Cory Doctorow is an author, journalist and blogger. He is a huge proponent of liberalizing copyright laws and co-edits the blog Boing Boing. His book Little Brother follows four teens around San Francisco following a terrorist attach on the Oakland Bay Bridge and the BART system. These young people, led by the narrator Marcus Yarrow, must defend themselves against the Department of Homeland Security and its disregard of the Bill of Rights.
When the book begins, life isn't all that great for Marcus and his friends. They are constantly surveilled and monitored by the government. Marcus and his friends learn to get around that by creating their own internet, the Xnet (named so because it runs off their Xboxes) and on the day of the terrorist attacks, that makes them a prime target of Homeland Security.
Marcus and his friends race around San Francisco attempting to elude DHS and when they are captured they see and experience even further erosion of their civil liberties.
This fast paced read would work well in US Government classes. Students could track violations of civil rights and it could prompt discussion about the legal power of government agencies during time domestic crisis.
CRAFT TECHNIQUE: Sentence structure is a craft technique that this author employs. The short sentences lend to a fast paced book. As the characters are running around, evading Homeland Security, the short sentences and small paragraphs help lend to a sense of urgency. Short sentence, small paragraphs and quick chapters are also appealing to students know self-brand themselves "non-readers." Short chapters can help for students feel like they are accomplishing something and fast paced books also help keep "non-readers" engaged.
CONNECTION TO MN ACADEMIC STANDARDS Social Studies. Strand 1: Citizenship and Government. Sub-strand 2: Civic Values and Principals of Democracy. Standard 3: 3. The United States is based on democratic values and principles that include liberty, individual rights, justice, equality, the rule of law, limited government, common good, popular sovereignty, majority rule and minority rights. Benchmark: Analyze the tensions between the government’s dual role of protecting individual rights and promoting the general welfare, the struggle between majority rule and minority rights, and the conflict between diversity and unity.
