Little Brother

Doctorow's first YA novel is a post 9/11 story looking at the effects of the “war on terror” and the increased surveillance North Americans have been under since then. It's a good, fun story with a punky, “stick it to the man” kind of attitude that teaches its youthful audience to be healthily cautious of authority.

Of course, this being a Cory Doctorow novel, you at times get the feeling that you'‘re reading an essay on internet privacy issues as much as you are a sci-fi story, but that's simply the man's style - either you accept it or you don't. It seems to stick out a little more because the protagonist, Marcus, is only 17, and he seems to be one of the smartest, more well-informed 17 year olds you'll ever meet, but I think that's because he's meant to be seen as a heroic figure for the primary audience.