Thursday, December 22, 2011

Little Brother

Review by Steve Shaw

Doctorow, self described on his website as "a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger -- the co-editor of Boing Boing (boingboing.net)," writes a chilling scenario of Homeland Security taking over San Francisco in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. Teenager Marcus gets caught up by DHS and held for interrogation for 5 days. When finally released, he works with his friends to subvert authorities by creating Xnet- a combination of the Xbox and Linux operating system.

Immediately compelling, this novel is never slow of pace or poor in plot. What makes this a must-read for young adults is the deft interweaving of philosophical and socio-political thought. Discussions of individual liberty, economics, corruption and social activism would be perfect springboards for discussion in the classroom or around the dinner table.

Download for free at the link below!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Quotes

"Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them." 
~Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it."
~Hannah Arendt