This was a great book. First of all the fact that the main character is a guy is really good, i'm sick of all these books with girls as the main character. Second it's very realistic, it's scary but something like this can happen. Last but sure as hell not least this book was never boring. If you can read, you should read this book.

I don't think the age rating is quite appropriate though.

Little Brother is a fantastic story — compelling, terrifying (not in a horror way) and eye opening. I think it’s a book that every teenager (and probably every adult too) should read. It makes you think twice about the things that you take for granted, and definitely makes you want to go back to carrying cash instead of cards. RFID blocking wallet? I think so! I’ve heard Cory Doctorow’s name mentioned over and over again, but I’d never read anything by him. What caught my eye with Little Brother was the blurb from Neil Gaiman on the book’s cover: “I’d recommend Little Brother over pretty much any book I’ve read this year.” Wow! High praise, right? How could I pass this book by? The answer is simple, I couldn’t. And folks, here’s some free advice, never pass up a recommendation by Neil Gaiman. The man is a genius, and he knows good books. Little Brother is the story of Marcus, a high school hacker who ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Marcus and his friends cut class and end up being near the center of a terrorist attack on San Francisco. The teens get picked up by Homeland Security and the story evolves from there. Doctorow deals with some strong themes and very important ideas in Little Brother. This book will make people think — think about what they are willing to give up for the sake of safety, and think about whether or not that safety is just an illusion. After reading Little Brother, I feel very strongly that it’s a book that should be read and taught in High Schools. I think that the discussions that would arise from this book would be invaluable and hugely important for a generation of kids growing up in a world that is hugely different from the way it was ten years ago. The issues that Doctorow raises with Little Brother are ones that teenagers, and adults, really need to consider as the world we live in creeps closer and closer to the world of Orwell’s 1984. Doctorow’s book, which would work as a modern day companion piece to 1984, is very well written. The plot and characters are strong and the pacing is fantastic. I really, highly, recommend this book. It’s an important work of fiction.

It was going to be fun solving the next clue in Harajuku Fun Madness. Marcus, known online as w1n5t0n(Winston), met up with his friends in the San Francisco neighbourhood called the Tenderloin. They were zeroing in on the game location when a series of blasts shook the area. While pushing their way through the crowd at the subway station, Darryl, one of the friends, is stabbed. They go back to the surface to seek help. When Marcus finally manages to flag down a passing vehicle, that's when his troubles really begin. The Department of Homeland Security mobilizes instantly after the explosions. This can't be a bad thing, as they were set up to protect American interests, and what could be more American than it's citizens. Marcus quickly learns that at least some of their employees can be very vindictive, even towards those very Americans. Much of this story unfolds through the use of technology. Yes, there are laptops and cell phones, after all, it is the rare teenager that is caught without his or her accessories. It was the use of the hacked Xbox Universal and Paranoid Linux that really got 'things' moving. I totally enjoyed the discussions of cryptography and personal and public keys. I had previously heard of key signing parties in business (persons flying in from around the globe to sign) but not for private correspondence. Now if I could just find me a fashionable Faraday pouch I'd be set, or is that secure. My favourite scene in the book had to be the vamp mob. I can imagine the frenzy of a rush hour crowd being caught up with a thousand or more teens dressed as vampires yelling "bite, bite, bite, bite, bite." My overall take on this book: America all started out playing a cooperative game, the objective being a country where all could live safely, freely and be happy. After the attack on the the bridge, the DHS became an aggressor. Each time DHS's control slipped, they cheated at the game and changed the rules. The only way the citizens could achieve their objective was to play the game with a different approach. No longer could they play to win, but they had to play to thwart this new opponent so he couldn't win. The average citizen had to play the game such that they could make the cheaters rules work against them. I listened to the unabridged audio version of this book. It was read by Kirby Heyborne. 11 hours 54 minutes. From Listening Library at Random House. After finishing listening, I ordered two hardbound copies, one for my bookshelf and one to lend. I then listened to the complete audio book for a second time.

Little Brother was a book I saw in my school's library and thought could be interesting; the comparision to George Orwell's 1984 helped this interest. This book is unlike anything I'd ever read -I went out and bought it a few days after finishing it and promptly told everyone I knew how much I had enjoyed it. I found the characters dynamic, the dialogue witty and the plot kept my interest every step of the way. There are not many books that I give up sleep for, but this was one of them. I thought this was a brilliant book and by the end I felt as if anything was possible; I felt as though my generation is capable of making an impact for the better. I found this book to be a call to arm's of sorts; stand up for what is right, do what you have to to be heard and don't let anyone tell you that you're too young to make any sort of difference. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to EVERYONE.

Decent enough take on the techno-war, distopic, ripping-on-1984 genre. Fairly enjoyable, but this is definitely one that you have to give 50 pages or so before you give up (I didn't the first time I tried to read this and had a totally different perception of the book than when I read it this time). I do have a couple of quibbles to voice however: 1. While I understand and am okay with some sexuality in a teen novel (yes, I get it, being obsessed with sex is part of being a teen nowadays), I am not really okay with explicit sex scenes in a YA novel. Not making any judgement calls or anything, but here is a warning if your not into that either. 2. While you ride the story on the emotional high you get, you don't notice the plot holes or the absurdity of some of Marcus' actions. But once you put the book down and think about all sorts of things stand out as poor editing. Not saying I could do any better. Overall a good read, but not one that I think I'll be reading again.

