Review Review: 'Little Brother'
Posted by alli on 06-13-2008
As some of you know, I am going back to work in the fall as an elementary/middle school librarian. I've been home with my son for almost three years and it's just… time. I'm really really excited.
For security and in order to conduct my background check, I had to be fingerprinted. So I went down to a local child protective services office on Church Street in the Mission and followed a social worker into a tiny dark cubicle. I stood patiently while she got each and every finger on both hands printed and recorded. I was disappointed, it wasn't like in the movies, with ink-pads; they have computers do it now, natch. Offensive rap music played loudly from the next cube and my fingerprint-ess took a long, "sweetie-cutie-baby-honey" personal call while I waited. It was weird.
Honestly, the whole event struck me as ironic. I just finished Little Brother by Cory Doctorow and it's already super spooky reading about the modern Orwellian landscape of my fair city, San Francsico. I couldn't help but imagine that I was living in that world. Not only was I blocks away from some of Marcus and his friends' stomping grounds, I was being fingerprinted for god's sake! Don't get me wrong, I'm totally down with background checks and of course I have absolutely nothing to hide, but I had to wonder, what would Marcus say?
Little Brother is not without its critics but overall, people agree that it's a super smart novel with a rebel soul. The pace is fast and fun and the technology is scary and exhilarating at the same time.
Join the 'Little Brother' revolution
'Little Brother,' 'Madapple' for young adults' (SF Chronicle)
Changing Planes by Neil Gaiman
Mistaken For the Enemy (LA Times)
'Little Brother' comes out fighting (Publishers Weekly)
