Little Brother

As Marcus would say, "B3s7 b00k EVAR!"

Great book. I got this as a gift for Christmas. It was 1337. I liked how Doctorow actually went into detail about all the technical things. Most books don't say about that. Cory Doctorow is amazing.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Grabs you and goes!

This was picked up on a whim. I found it hard to put down. The action had me caught up and involved immediately. I've now shared with some of my high school students and they seem to be enjoying the book as well. This is great for me to see, since my students do not typically read anything.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Bound to become an instant classic.

To be honest, I picked this book up because it had a giant red X on the front. It reminded me of those signs that tell you not to do something, but you do it anyways. To be completely, bluntly, and brutally honest and simple, this was a damn good book. It's the kind of book that I could really see on a required reading list in a high school English class. It's a truly important book that deserves to be on shelves among To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, and The Catcher in the Rye...okay, maybe not right now, but in maybe ten years. It's an important book that any teenager can learn something from, whether it's how to hack a free Xbox or score a new girlfriend/boyfriend by smashing your homemade computer. Little Brother is a book about freedom--freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Read it. Buy it. Love it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great read.

Looking forward to the sequel.

Very good

Intriguing

too much tech

The basic story is okay and the main kid is cute and all but it's too much tech-talk for me. Kind of predictable too but I like SF and having martial law there was kind of funny to read about.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Read+it%21

If+you+haven%27t+read+this%2C+you+know+nothing.++An+epic+story+that+makes+you+keep+reading+all+day+and+night%21+For+only+%2410+it+is+a+must+have+for++computer+nerds%2C+geeks%2C+or+anyone+wanting+to+find+an+epic+book%21

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for Teens Read Too

LITTLE BROTHER presents a pretty scary picture of the way things could be if terrorist threats continue, and politicians keep funding the Department of Homeland Security with no thought as to how this might victimize the average innocent American. There is already an incredible amount of technology devoted to "spying" on the citizens of our country, and we normally don't give it a second thought. This book will make you think - and not just a little bit. Marcus is a seventeen-year-old tech wizard. Granted, he often uses his skills for less than ethical reasons, but he doesn't hurt anyone. When a terrorist attack destroys the Bay Bridge near his home in San Francisco, he and several friends are captured by police (DHS) as they are attempting to help a fallen companion. They become the victims of frightening interrogation and torture. When Marcus finally gains his freedom, he vows to take back America from the out-of-control Department of Homeland Security. Using his vast techie skills, he creates an alternate Internet called Xnet, which utilizes the old XBox game system. Marcus becomes known as M1k3y and develops a huge group of supporters. Together, they attempt to undermine the government agencies determined to destroy the true meaning and protection of the United States Constitution. Cory Doctorow has created a modern-day 1984. Set in the not-too-distant future, this book attempts to show what could happen if we sit back and allow the government to whittle away at our rights to "protect" us from terrorism. It gives a whole new meaning to the idea of terrorism and fear within our own government. LITTLE BROTHER is full of adventure and intrigue. A lot of the suspense comes from all the technical tricks Marcus brings to the story. Some of the details might prove too much for a struggling reader, but any tech/geek teens will not be able to read it fast enough.

Not high on it- IMO.

I was looking forward to reading this book based on the reviews it got. I was extremly disappointed. I get the point of it and it tells a great message. From a story stand point and character development it disappoints. It got off to a great start and just got bogged down in so much techno babble. Doctorow really gets into the defintion of each technical term and it takes up a major portion of the book and stroy suffers, which is too bad because the characters are great but under developed.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

