Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Hacker prodigy Sam, recruited to the Cyber Defense Division of Homeland Security, joins a team of misfits defending the country from ever-looming online attacks. Complicating their mission is the latest technology, a neural headset that allows people to interface directly with computers: though they're risky to use (what's to prevent an enemy from hacking Sam's brain?), they offer too much of a speed advantage to forgo. Shortly after the government issues headsets to Sam's team, [End Page 15] a neural hack by a mysterious online presence leaves the team leader a vegetable, recruiter Dodge unconscious, and everyone else imprinted with false memories of Sam's betrayal. On the run, Sam, Dodge, and Vienna (the only team member who hasn't yet used her headset) soon realize that anyone with a neuro-headset is now a mobile surveillance camera for the enemy. The paranoia is palpable, as is the devastation when the trio hides in the dead zone of a post–nuclear Las Vegas. Though the characters are quickly sketched and the dialogue at times stilted, the effective atmospheric notes, along with high-octane action sequences, will keep readers absorbed. The story mostly proceeds sturdily along simple good-guy-versus-bad-guy dynamics, but it ends with some deftly pitched ambiguity on key questions (exactly how much knowledge of individuals' private lives is a good thing, how much constitutes a threat, and who says?) that readers can take or leave as they wish. Doctorow's Little Brother (BCCB 11/08) or Anderson's Feed (BCCB 11/02) may offer more politically charged, philosophically rigorous tales of technology run amok, but for a straight-up shot of techno-adrenaline, Brain Jack is just the ticket.