Little Brother

Biblio Bits Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Tor Teen, 2008 (ISBN 9780765319852)

Reading Level/Interest Age 900 lexile/Ages 14+

Genre Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Plot Summary

Marcus (screen name w1n5t0n) is just your typical, technologically savvy seventeen year-old. He lives in the San Francisco's Mission District, likes hanging out with his friends, and playing Harajuku Fun Madness (an ARG---Alternative Reality Game). He's figured out some quick hacks to get around the school's security firewalls and subvert the motion-recognition software on the CCTV monitors. Marcus convinces his buddies to ditch school and pursue the next clue for HFN, but while they're out there is a terrorist attack and a big explosion. In the mayhem that ensues, the teens are picked up and whisked away in large, black SUVs, as suspects; they are interrogated and held and they are not sure by whom. When they are finally released, with orders not to say anything to anyone about their interrogation, they return to a new San Francisco. In order to protect its citizens, there are now strict security measures in place all over the city, and Marcus and their friends know they are being watched. Marcus is determined not to give up and to subvert the system that is threatening democracy, in whatever way he can.

Critical Evaluation

Doctorow packs a lot of civics into this one volume: everything from activism to democracy to privacy to a police state to the Department of Homeland Security...and more. Sometimes the narrative takes a distinctly lesson-like turn that slows the pace of the action and plot, but these sections never last too long and the content is really interesting/scary. Doctorow has created a novel of empowerment: these are engaged teens who realize what they are losing in favor of being "safe." This is a refreshing change from books in which teens are powerless and disaffected. There are two stellar Afterwords and a Bibliography that are not to be missed.

Reader's Annotation

Big Brother is Watching; Little Brother is Fighting Back!

Author Information

Cory Doctorow was born in Toronto and now lives in London with his family. He is the co-editor of Boing Boing, a blogger, science fiction author, journalist, and activist. Doctorow used to work for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, "a non-profit civil liberties group that defends freedom in technology law, policy, standards and treaties" (Doctorow, here). He has delivered some great speeches about privacy and rights, like this one. (Information in this brief bio was found at the author's official site.)

Challenge issues

I wrote a blog post about this title when I first read it and bemoaned the fact that there is this one sex scene which definitely limits the audience to whom I would recommend this title. Yes, it's protected sex, and yes, it's between two people who care about each other. But it would still probably make some younger teens/tweens uncomfortable who otherwise might have really loved this book. I usually feel this out with a question like "there's some boy/girl stuff in here..." and the reader either cringes visibly or shakes it off as no sweat. (And as an aside, the author emailed me a response!) Also, there is a very graphic description of water-boarding that is totally, and appropriately, disturbing.

Booktalking Ideas

This title would be at home with other books that portray a clever twist on an idea, similar to The Last Book in the Universe (Philbrick) or So Yesterday (Westerfeld).

Curriculum Ties

Oooh, oooh---this book screams to be in a middle/high school civics class! The power of this book lies in the "it could be now," post-9/11 setting. It could provide some good fodder for debate: what liberties are we sacrificing in favor of protecting ourselves? What current or recent events fall into this tricky catch 22?

Why this book?
Because Cory Doctorow is this librarian's idea of a modern hero: so smart, so savvy, so forward-thinking that I might even admit to having a small crush on his ideas.

Awards
School Library Journal, Best Books, 2008; New York Times Notable Children's Books, 2008; Booklist Editors' Choice Award, 2008.

Rockport Public Library owns?

Yes.

City of Bones

Biblio Bits City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Margaret K. McElderberry Books, 2007 (ISBN 9781416914280)

Reading Level/Interest Age 740 lexile/age 14+

Genre Urban fantasy

Plot Summary

When Clary Fray starts seeing things that her friend Simon can't, that's the first tip-off that Clary's understanding of reality is about to expand in a major way. She's still trying to understand the murder she witnessed (that appeared to involve some fantastic beings), when Clary's mom, Jocelyn, leaves her a garbled message and disappears. Clary has never known her dad, who died in a fatal car accident when she was too little to remember him, so suddenly Clary is on her own. When one of the murderers shows up and offers to help Clary, she is as confused as ever, and pretty soon is on a race against time to solve the mystery that will save her mom, with the help of a few Shadowhunters and some Werewolves. Clary discovers that her own history is not what she thinks it is and that her mother kept some important secrets from her.

Critical Evaluation

This fast-paced urban adventure story is compelling. It appears on several lists that liken it to Twilight ( Meyer), and though it deals with supernatural beings and has a girl protagonist, it has many differences that readers who are expecting a Twilight-like read might be disappointed in. First, the pacing is brisk: this book is action-driven, not character-driven. In this way, I would liked it more to the Percy Jackson or Maximum Ride series, where practically every chapter has an element of surprise/danger. There are more relationships in this book to sort out and many more plot twists. Because of the larger cast of characters, some characters seem a bit one-dimensional and predictable. Again, with the pace at which the plot moved, there really wasn't time to get too deep with any one character except for the most central ones. Romance? Well, sort of. Definitely some romantic tension, but this gets complicated as the story unfolds. The fun part is the details like the vampire motorcycles that run on demon energies or the eccentric character of Magnus Bane, the warlock of Brooklyn. But there are a lot of holes in this fantasy world which makes it difficult to enter into the story fully, if you are a picky reader.

Reader's Annotation

A great romp through New York City's underworld of the supernatural, normally invisible to us "mundies" (short for mundanes), on a fast-paced adventure to keep the balance of good and evil in order, with many plot twists to keep you guessing!

Author Information

Cassandra Clare (pseudonym) was born in Tehran, Iran, and spent her childhood traveling with her parents to various places around the world. She spent her high school years in Los Angeles, where she also lived after college and worked as a writer for entertainment magazines and tabloids. Clare began writing this first installment of the Mortal Instruments series in 2004, and took inspiration from the city of New York for the setting. Clare has also written Harry Potter fan fiction, and gained attention for her extensive works in this genre. (Information for this author bio is from here and here.)

Challenge issues

Yes there are! The supernatural beings might be enough to give some readers pause, but there is definitely some language and swearing in this book that may be inappropriate for younger readers.

Booktalking Ideas

Supernatural beings...the unexplained...searching for your identity...urban fantasy...myths. These are all potential booktalking buddies for City of Bones. Maximum Ride (Patterson) would be a good companion here, particularly because of the female protagonist and the angelic themes. This book also has plenty of suspense and "creepy" so it could be a good one to promote around Halloween.

Curriculum Ties

Students could be asked to take one of the Downworld groups, (like vampires, werewolves, faeries, etc.), and flesh-out their cultures a bit more. Students could research cultural explanations of the supernatural group they choose and begin to build a world in present day New York for them. How would their history with Shadowhunters influence their alliances, survival, and leadership? Where would they hang out? What would their headquarters look like?

Why this book?

The Mortal Instruments series has appeared a few times on lists of "If you liked Twilight, you'll also like..." so I decided to try it and see what I thought.

Series/Sequel

Yes, this one is followed by City of Ashes and then City of Glass.

Awards
None.

Rockport Public Library owns?

Yes.