Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (2009-2010)
While skipping school, Markus is caught near the site of a terrorist attack on San Francisco and is intensely interrogated for six days. After his release and the disappearance of his best friend, Markus vows to use his formidable technical skills to network teenagers and fight back against the government's increasingly frightening surveillance system.
I really related to this book whose main character is a teenage computer "hacker," especially since just last year, a student at a local high school was arrested for hacking into the school board database. But the teenager in this book was characterized as a hero - actually, an anti-hero. I found the whole reference to the Department of Homeland Security a little frightening since it portrayed the government (Big Brother) as an evil force out to destroy all our liberties in the name of protecting us. The story is definitely a product of the times, but if Doctorow were to write the book today, would he still write about the government with such anger? Also, I thought it was a little ironic that the setting was San Francisco, normally considered a fairly liberal, free type of city. At times, some of the actions of the main character,(like his ability to spread the X-Box code throughout the city), seemed slightly unbelievable. However, overall, the author successfully created a mood of suspense and made the reader worry about the survival of these counter-culture characters.(m.r.,10th grade, ATC)
ReplyDeleteI thought that this book is really well written and has a good portrayal of characters. It is a good read and I had a really good time reading this. However, a few minor plot changes and having use of excess characters have lowered some standard in this book, but not a lot. This book has a lot of connections in real life. The intense security in this book when the terrorist attack happens relate to a current event that has happened. Lots of terrorist attacks have sparked security on all things so no bombs or weapons would appear on board. 9/11 is an example since it was cause by hijacking, and people have a more intense security to stop these people to overpower a plane. In the book, Government was keeping a close watch on citizens of San Francisco By having the Homeland Security act like a “Secret Police”. This book would be great if it had a sequel to it. Or at least like a prequel before leading up the events on the attack. If it was a prequel, it would describe Marcus’s interest in hacking or how was his life before all of the security happened in his school. If it was a sequel, I would predict that this time, he would have a variety of people to take on another, more intense government security after a minor incident in school. A certain character has had me a bit on an eye on. Julio is an interesting character, and yet a suspicious one because he only appears from the beginning to near the middle of the book, then he just disappears. I’m interested to know how and what happened to him. I would recommend this book to all science fictions fan since this book talks a lot of “what would happen if” questions and relates a lot to technology, mostly hacking.
ReplyDelete- (e.v.,10th Grade, ATC)
I really enjoyed reading Little Brother. I relate the story to a friend of mine who just wants to live his life. My friend, like Marcus, the main character of the story, just wants to live life like a normal teenager, but when people start cutting into his life and try to get things their way the only thing Marcus and my friend can think about is revenge. The plot was probably the best part of the book. With so many my twists and turns I could barely get myself to put the book down. He adapted to every obstacle in his way. Vans would try to track him down, police would watch him walking down the street, and cameras were always on him, but he always seemed one step ahead and would find his way out of every situation. What I would like to know is what happens now that he’s proven the government wrong? Will they go after him again? Will his life ever go back to normal? What would happen if terrorists bombed again? How would the government react to it? Though many of these questions remain unanswered the book will definitely keep the pages turning and I recommend it to anyone. (I.F., 10th grade, ATC)
ReplyDeleteI think that Little Brother was a good book that relates to occurrences in modern society. For example the main character is a “hacker” who happens to find himself in a middle of a terrorist attack. I found the way the author included a real modern day terrorist attack and Home Land Security tortured potential suspects, and also how security was increased and rights taking away interesting because it reminded me of when 9/11 happened and Home Land Security try to find out who planned and when certain agencies wanted to take away people’s privacy by tapping their phones. I also like the way the author created suspense in the plot with the main character being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then he was considered a terrorist, but later released and tried to find his missing friend and his city’s rights back. If the author were to make a sequel, I think the main author probably would have moved to a different city and face another serious situation and have his freedom taken away. All in all I recommend this book to people who like suspense, or to realistic fiction fans. (Q.G 10th grade, ATC)
ReplyDeleteI thought that this was great book because of the way that the author keeps the suspense going on the whole time. In the beginning, the way that it starts with three high school students near a terrorist attack while skipping school. The terrorists were bombing the San Francisco Bay Bridge, and it’s very scary and dangerous to be near all of that. There was this time when I saw the police trying to shoot a criminal that was about 20 feet away from me, and it’s very scary. The main character of the book, Marcus Yallow, is a very interesting person. He is very good with technology and knows how to use it so well that he is practically a hacker. He made the story more interesting because of the way that he never stopped fighting for what he wanted. My question would be if there will be a Little Brother II and if Marcus will continue hacking. I recommend this book to anyone that likes suspense and enjoys reading about hacking.
ReplyDelete(d.p., 10th grade, ATC)