Little Brother

Young Marcus Yallow and his tech-savvy posse amuse themselves with finding ways to subvert the post-Patriot Act measures that have become part of the day-to-day in the hallways and classrooms of their San Francisco high school. But when a terrorist attack takes out the Bay Bridge and the city is essentially put under martial law by Homeland Security, they seriously find themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time. After a horrific stint at a Gitmo-by-the-Bay, Marcus uses his mad 1337 skillz to backlash against the draconian (and fundamentally unconstitutional) measures that he and his friends endured, inspiring what works as a Monkey Wrench Gang for the new “Don’t Trust Anyone Over 25” generation. While Little Brother is being marketed as Young Lit, it’s accessible and immensely entertaining (not to mention informative in the ways of the keystroke) to all ages … that is, anyone whose brain hasn’t already been thoroughly rewired by Big Brother. As one of the minds at work behind the tech-happy Web site BoingBoing and a well-established speculative fiction writer, Cory Doctorow gives the impression he knows what he’s talking about, delivering a work that echoes 1984—scary as hell, but still inspirational.