Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Marcus Yallow is able to outsmart any security device in his school; whether he is putting rocks in his shoes to trick the Gait-meter, a device that uses the way you walk to identify you, or putting hidden programs on his SchoolBook, a school loaned laptop used by the students, to override the administrations sneak programs. One day, he and three friends sneak out of school to go play a game. Little did they know that they would be in one of the biggest terrorist attacks since 9/11. They were close to the site of a bombing and were taken in as suspects by the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS. After days of torture and questioning, three of them are released. Marcus's best friend, Darryl, is still in the clutches of the DHS. Now, their once beloved city has turned into a place of terror. Everyone is watched for suspicious activity and they are all having their privacy and freedom snatched away from them. Marcus decides he must put a stop to this, and declares a secret war on the DHS.

Little Brother describes the hardships of what happens when a government takes over and nullifies people's freedom. It talks a lot about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the freedom of the people of the United States of America. It is a very opinionated book, and has a lot of fact and history behind it. I learned things that I never knew existed. One such thing was the existence of the Yippies in the 1960's-70's. Little Brother is full of reasons why we should not let our government get out of control and take away our freedom. This book was excellently written with a little of everything: action, adventure, intelligence, spying, romance, and tragedy. However, the ending didn't satisfy me, it wasn't good enough. The story never really completely resolved. I would recommend this book to every single person; it may just make them reassess their outlook on life.

sex, swearing, and intense situations

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Shippensburg, PA USA

posted by Flamingnet Book Blog @ 9:25 AM