Title - Little Brother
Author - Cory Doctorow
ISBN - 9780765319852
Publisher - Tor Books
Copyright Date - April 29, 2008
Plot - Marcus Yallow, code name w1n5t0n(definitely not Winston), and three of his friends find themselves near the San Francisco Bridge during a bombing. They try to find their way after the city after its bombing but are picked up by Homeland Security and attempted to be forced to talk. After a few days of being detained and putting Marcus under severe scrutiny, they release three of them to the public, threatening them to behave. Marcus, typical of any teenager decides to fight the authority, especially as they still have his friend and have not released him.
While Marcus starts making connections with other people to support his cause, he loses his other two friends who were released in the process, as they cannot follow in his footsteps. He eventually finds that his friend Darryl is not dead but being held captive. He makes a rescue attempt by attempting to draw media attention to the problem but finds himself imprisoned again, even water boarded. The novel culminates with the release of Marcus and his friends, while the people responsible go unpunished.
While Marcus starts making connections with other people to support his cause, he loses his other two friends who were released in the process, as they cannot follow in his footsteps. He eventually finds that his friend Darryl is not dead but being held captive. He makes a rescue attempt by attempting to draw media attention to the problem but finds himself imprisoned again, even water boarded. The novel culminates with the release of Marcus and his friends, while the people responsible go unpunished.
Critical Evaluation - A very well paced story about Marcus and his friends and how they relate to one another. The story does an excellent job of trying to portray all of the motivations of all of its characters, including Marcus parents, who, while against the over intrusive government, are more willing to be accepting of it if they feel the safety of their son is at stake. The novel tackles many themes that are not only appropriate to the teen age group but to the whole of society as it deals with laws such as the Patriot Act. What is the appropriate level of freedom one should have? Should freedom be abridged because of safety concerns. The novel does one thing poorly I believe. It acts like its audience has limited knowledge of the technologies that are being used by the people. And while certainly some of the technological aspects may be over my head, or even possibly non-existent, its teenage audience may find that they do not need all of the exposition concerning this technology.
Reader's Annotation - MarcusYallow can do anything: program the most complex computer software; trick pass cards to work as if you were another person; develop signals and codes that government agencies cannot crack. But what should actually happen if the government tries to find out and cannot? How much trouble could Marcus be in, or is the government in over way its head? Only Marcus knows.
Information about the author - Born in Canada and raised by followers of Trotsky (A Russian author believing in the purity of communism and the communist revolution), Doctorow was raised as a Jewish Activist. He became involved in nuclear disarmament and Greenpeace as a child. He would certainly have all the makings of a social activist.
However it would seem that Doctorow took a detour and found himself interested in freedoms for everyone. He became involved with groups who were promoting the free information to run across society eliminating copyright restrictions and other things. He took things one step further than Fair Use and wanted free use of all materials for everyone.
Genre - Science Fiction
Curriculum Ties - Connect the novel to politics and the advent of the Department of Homeland Security. What is it supposed to be doing versus what Homeland of Security seems to be responsible for? - Politics
Booktalking Ideas - There could be a discussion on the burgeoning of technology and its implications, not only in the areas of free speech but specifically as it relates to library content in the area of fair use.
Reading Level - Grade 10+
Challenge Issues - There is some sexuality between teens but minor in content.
Someone may contest that its anti-government and against homeland security and other departments.
Overcoming Challenge Issue -Arguments with articles affirming that freedom of speech is meant to protect those who are in positions of power. Discuss the nature of the sexual content as often awkward as teens do not understand its full impact.
Why included - It was part of the reading list for the semester, and I enjoyed all of the novel and its implications for politics today.
No comments:
Post a Comment