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Readers > Talk it Up! > Discussion guides > 2011 Oregon Reader's Choice Award Nominees > Little Brother

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Discussion guide written by Michelle Loh and the Northwest Library Teen Council.

Booktalk

When the San Francisco Bay Bridge gets bombed, the Department of Homeland Security (or DHS) comes down hard, figuring now's the time to put some teeth into the PATRIOT Act. Too bad for seventeen year old Marcus: it's the same day he decides to skip school with his pals and, using clues they found online, play some Harajuku Fun Madness. Instead of playing, they get rounded up by the DHS in a security sweep, imprisoned for days, questioned, bullied and threatened. His friend Darryl never reappears. Marcus is brilliant at outwitting the gate recognition and surveillance systems at his high school, but now he's become an enemy of his own country. What can a kid use to fight back against the government of a police state?

Hacking. For any security system, there's someone that can beat it, and Marcus vows to get his revenge. With the help of other kids, including his new girlfriend Ange, he figures out a way to fight back. They create a secure version of the web using Xboxes, and outwit arphids (radio frequency ID tags), wireless internet traces, and other electronic surveillance techniques, to defend the Bill of Rights.

What's great about this book is that you don't just get a good story, you get information about the hacks, their history, and how they work. Check out the bibliography at the back of the book for more on that, plus additional notes by a security expert and Xbox hacker. If you go to the author's website where you can even download Little Brother for free.

Booktalk by Cathy Camper

380 pages, 9th grade and up

Discussion questions

Warning! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. If there was a terrorist attack in your town, how would you feel and how would you react?
  2. What are the different types of technology that Marcus and his friends use throughout the book? Have you ever used any of them?
  3. What do you think of the statement, "Don't trust anyone over 25"? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?
  4. Has your use of the internet changed after reading this book? If so, why and how?
  5. Do you see any parallels between the world that Marcus lives in and our own? If so, what are the similarities and differences?
  6. Describe how Marcus is captured and what happens during his imprisonment. How has this experience shaped what he thinks about the government and his community?
  7. How does your school compare to Marcus' school in terms of surveillance, discipline, and students' relationships with teachers and administrators? Does your school use any of the surveillance techniques that Marcus mentions?
  8. If the government took away or limited your civil rights and freedom after a terrorist attack, what would you do?

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