Tag Archives: Surveillance

Hacked

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Hacked by Tracy Alexander

Book of the Week: 10 April 2016

Hacked

Dan’s grandmother always says that he is ‘too bright for his own good’. When his restless mind discovers coding he finds it gives him access to all kinds of benefits, not all of them legal. He starts by getting his little sister free credits for the online hangout ‘Club Penguin’ then moves up to hacking to provide phone credits for friends. From there he drifts on to the dark web where he provides coding for a virtual friend called Angel which triggers all kinds of mayhem in his real life. Does Angel have anything to do with a missing drone and a terrorist threat?

Hacked is not just a suspenseful story, with convincing-sounding details about hacking, but a book about activism and the politics of surveillance. It has more in common with the American book Little Brother by Cory Doctorow than stories about gaming such as Erebos. The serious content is conveyed in an easy, readable style. Dan is likeable, if naive and misguided, and his family and friends are warm and sometimes funny. A small criticism is that Dan is at first described as having ADHD but almost instantly ‘cured’ and the plot is wrapped up a bit too quickly at the end. However, there is a sequel called Alias which I am adding to my wish list.

The Carnegie Medal Shortlist 2016

Image: The Ravensbourne School Libraries http://ravensbournelibraries.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/cilips-carnegie-medal-short-list-2016.html

Image: The Ravensbourne School Libraries http://ravensbournelibraries.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/cilips-carnegie-medal-short-list-2016.html

The Carnegie Medal is awarded by librarians each year for an outstanding book for children and young people.

All eight books are in stock in the Library and anyone is welcome to read along with me or write a review.

So far, I have read The Lie Tree, There Will Be Lies, (‘Lies’ is a popular word for titles this year) The Rest of Us Just Live Here and Five Children on the Western Front (the only one that is aimed at younger children). I am currently reading The Ghosts of Heaven – an intriguing story in quarters that can be read in any order and which should still make sense.

The winning book will be announced on 20 June.

Little Brother

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Little Brother
by Cory Doctorow
Book of the Week: 8 February 2015
littlebrotheruk

Marcus Yallow, a 17 year-old San Franciscan high school student and hacker, is used to getting into trouble because he ‘goes through school firewalls like wet kleenex’. Then, on the day of an attack on the Oakland Bay Bridge, he and his friends are detained on suspicion of being terrorists and his definition of being in trouble ramps up several notches. Marcus is eventually released but is so angry and shaken at the way in which his civil rights have been violated that he starts a teenage rebellion against the Department of Homeland Security.

This is a powerful polemic about the rights of citizens, government surveillance and the power of the internet with a very interesting bibliography about hacking and freedom of information. Some readers may find this controversial or irresponsible and some aspects of the plot make it a book more suitable for older readers.
The author has a website which allows anyone to read the book for free.
The Common Sense Media website has a guide for parents or for anyone who wants to check out the suitability of games, books and films.It has an entry for ‘Little Brother’. However, it is American and British media and material from other countries is under-represented.
Common Sense Media
If you enjoy books like ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ by George Orwell or ‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley, you may enjoy ‘Little Brother’ and its follow-up, ‘Homeland’.