Foot- Little Brother Again :)

I just finished Little Brother! I know I am cutting it pretty close, but I must say that I really enjoyed this book. It was very action packed and interesting. I learned a lot about technology which really surprised me. When I first started reading it I was worried about all the technological terms, but the author did an amazing job not losing me. One of my favorite parts was when he was describing LARPing at the end. (I know, random) I had always wondered how LARPing worked. The nerd in me needed to know. It was really interesting.

Two things about this book really stood out to me when thinking about presenting this to a young adult audience in schools. The first was obviously the technology. The technology that Marcus uses in this book is extremely advanced and at times seems a little farfetched, but to many students who are immersed in technology the day when all of this is accurate could be closer than we think. I think that for this reason it is a book that students could relate to. The technology aspect opens up opportunities to discuss the pro and the cons of technology and if there should be restrictions on its uses. I think that it would open up a lot of class activities that leave room for multi-modal aspects.

Another thing that really stood out to me about this book was the love Marcus had for his country and his friends. Little Brother, while not seeming so to the government and parents in the story, shows great courage and patriotism. I think this is really encouraging to a student who thinks that his votes or actions are not needed. It shows that anyone can make a difference, even a 17-year-old kid. It also gives examples of people that stood up for what was right in the past such as the Berkley students and the yippies. It is very inspiring and lets the reader know that if you want change you have to fight for it, even if it doesn't make you popular with some crowds. I think this is nicely summed up on page 334 when Marcus says, "You can't get anything done by doing nothing. It is our country. They've taken it from us [...] I can't go underground for a year, ten years, my whole life, waiting for freedom to be handed to me. Freedom is something you have to take for yourself."