This novel is compelling reminder for a new generation of mid to older teens that every light casts a shadow, every benefit has a cost. Our increasing reliance on public and private collective authority means that we hand over ever more of our personal power in exchange for apparent security and a more manageable, less haphazard life. LITTLE BROTHER reads well. Though I appreciated the explanations of technical details and the occasional pleasantly pedagogical meanderings through postwar American social history, I wonder if less words may have been used to this end: the cyber/tech lingo and related permutations of plot weigh the story down somewhat, and at times pushed the limits of my patience. The brief essays presented at the book’s end are interesting and informative, a nice touch. The element of LITTLE BROTHER which rather spoiled the book for me regrettably comprises a sizeable chunk of our culture. It is almost inescapable in adult reading material and on screen, and is making its way relentlessly into teen and YA fiction resources. IT is explicit sex. Even when it occupies a relatively small portion of a book. IT has compromised many a novel for me, and when my daughter was younger than her current ripe old age of 15, it caused me to refrain from recommending to her attention several otherwise excellent books (perhaps the tables have turned now?). I wonder if it’s helpful to dwell on this. Maybe our hyper-sexualized ethos is just a symptom of a deeper, more primary problem which must be addressed first. But there will always be a more-underlying issue…we can only act where we find ourselves now, and hope that what we sow may chance upon a patch of receptive soil. What saddens me, and the reason I write this, is that I fear that increasing sexual indulgence and explicitness, the commodification and commercialization of sex, go hand-in-hand with a decline in the integrity of a society; that they reflect patterns throughout human history that form part of a downward spiralling and, ultimately, the dis-integration of civilizations. My daughter (at present not exactly a paradigm of patience) tells me that she tends to find children bothersome and often just plain annoying, and that she may well choose not to bear a child when she is older. In a way, this gives me a feeling of relief, because I find myself struggling to keep up my faith in, and hope for, humanity. (Though perhaps it’s not humanity that is the proper object of faith anyway…) Mr. Doctorow: your characters wonder, Who can be trusted? Surely, before all, they trust YOU not to spy on perhaps the most intimate experiences of their lives. They trust you, of all people, to respect their privacy—just as they rebel against government surveillance of their everyday lives. Authors: please do not make me a voyeuse! Take to heart what the ghostly protagonist in a story by Aidan Chambers has to say: I’m not one of those ghosts who go round peeping at friends they’ve left behind, enjoying the sight of them in all kinds of situations both public and private. (Personally, I think that’s as sick an occupation for a ghost as it is for a mortal.) (from Dead Trouble in GHOSTS THAT HAUNT YOU) Mercifully, in LB the inevitable consummation of said relationship is not graphically spelled out for us. Excellent writers learn how to employ understatement, subtlety, brevity, humour, distancing, mystery—in a word, tact—to represent, and honour, sexual intimacy. They do not betray the trust of their characters, nor that of their readers.

Welcome the american distopia. Marcus lives in a post 9/11 world where security is the excuse for violating civil liberties. This only gets worse after a major terrorist attack on the san fran bay bridge. Marcus is a 17 year old hacker who is arrest by DHS for just being near a terrorist attack. His treatment at the hands of DHS and the major increase in the governmental access to personal information causes marcus to fight back. Peacefully of course. When the internet is monitored, he creates his own internet. When the cops start keeping profiles of citizens movement he scrambles citizen electronic ids. When the government starts censoring the news he publishes the truth. Any one who has watched the U.S. freedoms crumble under the patriot act will find the the novel eerily familiar. And a frightening vision of what could be.

Could totally win the Hugo's this august, 'nuff said.

Little Brother is party about the way society runs under the careful watch of a government. Little Brother is partly about the dark side and illegal imprisonment. Little Brother is partly about the clever use of technology. On seeing the title, one is immediately reminded of George Orwell’s classic novel Nineteen Eighty Five where Big Brother is all powerful and watchful. Is Cory Doctorow suggesting that the forces of Little Brother are similar but to a lesser degree? Or is he simply writing the tale of a teenager who grows up as a techno-geek? Perhaps it’s a bit of both. Teens play an important role at times when society is corrupted. It is wrong for adults to say that teens are rebellious and that their thoughts and actions are reckless. Teens do in fact have credible opinions and are idealistic. Doctorow validates teens by making them heroes in this turbulent society where control is exercised and fear results. In fact rebellion can be good. Through first person narration, Doctorow develops the main character, Marcus Yallow, to be a highly influential leader. He has a sturdy belief that they should live in a freedom loving country, but his belief is stifled by the Department of Homeland Security. Consequently, he rebels in a very rousing and active way. In the end, he succeeds at gaining the attention and agreement of adults and put an end to the police state. Yes, teen rebellion can be a good thing. Today, sophisticated technology exists that enhances daily life. In Little Brother, Doctorow suggests that even though technology benefits every aspect of living, it certainly has its flaws. The domineering government uses technology to control its citizens. Cameras are at every corner street and track the travel patterns of the citizens. Doctorow uses explicit detail to describe each and every piece of technology in the world of Little Brother. On the other hand, the technology allows Marcus to use XNet which assembles an army of teens to rebel against the imposing government. In other words, technology empowers the heroes. A distinct sense of suspense is created when the government instills fear into its citizens. Doctorow once again relates it to society where there may be an illegal and inhumane prison just a mile off shore. The government would be very authoritative and no privacy would be considered. The police state which controls the citizens in Little Brother reminds me of present day prison camps such as Guantanamo Bay and those in war torn Afghanistan and Iraq. The way Little Brother is very similar to Nineteen Eighty Five strongly suggests the theme of censorship and Doctorow surely made it clear with all the evidences. No doubt, fear and imprisonment is the ultimate tool of a government to control its citizens. This book is undoubtedly one of the most suspenseful and arousing novel I have read. It reminds us of many moral attributes that we are blinded from. It is a book worth spending the time to reflect deeply about. Read it. Sleep with it. Dream about it. It’s a great book.