When people are being gradually oppressed, there is usually someone who knows what is really happening. That person faces the difficult decision: to act, or not to act. In this month’s classic, the enlightened individual is a donkey, while in the current novel, the individual is a typical teenage boy.

Classic

Animal Farm
by George Orwell

The animals at Manor Farm feel helpless and abused under their tyrannical master, Mr. Jones, until the wisest of them all, a pig named Old Major, gives a stirring speech about revolution. He envisions an animal utopia where every animal is happy, free and well fed. After Old Major dies, the animals revolt and rename their home “Animal Farm.” 

However, all is not as good as it seems. The pigs, who lead the farm, engage in power struggles that endanger the existence of the entire community. They end up abusing their power as much as Mr. Jones. The other animals just stand by and watch everything fall apart. Many are too stupid to realize what is happening, but Benjamin the donkey— who can read— knows better yet declines to act.

British author George Orwell wrote this novel as a political satire about totalitarian governments, specifically the former USSR. Most of the characters can be compared to important people or events of the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union. Orwell had difficulty finding a publisher who would be willing to print such a book because Britain was in the middle of World War II with Russia as a key ally. Animal Farm was eventually released in 1945. This clever and short book features one of the best last lines you will ever read: "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."

Current

Little Brother
by Cory Doctorow

The day Marcus decides to skip school he gets caught in the middle of a terrorist attack. But wait, it only gets worse. After the attack, he is arrested for no reason and held at a top-secret facility for days.

Finally, he is released, but finds that personal liberties and constitutional rights are suddenly under attack in the name of safety. Marcus does the only thing he can do: complain on the Internet. Like everything else, it is also monitored, and as a good teenage hacker, Marcus uses an Xbox, encryption codes and Wi-Fi to create an uncensored internet called the Xnet. With the Xnet, thousands of San Franciscan teens can experience a taste of true freedom in a time of restrictions. However, the Department of Homeland Security does not like this movement and threatens a shutdown. Will Marcus, leader of the Xnet, be able to make enough people aware of government abuses before the DHS takes Xnet down?

A bestselling novel and new in paperback, Little Brother shows how the power of one person can change society. The setting of this book seems to be in the near future with a blend of present-day and future technology. This story, which includes some mature language and themes, is perfect for those teenage boys who are reluctant readers. It also appeals to teens that enjoy the Internet and technology.

Veronica L. Hernandez attends high school in Florida.  An avid reader, she swims, fences, and shops when dragged away from her books. She can be reached at HernandezAldir@gmail.com.