Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Little Brother is a novel about surveillance: both the government's surveillance of its citizens and citizens surveillance of their government.  The title comes from Orwell's 1984, and the book is loosely based on the aforementioned work.  The novel is told from the perspective of Marcus Yallow, a young man who is as adept at getting around the security systems his government has subjected him to as his government is at monitoring its citizens.  Marcus is a master of code, able to use computers to do things that most of peers can only dream of, and of which the adult world is largely unaware.   A major terrorist attack takes place at the start of the novel and Marcus, in the wrong place at the wrong time, is taken into custody as a suspect.  The Department of Homeland Security has become extremely corrupt, and is holding suspects without informing their families.  When Marcus is released, he is told that if he tells his parents about what has happened to him he will disappear forever- he is also told that he will be watched.  Discovering that his computer has been tapped by the DHS, Marcus creates an unobservable network of hacked Xboxes in order to communicate with his friends securely.  The network quickly grows beyond Marcus' original intentions and becomes a massive underground movement in opposition to increasing surveillance by the DHS.  Both sides become completely out of control, leading to a conclusion both reminiscent of and more optimistic than the conclusion of 1984.  

Themes:  Technology, surveillance, governmental oppression, subversive literature, dystopia, family relationships

Analysis: This is one of the best books I have read this semester.  It draws on its predecessors in the literary tradition adeptly to provide an excellent introduction to its genre.  The predecessors I am thinking of here are the obvious 1984, and to a lesser degree other dystopic novels such as Farenheit 451, Brave New World, Clockwork Orange, and the work of Franz Kafka.  I am a fan of subversive literature, and although this book is not an all-out denunciation of government or a guerilla tactics guide like Steal this Book or The Anarchist Cookbook, it belongs on the shelf alongside such subversive classics as the work of Allen Ginsberg, Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Wolfe, and Jack Keruac.  Ginsberg and Kerouac are quoted in the novel.
        I found the way that this novel re-explores and updates the themes of 1984 very interesting.  Although the theme of governmental oppression and surveillance is definitely a theme here, this book is just as much about Marcus and his underground network's observation of their government as it's observation of them.  Ultimately, Marcus and his friends are able to create a network that is too big and too well-protected to not be dangerous to the powers that be.  They are able to succeed where Winston couldn't, giving this novel a somewhat more positive ending that is suited to its intended audience.
       I can't say it enough- this book would be a great way to introduce teens to the dystopic genre.  It would be best suited to grades 10-12, due to some sexual and controversial content, but advanced readers of a younger age would probably respond positively to it as well.

Reading Ladder Proposal:
The following is a set of books that I think would make a great reading ladder either for an individual student or for an advanced English course.  This ladder begins with Little Brother.

1. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
2. Feed by M.T. Anderson
3. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick
5. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
6. Howl by Allen Ginsberg
7. Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers by Tom Wolfe
8. Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
9. Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
10. 1984 by George Orwell