“I loved this novel! It makes me feel like I can be an adult without having to grow up - I might be over 30 but my brain feels like it's under 25 (read the book to see what I'm talking about). I read "Little Brother" somewhat simultaneously with (genius) author Cory Doctorow's nonfiction "©ontent," which really helped explain some of the plot in "Little Brother."
Doctorow weaves factual information naturally and effortlessly into "Little Brother" without sounding manufactured, preachy or didactic. High-schooler Marcus and his friends use their programming skills and the Internet to their advantage for fun and everyday activities - until a terrorist strike and national "safety" crackdown pushes them to fight back for *real* freedom. This book reminds me of the days when I used to read "2600" ("The Hacker Quarterly") and dream of redesigning my Mac IIse into a fish bowl! Plus, I totally dug Doctorow's dig on Domino's.
I recommend "Little Brother" to older teens and adults interested in righting wrongs, free-speech advocates, librarians, math and social studies teachers, journalists and computer geeks. The author even gives readers a stellar list of other books to check out in the 5-page bibliography. And, the best part about this book is that Doctorow demonstrates his philosophy through example by offering the text of his novel online for free (in case you can't get to the library to borrow it) on his website, www.craphound.com, along with his other works.
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MsWrobel wrote this review Friday, July 24 2009.
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