of the terrorist because of the technologies they found in his bag. Marcus is later released into a world that he does not recognize or want to be part of. San Francisco has turned into a prison where no one has freedom or personal space. Marcus is once reunited with Van but Jolu is still missing. He is willing to do anything to find him. Marcus meets a girl over the internet, Ange, which he quickly falls for. Marcus is willing to risk everything to find his friend and bring back the city to the people rather than the government’s hands.

Critical evaluation

A combination of 1984 and Hackers for this generations fear of terrorism. Marcus is the ordinary hacker who wants to bring down a system that treated him and is treating others like animals. The plot is excellent because this is an underlying fear that some Americans have, especially after 911. After 911, the Patriot Act became a threat to peoples privacy but the government believed that it was infringing on others peoples lives was to protect billions of lives. How far would they go to keep Americans “safe” though, who monitors those who are monitoring? This novel opens up a can of worms of what ifs? It is a thought provoking novel that entertains.
Readers Annotations

Marcus and his friends, who are hacker, are treated as terrorist after they are found near the attack in San Francisco where “suspicious” items were found in there bags. Marcus is willing to bring down the government to find his lost friend and restore privacy to San Francisco.

nformation About the Author

Cory Doctorow's Little Brother won the 2009 Campbell Award for "Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year"

Genre
Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties

English

Booktalking Ideas

1) Patriot Act. Think its ok?

2) Can little brother be a reality?

3) Marcus after inerrogations. First person narrative

Reading Level/Interest Age

Gr. 8-12

Why Book Included

I enjoyed reading this book for class