Little Brother (Cory Doctorow novel)

Author(s)	Cory Doctorow
Country	USA
Language	English
Subject(s)	Terrorism, cryptography, computer hackers, Department of Homeland Security, Libertarianism, privacy, police state
Genre(s)	Fiction / Cyberpunk
Publisher	Tor Teen
Publication date	April 29, 2008
Media type	Book
Pages	380
ISBN	978-0-7653-1985-2
OCLC Number	176972381
LC Classification	PZ7.D66237 Lit 2008

Little Brother is a novel by Cory Doctorow, published by Tor Books. It was released on April 23, 2007. The novel is about 4 teenagers in San Francisco who, in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge and BART system, defend themselves against the Department of Homeland Security's attacks on the Bill of Rights. The novel is available for free on the author's website under a Creative Commons license, keeping it accessible to all.

The book debuted at No. 9 on the New York Times Bestseller List, children's chapter book section, in May 2008. As of July 2, it had spent a total of six weeks on the list, rising to the No. 8 spot. Little Brother won the 2009 White Pine Award, the 2009 Prometheus Award. and the 2009 John W. Campbell Memorial Award. It was also was a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel. The New York Times says, “Little Brother isn’t shy about its intent to disseminate subversive ideas to a young audience. The novel comes with two essays, plus a bibliography of techno-countercultural writings, from “On the Road” to Bruce Schneier’s “Applied Cryptography.”

Characters

• Marcus Yallow - Main protagonist, a 17-year old high school student who enjoys understanding technology and building his own custom devices. He is the leader of his foursome of friends.
• Darryl Glover - Marcus' best friend who attends the same high school as Marcus and is Marcus' second-in-command and the "details man" of the group. He has had a crush on Van for years.

Marcus on limited edition cover

• Vanessa Pak (Van) - 17 year old North Korean girl who attends a nearby all girls' Catholic school, she is the "ideas" person of the group. She has had a thing for Marcus for a long time, but doesn't admit it until the end of the book. Her parents managed to escape from North Korea.
• Jose Luis Torrez (Jolu) - A brilliant high school student at a nearby Catholic school, he is the technical member of the group. Even though everyone in the group is very tech savvy, he is the most technology-oriented, doing his own programming, and working for a local ISP. He is somewhat vain and seems to work at being cool.
• Drew Yallow - Marcus' father who has a stormy relationship with Marcus through most of the book. He was so scared by the thought of Marcus having died during the bombing, because Marcus was missing for three days, that he supports the tactics DHS employs. This leads to many arguments with Marcus despite his former mindset that was similar to Marcus'.
• Lillian Yallow - Marcus' mother, British ex-national, who helps newly immigrated Britons integrate into American life. She and Marcus have a strong bond and seem to think alike. She is a strong woman and helps mediate Marcus and his father's fights.
• Charles Walker - Also a student at the same high school as Marcus and Darryl, he is the antithesis of Marcus. He is a bully, a brown noser and a narc for the authorities. He and Marcus have a long standing feud and detest each other.
• Carrie Johnstone - Main antagonist and in charge of the DHS that is monitoring San Francisco. She is a cold sadistic woman to whom the ends always justify the means and enjoys abusing her power. She is mainly known as "Severe Haircut Lady" throughout most of the novel.
• Angela Carvelli (Ange) - She attends the same high school as Van and develops into Marcus' love interest, when she first meets him at a party. She is an active member of the Xnet and is very strong-willed, independent, and sexual. She's known to use pepper spray as a condiment.
• Ms. Galvez - A social studies teacher at Cesar Chavez High School, she is seen as a dedicated teacher and an independent thinker. She seems to be the only teacher that Marcus respects at his school. She tends to agree with Marcus on topics of security and Marcus helps her with contacting her brother, who's an overseas soldier, via internet.
• Barbara Stratford - Investigative reporter for the Bay Guardian, who helps Marcus expose what the DHS has been doing.
• Masha - A small ugly Asian girl, she is a DHS operative and attempts to help Marcus escape the city. Marcus meets her briefly in the beginning of the novel when she threatens to expose him for skipping school while ARGing. He also meets up with Masha in the end in the mitts of their escape, he finds a photo of his friend Darryl and his position on running away is changed. Therefore he escapes from Masha after beating her up.
• Zeb - A former detainee of DHS’s “Gitmo-by-the-Bay”, he manages to escape and attempts to disappear after contacting Marcus about Darryl and the current status of the prison.

