S. Darko directed by Chris Fisher

S. Darko directed by Chris
Fisher, Chris. S. Darko. Perfs. Daveigh Chase, Briana Evigan, Jackson Rathbone, and Ed Westwick. Beverly Hills, CA: 20th Century Fox, 2009. 103 minutes. $14.99 UPC 024543575184
Readers Annotation: Seven years after the death of her brother, Donnie, Sam is haunted by his same visions.
Plot Summary: Seven years after the death of her brother, Donnie, Sam (Daveigh Chase) travels across the country with her friend Corey (Briana Evigan) in search of answers. Instead she finds people who are haunted by the same visions as her brother. Sam becomes involved in the drama of the small town she and Corey stop in, and captures the interest of two of the local boys (Jackson Rathbone and Ed Westwick). There seems to be something dark taking hold of the small town, especially after a meteor strikes nearby. The young town war veteran keeps to himself and his visions, but he towns people think he is responsible for the disappearances of two boys. Sam soon uncovers the mystery, and ends up dying just as she figures it out. Or does she?
Critical Evaluation: For fans of the cult classic Donnie Darko, this film may disappoint. It seems that its purpose is to follow Sam as she tries to find herself despite her grief, but it gets lost in the random events of the small town. There are so many Sam as ghost visions and points where they go back in time, that is tends to get a little confusing. What is that awful rash and where was the meteor from? How did the Iraqi veteran come to the town and how ironic is it that his mother wrote the infamous book that cause Donnie's insanity? Why did it take them so long to make a sequel? Maybe these things don't really matter when all a viewer wants is some shock, gore and twist endings.
Genre: Horror, Drama
Age Level: Ages 13 and up, however some of the imagery would not be suitable for younger teens
Curriculum Ties: No curriculum ties.
Book talking ideas: No book talking ideas.
Challenge Issues: The graphic imagery would be a concern for parents of younger teens.
Why I included it: I included S. Darko because I am a fan of Donnie Darko and was excited by the idea of a sequel. I'm still not sure if I liked it or not.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Doctorow, Cory. Little Brother. New York: TOR, 2008. 382 pages. $17.95 ISBN 0765319853
Readers Annotation: When the government is the enemy, the only way to survive is to be a traitor.
Plot Summary: W1n5t0n and his friends love to hack computers and the web. It is what they do and what they are good at. They also love to play games. One of their games leads them into the wrong place at the wrong time. When terrorists strike San Fransisco everyone is held accountable. W1n5t0n, aka Marcus, and his friends are picked up by the Department of Homeland Security and held on Treasure Island for days. After Marcus is finally release he is told he cannot tell anyone where he has been, who had him or what he was doing. Worst of all, his best friend Darryl is missing. Marcus decides to create M1k3y, a hacker extraordinaire whose sole purpose in life is to defeat the DHS, find Darryl and expose the truth of what happened to so many missing people. Along the way he meets Ange, another hacker and computer geek who feels the same way he does. Together they try to expose the DHS for who they are and get the people to take back their city. If only it was that easy.
Critical Evaluation: Little Brother is an ingenious look at what terrorist attacks can do to a city, a country and a government. It is also an intriguing glimpse into the mind of a computer-whiz and adept hacker. I learned about the ins and outs of computers, servers, the Internet and freedom movements I never knew about. Doctorow's writing style is personable and engaging, and his computer lingo is daunting but not unattainable. Little Brother made me appreciate the unknown world of computers and cyberspace. And although it could be considered science fiction, I'm sure there is more truth behind the story than we know.
Information about the Author: Cory Doctorow is a computer genius, author of several fiction books as well as non-fiction about computers and the Internet. He is co-editor of boingboing.net and very active in the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other civil liberties campaigns.
Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller
Age Level: Ages 14 and up
Curriculum Ties: A great book to use in addition to 1984 and Brave New World, as a look into how totalitarian governments can become.
Book talking ideas: Discuss the wonders of computers and the Internet. Then discuss what would happen if our freedoms were taking away, such as how, why, when and where we use computers and the Internet.
Challenge Issues: Some people may have issues with the seemingly anti-government ideas in the novel.
Why I included it: I included Little Brother not just because we read it for class, but because it opened my eyes to the amazing world of computers and the Internet. I never knew any of the stuff I learned while reading the book. I also think there should be more civil liberties activism. Little Brother was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Sunburst and Locus awards in 2008.