In the near future, high school senior Marcus Yallow and his friends are caught near the scene of a terrorist attack in San Francisco and apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security. After some rough interrogation, Marcus is released, but there is no sign of his friend Darryl. In the aftermath of the attacks, numerous new security restrictions are imposed on San Francisco, and Marcus starts to resist them by setting up a secure Linux network that runs off of hacked XBox consoles, and using that network to spread ideas of ways to subvert the restrictions. He also learns that Darryl may still be alive and starts searching for ways to find out what happened to him.

This is an entertaining novel, but I wanted to like it more than I actually did. I agree with a lot of the ideas presented about the value of freedom, and those are especially important for the young adult audience this book is aimed at, and the various hacks that Marcus pulls off are interesting, but a lot of the information is given in the form of clunky infodumps which interrupt the story. Also, the views of anyone opposing Marcus are presented as fairly simplistic, straw man arguments. The government officials are just caricatures who don't even have a legitimate interest in the country's security, they just want to accumulate power. Despite, those flaws, it is still a novel worth reading that is very relevant to today's world. ( )

 Little Brother is derivative of many things, but it works well, and is written in a fun and engaging way. I have recommended this book to many teens at my library, in part because Doctorow is one of the few writers of teen fiction who really seems to understand how technology works in young people's lives. Aparat from an embarassingly awkward sex scene here and there (he could easily have been nominated for this year's Bad Sex Awards), this was a wonderfully entertaining book from the first page to the last. ( )

I read the book Little Brother by: Cory Doctorow. I was amazed at how Marcus, a 17-year-old kid, could crash the entire Department of Homeland Security (DHS.) He is only four years older than I am. He must have a lot to carry on his shoulders, but he is only a child. His friend Van does not approve of this because he is only a kid and this a job for someone else. However, when he gets caught by the DHS he is tortured as if he was a grown man.



The reminds me of the Alex Rider series. When the M16 calls upon Alex for a mission he is a man. When Alex ask asks to make his own decisions, or for a weapon, he is a child.



Even though Marcus was set back by his age, he managed to overthrow the DHS. Despite Alex’s age, he still manages to complete every mission, obtain a weapon, and eventually leave the M16.



Winston, in the book 1984, is a grown man. The problems Winston faces are much like the ones Marcus faces except that he has no problems with his age. In the end of 1984, Big Brother manages to overcome Winston, and remains in charge of everyone. But, Marcus who is much younger than Winston, succeeds at overthrowing the DHS.



It definitely says something that Alex and Marcus who are teenagers are stronger than Winston. What this says is that Teens RULE!!!

Holy cats, y'all. I enjoyed this book far more than I had any right to. Especially because I'm over 25. ( )

Holy cats, y'all. I enjoyed this book far more than I had any right to. Especially because I'm over 25. ( )