Little Brother

Title: Little Brother
Author: Cory Doctorow
ISBN: 0765319853

Plot Summary: Marcus is a high school student in the San Francisco of the near, dystopian future. His every move is tracked electronically, either by cameras, bar codes, computers, or even the free laptop computers distributed by his school. But he is a computer genius, and he and his friends Jolu, Van and Darryl have determined a number of ways to beat the system. That is, until they all get caught in the midst of a terrorist attack on the city and are detained by the Department of Homeland Security. In the aftermath of the event, his subsequent "enhanced interrogation," and the disappearance of one of his friends Marcus becomes determined to beat the DHS at their own game, with his other friends as sometimes unwilling accomplices.



Critical Evaluation: The book is well-researched in terms of the technical and political details it describes, and the author is reasonably familiar with the San Francisco Bay Area. The fact that the underground revolution Marcus and his friends engineer is computer-based put me strongly in mind of the recent post-election conflict in Iran. Marcus's first alias, W1nst0n, is a possible tribute to the protagonist of 1984, which this book echoes strongly. The protagonist's mother is British, and his speech patterns and vocabulary often echo British rather than American choices; whether or not this is intentional, it is somewhat distracting in a novel ostensibly about an American teenager. The book takes pains to explain many of the technical and inside-hacker terms it uses; however, if the book is intended for teenage readers, it might well have been assumed that many of them were already familiar with these terms. Although the book establishes that Marcus and his friends are not responsible for the terrorist attacks, it does not reveal who was behind them, a loose thread the book could have sewn up with a minimal amount of exposition. I was also disappointed that Marcus's father, a librarian, was so authoritarian in his beliefs, and that little was made of his profession and its historical alliance with intellectual freedom. With all that said, I feel that overall this book creates an unsettlingly plausible view of an authoritarian future, but provides us also with hope that those with the knowledge and will to do so will challenge that authority to the best of their abilities.
Reader's Annotation: Marcus is a high school student in the San Francisco of the near future, one in which computers track his every move and the slightest misstep could get him in a world of trouble. When Marcus and his friends are wrongfully detained following a terrorist attack, they must fight back using all the computer and other skills they possess, and hope they can trust the people who want to join them.

About the Author: Cory Doctorow was born in Toronto, Canada in 1971. He attended high school at the SEED School in Toronto, a "free school" at which students were encouraged to learn via their own initiative without formal structure. He attended four universities, but did not receive a degree from any of them. He created a free software company, Opencola, and has served with various organizations devoted to social justice, freedom of information, and liberalized copyright laws. He has written a number of science fiction novels, some of which, including Little Brother, have been made available via the Creative Commons organization. He currently lives in London, where he often speaks publicly on copyright issues, with his wife, Alice Taylor, and their daughter, Poesy Emmeline Fibonacci Nautilus Taylor Doctorow.

Genre: Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties: Computer Science, Political Science, Current Events

Booktalking Ideas:

Hook: Marcus is the only "white" member of his immediate circle of friends.
Approach: Plot and character-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: What implications does Marcus's ethnicity have for his treatment in the book? Are consequences more dire for Jolu and Van because they are, as Jolu puts it, "brown?" Marcus doesn't make an issue of other peoples' races, but he doesn't really have to, as it's not an issue he has to deal with himself on a regular basis. When he is detained at Treasure Island a second time, he notices that he is one of the only white detainees. Would he have noticed this without his friends raising his consciousness? Discussion of how non-white people get treated in this society on a daily basis, from small to extreme acts of discrimination.

Hook: The weapon of choice for Marcus and his friends is technology.
Approach: Plot-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: Many of the technologies mentioned in the book already exist, albeit in not as advanced a format: the XBox, Linux, even free laptops distributed to schoolchildren. How do Marcus and his friends and allies use these tools to further their cause? Discuss the fact that many of these technologies are free, or are distributed for free - except for the XBox, which although free is a "razor blade" technology designed to pay for itself by making people pay for video games. They find "hacks" around all the ways they would otherwise have to pay, but not just for its own sake: for the sake of freedom on a national societal level.

Hook: Marcus's father believes in what the government is doing... at first.
Approach: Character-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: Discuss how Marcus's father's viewpoint changes throughout the book, and why. He initially thinks the government's actions are going to keep the public safe, and chastises his son for rocking the boat. Contrast this with the mother, who comes from an even more authoritarian country and is more sympathetic to Marcus's cause. What changes the father's mind, and why? Some people only change their minds on an issue when it affects them personally. Does that make their change of heart less valid in any way? Discuss events since 9/11, Patriot Act, DHS, etc. and how they tie in with these ideas.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues: Underage drinking, sexual content, mild offensive language, anti-authority. The protagonist and his friends are not heavy drinkers, but alcohol is clearly present as an established social lubricant within their social milieu, even though all of them are underage. Sex, too, is considered a normal outcome to a romantic relationship whether or not the participants are over 18 or married, and there are no negative consequences attached to Marcus and Ange sleeping together. More problematic in terms of potential challenges is the book's defiantly anti-authoritarian stance, questioning the validity of government organizations ostensibly created to keep the public safe and frequently reiterating the peoples' right to dismantle any government they feel does not represent them properly. Parents who do not wish their children to be exposed to sex and drinking are within their rights forbidding their children to read this book; however, these are activities in which many young adults participate, and their presence in this book represents simple facts of life, now and in the theoretical future. As for the book's repeated disrespect of authority figures, I would argue that Doctorow shows that those in charge in the book have clearly overstepped their bounds, using means which are questionable at best to achieve their desired ends. Government is indeed necessary to ensure a stable society; however, when such stability comes at the cost of personal and intellectual freedom, it is a price too high for our society to pay.

Why I Chose This Book: I remember reading, and being profoundly disturbed by, 1984 as a teenager. This book draws on the same theme of an omniscient, omnipresent authoritarian government, but updated for the modern age, and with a protagonist who ultimately provides more hope for the future. Much of the technology described in this book is only a few years away from existence; as such, the dystopia it describes could very well happen, should this technology fall into the wrong hands. However, the book not only gives hope that such forces can be overcome, but also provides readers with the tools and resources they might one day use to help ensure this society remains free.