Every once in awhile I get a hankering for new fiction, on impulse I'll pick something up that catches my eye and tingles my intuition. When I was on my way back from San Francisco I happened to snag the aforementioned Little Brother by Cory Doctorow and it did not disappoint. The story follows Marcus Yallow, a 17 year old computer whiz who goes to High School in San Francisco, oddly enough. He and his friends are adept at programming, hardware modification, and have a penchant for video games. Marcus' High School has some pretty advanced gadgetry that is uses to monitor the students, RFID tags on library books, gait-recognition video cameras (they can ID you by how you walk) and an authoritarian vice principal who enjoys harassing and intimidating students.
That's how it starts... then it gets all sorts of fucked up. A terrorist attack on SF leaves the city tragically wounded and the Department of Homeland Security becomes the states new gestapo. Without spoiling it, Marcus soon acquires a vendetta against the DHS and makes a vow to fight them with everything he has. The story advances pretty quickly, we meet new characters and the plot develops with the pace that will keep any teenager interested. The entire time it also demonstrates how our world has become crippled and twisted by the pathological fascist elements within our own government. The story itself is eerily close to home, making use of 'enhanced interrogation' as well as demonstrating how quickly anyone can become an 'enemy combatant' without due process, cause or even evidence.
What I found most admirable was Marcus' determination to do what he thought was right, regardless of the personal sacrifices he had to make. There were a few times I got all teary eyed, the writing was very well done, and coming in at under 400 pages it's not serious literary investment. If you're a parent and want to really explain to your kids what is going on within our country, without scaring the shit out of them or coming off as over the top, I highly recommend you give them a copy of this book. It's the most educational fiction novel I've read in a long time, and it educates the reader about what is happening now, today, at home in our country.
A few words about the technical aspects; the writing was well done, most of the time I was able to just follow the movie in my head. The use of modern technology, and current practices really struck a cord with me, and it made the story feel very real. The characters were all pretty unique, but mostly developed only to the degree that allowed them to fulfill their purpose in the story. It's relatively short, so Marcus really steals the spotlight. For any native or frequent visitor to the city of San Francisco, the setting is very familiar. It makes it all the easier to follow the story when you know exactly how the city is laid out and where everything is in relation to everything else.
Overall 5 stars and highly recommended for readers young and old. Give copies to friends and family and help spread awareness of what is happening to our country, the story is just that profound.
