Bibliographic Information: Doctorow, C. (2008). Little Brother. Tom Doherty Associates, New York, NY. ISBN: 9780765319852
Plot Summary: Marcus, the main character of the story, finds himself arrested, along with his three best friends, for suspected involvement in a terrorist bombing of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) interrogates and psychologically tortures Marcus and two of his friends, Van and Jolu. His best friend, Darryl, is missing after being taken by the DHS. The remainder of the story involves Marcus's commitment to exposing the DHS and organizing a resistance movement against it.
Critical Evaluation: Little Brother is a very fast paced action packed thriller and is hard to put down. Despite the "techy" jargon, it is a fun read and gives the reader insight into a fictional world of secret operatives and techo-geeks.
Reader's Annotation: Marcus and his techo-geek friends find themselves arrested and involved in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge.
Genre: Science Fiction
Information about the author: Cory Doctorow was born in Canada and has lived in California, Mexico and Costa Rica. He currently lives in London. He has published four science fiction novels including: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Eastern Standard Tribe, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town and Little Brother. He also has written a short story collection and co-authored a nonfiction book called The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Science Fiction.
Cory Doctorow describes himself as a "technology person," a writer and an activist. He is the former European director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and writes for magazines such as Wired, MAKE and Popular Science. He has several blogs on technology, politics and culture.
Retrieved February 15, 2010 at: Http://craphound.com/bio.php
Curriculum Ties: Social Science: possibilities include comparing and contrasting Little Brother to George Orwell's 1984 and how government can go too far. Current events, connections between the real world and the literary world, study of technology.
Book talking Ideas: What would it be like to be accused of being a terrorist? What happens when your rights are taken away?
Reading Level/Interest Age: 13 and up
Challenge Issues: Sex, drug use and alcohol, civil disobedience and undermining the government
Reason for Inclusion: This book is exciting and touches upon so many pertinent issues of today, including teens, technology and political issues.
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