My Fav b00k

Th1s 1s my fav0rit3 b00k 3v3r b3cau5e 1t has 3v3ryth1ng p3opl3 l1k3 m3 l0v3

Little Brother review

How safe do you feel from terrorists? Now let me ask you this question. Would you be willing to sacrifice your privacy and have your every move watched so you could feel protected from terrorists? The idea of trading privacy for security is the main theme presented in the book that I read in my media literacy class,  Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Doctorow utilizes the main character Marcus to portray his belief that the government should not be able to constantly watch what people are doing. 
Throughout the novel, I truly felt like I was with Marcus dodging the government. However it was the detail in which Doctorow went into explaining the complex hacking procedures that was the downfall of this book. I often became bored while reading these tedious procedures that although informative, were just too long (often multiple pages), and unless you are interested in computer engineering, were just plain boring. Marcus is not alone in his adventures and him and his friend Daryl, are an inseparable duo, and are masterminds when it comes to dodging surveillance.  I could really relate to paling around with my friends while reading all of the exciting situations that those two get into. As expected when dodging the government, things don't always go well for Marcus and his friends.  This is apparent when Marcus and his friends get captured by the Department of Homeland Security.  This is one of the most exciting parts of the book, and you will find yourself on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what happens to them. This book turns a complete 180 and almost turns into a love story when Marcus meets Ange.  Ange is a girl who Marcus meets at a "jamming" meeting.  They hit it off right away and Marcus starts to turn all of his attention to Ange. This is when the book begins to turn into a love story as Marcus and Ange begin the typical teenage relationship.  I could put myself in Marcus' position as a teenager in a committed relationship. The main theme is again seen when Marcus and Ange go to an illegal concert.  This reminded me of Vietnam war protests as even though the people at the concert were doing nothing wrong, the government gassed and arrested innocent teenagers. This was another example of the main theme as the government interrupted this peaceful protest, so that the rest of the world could feel safe from these "terrorists". As you can see, this idea of trading privacy for security is shown throughout the book. Doctorow's view on this issue, that government should not be able to intrude on people's privacy, is shown through the main character Marcus and the rest of the "jammers". Although I don't know if I agree with Doctorow, I do think that this is a great read, that's only flaw is the boring rants on hacking.

Little Brother Review

For my Media Literacy class I had a chance to read the book Little Brother by: Cory Doctorow. Marcus, the main character in this book; is a computer whiz and loves playing video games with his friends Van, Darryl, and Julo. One day while they were searching San Francisco for a clue to there video game there is a terrorist attack on the Bay Bridge. Marcus and friends are at the wrong place at the wrong time and are picked up by the DHS and accused to be terrorists. They are taken to prison holding cells and beaten if they don't cooperate. Eventually he is released but can't tell his story or they will put him back in jail. He uses his computer skills to start a secret group to spread his story and tell people about how the government is controlling our lives. I can kind of relate to that because of how our school limits what websites we can visit, and doesn't allow us to text in school. In the end of the story Marcus is interviewed and tells his story which causes him to be put back in jail. After the second time he gets out he and his Friends decided they had enough and get lawyers and plan on getting revenge for what they went through. Overall I thought this was a pretty good book. Sometimes the author would get on rants about computer hacking or technology for a couple pages and then gets back to the story, but otherwise it was a good book.

Little Brother

As Americans, we'll never forget September 11th. As a result, things have never been the same when it comes to terrorism. In the novel, Little Brother by Cory Doctrow, the main character Marcus witnesses a second attack against America just as devastating as September 11th. Not only that, he has also hacked into any program that he could. So it's not surprising when he is picked up and questioned by Homeland Security.

Marcus is also known as w1n5t0n to his friends and anyone else on the web. Marcus is smart and feels he can hack into any computer security system's mainframe that the wants. Because all of his hacking and being in the wrong place at the wrong time, he and his friends are brought in for questioning even though they are only 17 years old. They have no rights and are treated as terrorists. Even though Marcus is innocent, he still does not help the government by giving up some of his programs. After he is released, his world is been taken over by the military and everyone is suspected of terrorism. Marcus feels this isn't the way you are supposed to live so he tries to get rid of Homeland Security using his knowledge of computers. What follows is his passion and determination to make his way of life the way it was before.

I thought this book would be more on terrorism, but it was more about hacking into computers. If you are a techno-geek, you will like this book and the way it is written. It is an easy read for young adults. Marcus could be any student out there.

