Literature circle- little brother Breanna, Danny, Liam, and Jocelyn

Plot INITIATING INCIDENT- Bay bridge blowing up because of terrorists. RISING ACTION- Marcus being kidnapped by the DHS. After prison, he finds that his home town has turned into a city of distrust. Conflict arises from his creation, the XNET. Marcus uses his online platform to attempt to fight back against the controlling government. He contacts a high-profile reporter to expose the issue. Things get so bad that Marcus tries to escape. CLIMAX- Marcus realizes that he cannot run away from his problems. He's got to stay and face the consequences. Marcus gets caught by the DHS while sheltering under a bridge. FALLING ACTION/CONCLUSION- Marcus is rescued by the reporter. He and the other prisoners are taken to court. Marcus is only sentenced for stealing a phone. He and his friends try to convince the public to vote responsibly. His main torturer is freed.

Character Marcus changed quite a bit throughout the book. He fluctuated in his paranoia levels, but one permanent change is that he learned to be brave no matter what. He went from being a hacker for fun to being a hacker for justice. He grew up a lot by the end of the book. He consistently showed a good moral compass, and his conscience guided many of his decisions. Marcus Yallow- protagonist The Department of Homeland Security- antagonist

Theme The main message that Marcus learned in the book was to not allow your freedom to be taken away. He also learned to question/fight back against corrupt leaders. The biggest theme in this novel is the right to privacy. When he was questioned, he didn’t want to reveal anything. Marcus believed he shouldn’t need to prove his innocence when there is no indication of him being guilty.

SETTING Fall, 2008 San Francisco Suspenseful, Interesting, and Surprising Emotional, Action The setting plays an important role in the conflict of the story because the USA has a lack of online privacy. There has also been an increase in security after the 9/11 terrorist attack.

conclusion We enjoyed the book. It was better than we expected, and it was interesting. There was lots of action and surprisingly touching moments. We would consider more books by this author because his writing used various styles, which made reading this book more appealing.