Major Themes

Cory Doctorow's Little Brother has major themes that according to some are too serious for a YA novel. In an interview, the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy asked Doctorow about his "potentially heavy themes, including paranoia, loyalty, sex, torture, [and] fear" and whether his editing staff asked to censor the themes. He replied, "Oh, no."

The Hollywood Reporter remarked, "The book tackles many themes, including civil liberties and social activism".

According to journalist April Spisak's article on "What Makes a Good Young Adult Dystopian Novel?" Spisak claims, "Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother probably represents the purest example on the list—modern technology meets classic dystopic elements—even while the book itself is part instructional guide, part love story, and part rant at the increasingly dictatorial powers that be that consider safety at any cost a reasonable exchange. Small personal victories for the protagonist and his friends are present, but the power of Big Brother is hardly tempered by their work, and the folks who tangled with the government are all permanently scarred by the encounter."

Adaptation

In early 2012 it was announced that the novel Little Brother written by Cory Doctorow will be made into a play directed by Josh Costello called Little Brother. The play is described as being a fast-paced techie-adventure upholstered in a clever live and animated video projections energized by the original score of Chris Houston. Accompanying the score is original choreography by Daunielle Rasmussen. The play is said to be a cut and altered version of the book. Costello succeeds best in interweaving the story's thriller plot and its comically touching romance with its outspoken politics.[23]

Reception (Novel and Play)

Novel

Cindy Dobrez in her review for Booklist said that "Doctorow’s novel blurs the lines between current and potential technologies, and readers will delight in the details of how Marcus attempts to stage a techno-revolution. Obvious parallels to Orwellian warnings and post-9/11 policies, such as the Patriot Act, will provide opportunity for classroom discussion and raise questions about our enthusiasm for technology, who monitors our school library collections, and how we contribute to our own lack of privacy." Kirkus Reviews described it as an "unapologetically didactic tribute to 1984", and that it was a "terrifying glimpse of the future--or the present." Publishers Weekly said that it was "filled with sharp dialogue and detailed descriptions of how to counteract gait-recognition cameras, RFID's (radio frequency ID tags), wireless Internet tracers and other surveillance devices, this work makes its admittedly didactic point within a tautly crafted fictional framework." Institute of Public Affairs says that "Doctorow, like many freedom-fighting writers before him likes his women smart and strong. Male or female, freedom-loving writers tend to like writing strong female characters, often protagonists."

Play

"Marin Independent" says that Little Brother is "required watching!'| "The Custom Made Theatre Co."

"Charlie Jane Anders" from "i09.com" praises the Little Brother play: "I was lucky enough to catch a preview performance of the Custom Made Theatre Co.'s new stage adaptation of Cory Doctorow's award-winning novel Little Brother the other day — and it was a total marvel. Somehow, writer/director Josh Costello managed to condense the novel down to a two-hour play, without losing any of the impact. If anything, the staged version hits a bit harder than the book, because of the intense, but not overstated, performances."

According to "TheatreStorm" "Costello has wisely tightened Doctorow’s book to three main characters. On a nearly empty stage, Costello utilizes video and sound effects superbly, creating multiple San Francisco locations, mass demonstrations, press conferences, online experiences and coaching his actors to create multiple characterizations as necessary. This is the best kind of political theatre. Thought provoking, suspenseful, emotionally real, uncomfortably close to the hard truth."

Dedications

Each chapter of the e-book edition of Little Brother is dedicated to a different bookstore: Bakka-Phoenix A Toronto Ontario Sci-Fi/Fantasy bookstore where Cory Doctorow used to be employed, Amazon.com, Borderlands Books, Barnes & Noble, Secret Headquarters, Powell's City of Books, Books of Wonder, Borders, Compass Books/Books Inc., Anderson's Bookshops, the university bookstore at the University of Washington, Forbidden Planet, Books-A-Million, Mysterious Galaxy, Chapters/Indigo Books, Booksmith, Waterstone's, Sophia Books, MIT Press Bookshop, The Tattered Cover, Pages Books, and Hudson Booksellers.

External links

• Official Book Page on Cory Doctorow's website
• All the images from the deluxe edition of Little Brother on Richard Wilkinson's Flickr page
• A Little Brother related article by Cory Doctorow: Security Literacy: teaching kids to think critically about security
• eMusic Q&A: Cory Doctorow about Little Brother
• w1n5t0n on Instructables.com
• Little Brother on Myspace
• Little Brother Facebook Page
• Little Brother related video playlist on YouTube
• Online Version of the book
• Audio review and discussion of Little Brother at The Science Fiction Book Review Podcast