Little Brother Review

I had recently made the choice read the book Little Brother by Cory Doctorow for a class assignment. It's a story involving a 17 year old tech-wiz named Marcus and three of his friends Darryl, Vanessa, and Jolu. The four of them go through many situations with one another when all they are trying to do is make it through their senior year. They go to a high school in San Francisco and end up going through several tragic events they won't forget.
We learn in the beginning of the book that Marcuse and his friends are in high school and in their school they are watched very carefully with the new levels of technology that the school has. With the ability to track kids using books it causes frustration among the students. Marcuse and his friend enjoy playing a game known as Harajuku fun madness in order to win a trip. It's during their adventure that they run in to some serious problems. One day while they are out there was an unexpected explosion that ends up being a terrorist attack. As you might guess Marcus and his friends are in the wrong place at the wrong time and one of them gets hurt. When looking for help they flag down what seems to be the police, but ends up the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS takes them to their main headquarters to question them asking all about Marcuse and his high intelligence level thinking that they are involved in the attack. After several days they are released but once released Marcuse makes a vow to himself on how to deal with everything he went through. After this event Marcuse goes through many events dealing with his family, the DHS, and his love life as this high school students main focus is not get expelled or arrested. After reading this book the themes that came to mind were technologies influence on society and governments power level. Both of these themes seem to fit the book since the government treats citizens in an irrespective manner and the addition to new technology to get involved in others lives.
I thought that this was an overall good book. I was really interested in the beginning but lost interest as it progressed. It seemed to talk about one thing for several pages and got reparative at some parts. It seemed to end quickly and other than some big events I thought was predictable.

Little Brother

I had the chance to read Little Brother for my Media Literacy class. We were able to choose a novel from a list of books that we have never heard of, and I enjoyed the opportunity to read this great novel.
Little Brother is a fictional novel by Cory Doctorow. Little Brother illustrates what a world would be like where students are constantly being monitored. The main characters in this novel are Marcus Yallow, Darryl Glover, Vanessa Pak, and Jose Torrez. All of these students belong to a group that plays a very popular game, Harajuku Fun Madness. Marcus and his friends ditch out of school one day to get a head start. The object of this game is to follow the clues given on the website to find the treasure. Just as the friends are on the verge of finding the clue, they are blackmailed by another team of players. One of the other players threatens to turn them in for skipping class. After this, things start to take a turn for the worst. Just as this is happening, Marcus and his friends find themselves in the middle of a terrorists attack. Marcus and his friends are captured while trying to find help for their friend Darryl, who has been stabbed during the chaos. Marcus and his friends have to defend their innocence while being investigated by Homeland Security.
I believe that Little Brother is a great novel because of its' relevance to how technology could play a role in our culture in the future. The school in which Marucs attends, is the equivalent of a minimum security prison. The students are constantly being monitored and recognized by cameras. With cameras in most schools today, we aren't very far away from this. Also, most schools require students to wear official school ID's while on the school campus.
Another reason why this novel is so great is because of its' never ending twisting and climaxes. Little Brother kept me guessing until the very last page. I was never sure as to what was going to happen next. Whenever I thought I knew what was going to happen next, things went in a completely different direction. This may seem confusing, but Cory Doctorow was able to write this in a way that wasn't.
This novel is fantastic. I would recommend it to anybody looking for a good read, who enjoys technology and a great writing style that keeps you guessing until the end.

Review of Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

I read the novel Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, for my Media Literacy class. After reading this book it made me think, will the world we live in become so locked down by security that they can even recognize you by your walk? This story follows an extremely tech savvy high school student and his friends. One day after being truant from school, Marcus Yallow (aka wln5t0n) finds himself along with his friends detained by the Department of Homeland Security as suspected terrorists. Marcus and his friends (Vanessa, Darryl, and Julo) were down by the San Francisco Bay Bridge when it was bombed by a group of terrorists. The DHS took them in for suspicious behavior. The four kids are on a team and play the game Harajuku Fun Madness, which leads them all around the city to different wifi hotsopots. Once detained they are interegated and he becomes separated from his friends. He becomes angry with the DHS for not letting Darryl go and decides to take action.
Marcus leads a resistances against the DHS by organizing and developing the wireless network known as the X-Net. The DHS is blind to whatever it is that is going on the X-Net because it uses anonymity and encryption. While doing so he develops a relationship with a girl named Angela Carvelli, or Ange. The two of them go to a reporter and get their story out. This leads to again being imprisoned by the DHS. In the end they have video evidence of them torturing him and brings down the DHS. After that Marcus' life simply goes back to normal.
The theme of this book is how much personal privacy do you really have. This book is definitely not a slow read, it is pumped full of adrenaline, action, and yes, a little romance. Cory Doctorow's voice and writing style did very much feel like you were reading a journal of Marcus's life. He was funny at times and very serious in others.
I liked this book a lot. I think it has mostly to do with the fact that I am a bit of a tech guy myself. If you are not up to date with current technology you may want to leave this one on the shelves. At times I feel that the author tries almost too hard to illustrate how much he uses tech and it gets to be like a really long run on sentence. So if you are like me and into technology I would recommend this book to you. You don't have to be a high school student either. This book is more mature then the cover makes it look. Since Little Brother, Doctorow has written Makers, and For the Win. Over all I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Little Brother Review

