The House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
The House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Matt lives a surreal existence--alone in a house in a field full of flowers. His mother is there part of the time, but she warns him to stay inside and not to speak to or be seen by anyone. Why? Because something really bad might happen. And of course, it does. But the absurdity of his situation does not end there because he is the clone of the most powerful man in the country. The almost 150-year-old El Patrón is not only the president of the country and Matt's benefactor, he is the head of a powerful opium production and distribution country located between what used to be Mexico and the science fiction future of the United States.
Usually when a clone is...made...the thinking part of the brain is destroyed and they are used as slaves or organs. But El Patrón always raises his clones as people.
This multi award-winning book has been on my reading list for about eight years! I took it home over Winter break because I heard there was a sequel coming. I believe the book has deservedly won many awards because it explores what it means to be human, if it is right for people to serve other people, whether some people are more human than others, slavery to wealth, what if drugs were legal, and ultimately looks at a clone's place in society. It is an exciting action adventure science fiction with many satisfying twists and turns. I enjoyed this book so much that this weekend I am beginning the sequel, The Lord of Opium, where Matt is the head of the country now. The first books seems to indicate that Matt wants to make things right for all the people who are enslaved in The Land of Opium.
Matt lives a surreal existence--alone in a house in a field full of flowers. His mother is there part of the time, but she warns him to stay inside and not to speak to or be seen by anyone. Why? Because something really bad might happen. And of course, it does. But the absurdity of his situation does not end there because he is the clone of the most powerful man in the country. The almost 150-year-old El Patrón is not only the president of the country and Matt's benefactor, he is the head of a powerful opium production and distribution country located between what used to be Mexico and the science fiction future of the United States.
Usually when a clone is...made...the thinking part of the brain is destroyed and they are used as slaves or organs. But El Patrón always raises his clones as people.
This multi award-winning book has been on my reading list for about eight years! I took it home over Winter break because I heard there was a sequel coming. I believe the book has deservedly won many awards because it explores what it means to be human, if it is right for people to serve other people, whether some people are more human than others, slavery to wealth, what if drugs were legal, and ultimately looks at a clone's place in society. It is an exciting action adventure science fiction with many satisfying twists and turns. I enjoyed this book so much that this weekend I am beginning the sequel, The Lord of Opium, where Matt is the head of the country now. The first books seems to indicate that Matt wants to make things right for all the people who are enslaved in The Land of Opium.
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