Doctorow, C. (2008). Little brother. New York: Tor.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-1985-2
Plot Summary
One day, Marcus Yallow, a techno-geek high school senior in San Francisco whose Internet name is w1n5t0n (pronounced “Winston’), decides to ditch school to play Harajuku Fun Madness with his friends. Escaping the school’s high-tech security system proves easy compared to what he endures that day. When San Francisco is attacked by terrorists who blow up tunnels, the BART system, and the Bay Bridge, Marcus and his friends are captured by the Department of Homeland Security and held for interrogation for days. They believe he is part of Al Qaeda. Marcus is released, but not before he is tortured. When he realizes that the government has taken away people’s civil liberties and privacy and is tracking their every move in the name of security, Marcus creates a movement with the help of his technologically-gifted friends and the Internet to counter the DHS’s surveillance under the name of M1k13y. He is spurred on by the memory of Darryl, stabbed and bleeding, whom he believes might still live, the encouragement of his new girlfriend, Ange, and the resolve to wrought revenge on the people who did this to him and his city.
Critical Evaluation
Reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984, a theme of Little Brother is individual rights and privacy vs. national security in the name of unity. In fact, the main characters of both novels share the same name, Winston. The terrorist acts that set the plot in motion parallel 9/11 and set the stage for the mysterious Homeland Security’s arrival. The immediate future setting of this novel, San Francisco, is significant because this city is known to be a hot bed of free-thinking activists and technology, just the thing to get under the skin of the government. Doctorow brings the city to life with specific details such as real places; Marcus and Ange ride the Muni and the Bart, have a party at Sutro Baths, and attend a concert at Dolores Park. The first-person narration of Marcus is sometimes a blur of techno-speak and readers who do not understand things like crypto and private keys might get lost in the sometimes long-winded explanations, but the effect is powerful. While the reader might not understand, he will understand that there are hackers able to control the Internet to their advantage. The characters are well-developed as they not only show concern for their own friends, but are genuinely worried about the public in general and are willing to San Francisco’s next activists. The motto, “Don’t trust anyone over 25” will ring true with young adults who believe that those older are jaded conformists who do not fully understand the digital generation and who question the government. This book will make readers question their own stance on individual privacy vs. national security and never look at intersection cameras the same way again.
Reader’s Annotation
When Marcus is kidnapped and interrogated by Homeland Security after terrorist attacks on San Francisco, he does not take this encroachment on his individual rights lightly. With the help of his friends and the Internet, he rebels against authority and strives to regain his, and the city’s, personal liberty.
Author Information
Cory Doctorow, born July 17, 1971 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a blogger and science fiction author whose awards include the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, John W. Campbell Memorial Award, Prometheus Award, and Sunburst Award. Doctorow was a Greenpeace campaigner as a child and attended four universities but never received a degree. He began writing fiction when he was 17. In 2007, he received a Canadian Fulbright Chair for Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy and a professorship at USC included a one year writing and teaching residency. He returned to London, where he became a naturalized citizen in 2011, and continues to be a public speaker on copyright issues. His first novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (2003), was released in two ways. At the same time as its physical printing, it was released with a Creative Commons license, which allowed readers to circulate the electronic edition as long as they made no money off of it. After that, the license allowed derived works and all of his novels have been released the same way.
He is married to Alice Taylor and together they delight in their little girl born February 3, 2008, Poesy Emmeline Fibonacci Nautilus Taylor Doctorow (I had to include that wonderful name). He frequently does public speaking engagements, podcasts, and blogs on BoingBoing (http://boingboing.net/).
There is much more to know. Please enjoy yourself as you visit Cory Doctorow’s website:
http://craphound.com/
Genre
Young Adult Fiction
Science Fiction
Suspense
Romance
Curriculum Ties
9/11, First Amendment Rights, civil liberties and privacy vs. national security
Book Talking Ideas
How much personal freedom and privacy are we willing to give up in the name of national security?
Reading Level/ Interest Age
The protagonist is a senior in high school; appropriate for readers 14 and up.
Challenge Issues
None I can think of, except some people might disapprove of the characters’ irreverent attitudes towards the U.S. government. There is also some non-graphic, but palpable tension-filled sex that occurs off page.
Challenge Defense
In defense of a challenge, I would cite these reviews as well as ALA's Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.
Booklist starred 04/01/08
Publishers Weekly starred 04/14/08
Horn Book 10/01/08
School Library Journal starred 05/01/08
Horn Book starred 07/01/08
New York Times 09/14/08
Why did I include this title?
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