I was in the 4th grade when the Twin Towers were attacked in New York City. The other students and I were sitting in Ms. Zimmerman's classroom when another teacher came in and told us the news. Marcus Yallow experienced this tragedy a little differently than I did. In the novel, Little Brother written by Cory Doctorow, he and his friends were playing an alternate reality game when they saw the Bay Bridge in San Francisco turn to rubble. Marcus and his tech-savvy friends fight a war against the government during their own country's devastating times.

Marcus was with his friends Jolu, Van and Darryl when the attack occurred. Friendship is an important theme throughout this book. These four high school kids are the best of friends until the Department of Homeland Security breaks them apart. After they witness the attack, they flag down a truck to help them but this truck takes them all into custody. The four are interrogated and treated like criminals for six days in a prison. Once they are released and have given up not only passwords for their electronics, but their dignity as well, they swear to secrecy on what happened.

"We can't tell them anything," Marcus says about telling their parents of the prison. Trust is another main theme. Marcus and his friends couldn't trust anyone with the news of what had happened to them. The San Francisco Police Department didn't trust anyone and considered "suspicious" people to be terrorists. Once Marcus decided to do something about their lack of freedom, he needed a trustworthy group of people to help him along the way. "Don't trust anyone over twenty-five" was a slogan used by a band who was looking to get the youth their freedom back, and also became a popular saying on the secret internet, Xnet.

Marcus is not only the main character of this book, but he's also the narrator. If you like the super smart technology descriptions of how to hack computers or about cryptography, this is the book for you. Marcus always finds a way to talk about his technology smarts. To me, it was all blah blah blah, but that's just my opinion.

If you are a fan of science fiction novels, this would be a good choice for you. It has a lot of geeky-tech information that didn't appeal to me. The author goes off on tangents of describing things that don't really relate to the story and don't need to be explained. It's a decent book that anyone who likes science fiction might find interesting.

book review

Little brother
By Cory Doctorow

The book little brother is a sci-fi fiction book that is all about technology and futuristic things. It grabs your attention and makes you never want to put it down. It is very interesting because it is fiction, but it's a technology world witch if you think it could happen in the future at some point and comes across as if it's today.
The author Cory Doctorow is an interesting author and clearly has a huge imagination to write a book like this. He takes the technology we have today and expands it to a whole new level as he puts it all in the hands of a teenage boy.
The main character is a seventeen year old kid named Marcus. Marcus is a really smart teenager and can find his way thorough almost any problems he runs into. Marcus goes to Caesar Chavez high school in San Francisco and the school locks down on him tight. It doesn't give a year in time, but it has future feel in every aspect of the book. The school uses computers for everything and has cameras that watch for kids that are a few seconds late for class.
Marcus and his best friend Darryl love to play a puzzle game called Hurruka madness. This game is an active strategy puzzle game where Marcus and his team travel throughout the city and use technology to solve clues to find the answer. They have a team of four and the other two go to a different school, so when the crew decides to go on a hunt they have to all communicate to meet up in the city. It is interesting to see how quick Marcus is and how good he is with his technology. During his escape from school he has to use his cell phone and computer back and forth to just get out of class. The book really makes you want to read as Marcus makes split second decisions to avoid trouble.
In this futuristic world the schools have cameras the trace walking patterns and put a face with that walk so this is no easy task. Marcus is a true genius fools the school by simply changing up his walk in a light way to throw off the camera. During the teams average day out on an adventurous hunt they run into some trouble and are taken into interrogation by the united States government. From this point on in the book I found myself very interested and even thought it was actually a book, I found my heart beating faster when Marcus and his crew ran into trouble.
This book is considered sci-fi, but it has everything in it from love to action. It takes action to a technology level along with the typical action level of any book or movie. The author Cory Doctorow really used great detail to describe the situations and it made my imagination go wild with epic pictures and situations. I found myself thinking about it and even though it is fiction the author uses realistic answers to the problems Marcus and his crew run into.
This was a great book that I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a good exciting read. It really keeps you guessing and interested thought the whole book. I would rate this book three stars out of five and say it is more if a guy's book then girls. If you like technology and sci-fi then this is a great book for you. You will have to find out how it ends by reading it yourself.

