LITTLE BROTHER

Doctorow, Cory. 2008. LITTLE BROTHER. New York: Tor Teen, 2008.

LITTLE BROTHER by Cory Doctorow features the story of Marcus (a.k.a. w1n5t0n), a tech-savvy teenager who leads a rebellion against the government after his city is turned into a police state after a terrorist attack.

I found LITTLE BROTHER to be highly entertaining. It’s one of those fast-paced, edge of your seat, what’ll-happen-next type of novels. The hero of the novel is very computer smart which I love because it meant I could learn about a subject I’m interested in through his character. It’s always an added bonus when you can close a novel and be a little smarter than when you started.

Marcus makes for a compelling, well-rounded main character. He’s disgusted by the way the government is taking over his city, not to mention the fact that they locked him up for six days after the terrorist attack because he was under suspicion. He’s the unlikely leader of a large rebellion against the government, but at the same time you’re reminded that he’s just a teenage boy, too. He doesn’t have all the answers, he’s scared at times, but the sense of injustice he feels won’t let him rest. One reviewer agrees: “Marcus is a wonderfully developed character: hyperaware of his surroundings, trying to redress past wrongs, and rebelling against authority” (Shoemaker).

Reference List:

Shoemaker, Chris. 2008. Review of Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow. School Library Journal.