Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

When I first saw this out on the shelves I was somewhat skeptical.  What's Doctorow doing in the young adult section of the bookstore?  Wait - that is a different first name.  The bastard, can't even write his own book, has to come in on the coattails of a famous relative....

Then I read the first page...Hmmm.  Maybe this is worth a look after all.

I loved this book for several reasons.  First this is a scary story well told about a terrorist attack in the Bay Area and our government's response to said attack.  The characters in here are believable and the questions they raise about our rights and responsibilities are good ones.

Setting this book in San Francisco was also another plus for me.  As the main characters trooped around the Bay Area trying to match wits with the Department of Homeland Security I enjoyed going to Golden Gate Park, the Mission, Market Street, et al...

This tale isn't perfect.  At times this story travels down the well worn path of "angry young people versus moronic adults" that so many of the movies ("The Breakfast Club", "Home Alone", "Sixteen Candles") seem to employ.  Even with this minor criticism, I have to say that I enjoyed this story a great deal.  Despite a busy schedule, this title called to be read, and I finished it within a couple of weeks, which is quite rare for me during the academic year.

I would give this four paws up.