Little Brother Review

Little Brother Review
With all of the real world events that have been going on these past years, events such as the many terrorist plane attacks, underground bombings, the war in the middle east and the attack that happened most recently. I think that Cory Doctrow portrays what is going on within our world today well because there may be many underground things that are not released by the government. Little Brother by Cory Doctrow is an excellent book about possible real world events.
I found Little Brother interesting because I can relate to the main character, Marcus Yallow. Since we are both around the same age and have similar interests. In little brother, Marcus tries to fight off the Department of Homeland Security because they accuse him of things that he didn't do. This can be related to real life activities going on today in our backyard because the government is starting to close down more and monitor people more closely because they fear terrorist attacks, and I don't blame them because anything can go on since people are getting smarter but taking away privacy is too far. Little brother is about a 17 year old hacker, Marcus Yallow. Since he has a reputation of being a hacker and a, know it all about technology. Teachers, principals & authorities suspect him of having powers to destroy school security. One day as he skips school in order to play a game with his friends, a terrorist attack occurs at the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Marcus and friends are at the wrong place at the wrong time and are picked up by the DHS. Marcus needs to fight the system because nobody trusts him.
Marcus was a very interesting character because the story was told from his perspective and the fact that I can relate to him by similar interests, lives, and same time era, makes Little Brother, more interesting to read. This was one of the reasons that I chose to read Little Brother, in my Media Lit class, because, I felt like I could connect, and there were many good reviews from friends.
I think that one of the themes to this book is not to accuse someone immediately because we that a lot in the United States today. We would accuse Middle Eastern people of being terrorists just because a few bad eggs made bad choices don't mean that we should blame them all. In Little Brother, Marcus was accused of being a terrorist just because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and taken by the DHS & stripped of privacy. Another theme is trust, In Little Brother, Marcus's friends and family started to betray him and not believe him until he finally got proof of what the DHS was doing to him and the fact that he did nothing wrong. In the end he gained back their trust that should have never been lost because you should trust close friends and family always.
I think that this book's genre is science fiction/realistic fiction because it involved a lot of technology and gadgets yet it was based off possibly real world activities going on today.
I highly recommend this book because it's one of many books that actually keep me interested with a constantly up and down plot. It is a challenging yet fun to read, and will make you not want to put it down. This novel has won 3 awards such as; the 2009 White Pine Award, 2009 Prometheus Award, and the 2009 John W. Campbell Memorial award, and has also been nominated for many others. This book will be a good read for all readers no matter what you're interested in.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Little Brother Review

I am not a computer wiz, but author Cory Doctorow opened up my mind to a world of technology in the book Little Brother. This book tackles the issue of our growing technology and if it will be used for good or bad. As well as the issue of overprotective government security.
The main character is Marcus, a computer hacker genius who has a nack for using his computer schools to cause trouble around the school. Throuout the book this genius bothe saves Marcus and get him into trouble.
Marcus's right hand man is his best friend named Darryl. Darryl is also a computer wiz who is always convinced by Marcus to skip school or help him with any other mischief. This willingness to help Marcus with anything eventually ends up hurting Darryl.
Marcus and Darryl also receive help from two other friends named Jolu and Van. Jolu and Van both go to different schools than Marcus and Darryl. They are all best friends because of a virtual reality game that they all play. Darryl has a crush on Van ( Vanessa ), and Van and Jolu are also both computer hackers.
The setting is present day San Fransisco on the eve of the worst terrorist attack ever on American soil. Marcus, Darryl, Jolu and Van are caught up in this attack when they all decide to skip school to go play the virtual reality game in downtown San Fransisco. This is a decision that will change their lives forever. The Bay bridge is blown up by terrorists and through all the disaster and confusion all four are taken captive by the DHS and shipped away to be interrogated. After a very diificult experience while in jail Marcus finally is able to return home. However, when Marcus returns he finds that his home has drastically changed. The government has become paranoid and has virtually taken control of everday life. Marcus must now use his computer genius to take down the DHS and restore his life back to the way it was.
I thought Little Brother was a very interesting book, that was easy to follow and to read. I thought the plot line was very intriguing and dramatic. The story kept me on the edge of my seat to see what Marcus was going to do next. I found myself engulfed in this book because of the interesting issue of an overprotective government. I thought this book was very realistic and I would recommend it to all readers.