The House of the Scorpion
by: Nancy Farmer
Price: $9.99
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Amazon.com Review:
Fields of white opium poppies stretch away over the hills, and uniformed workers bend over the rows, harvesting the juice. This is the empire of Matteo Alacran, a feudal drug lord in the country of Opium, which lies between the United States and Aztlan, formerly Mexico. Field work, or any menial tasks, are done by "eejits," humans in whose brains computer chips have been installed to insure docility. Alacran, or El Patron, has lived 140 years with the help of transplants from a series of clones, a common practice among rich men in this world. The intelligence of clones is usually destroyed at birth, but Matt, the latest of Alacran's doubles, has been spared because he belongs to El Patron. He grows up in the family's mansion, alternately caged and despised as an animal and pampered and educated as El Patron's favorite. Gradually he realizes the fate that is in store for him, and with the help of Tam Lin, his bluff and kind Scottish bodyguard, he escapes to Aztlan. There he and other "lost children" are trapped in a more subtle kind of slavery before Matt can return to Opium to take his rightful place and transform his country.
Nancy Farmer, a two-time Newbery honoree, surpasses even her marvelous novel, The Ear, The Eye and the Arm in the breathless action and fascinating characters of The House of the Scorpion. Readers will be reminded of Orson Scott Card's Ender in Matt's persistence and courage in the face of a world that intends to use him for its own purposes, and of Louis Sachar's Holes in the camaraderie of imprisoned boys and the layers of meaning embedded in this irresistibly compelling story. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell
Product Description:
Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium -- a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monster -- except for El Patrón. El Patrón loves Matt as he loves himself, because Matt is himself.
As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by a sinister cast of characters, including El Patrón's power-hungry family, and he is surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards. Escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But escape from the Alacr n Estate is no guarantee of freedom, because Matt is marked by his difference in ways he doesn't even suspect.
Fields of white opium poppies stretch away over the hills, and uniformed workers bend over the rows, harvesting the juice. This is the empire of Matteo Alacran, a feudal drug lord in the country of Opium, which lies between the United States and Aztlan, formerly Mexico. Field work, or any menial tasks, are done by "eejits," humans in whose brains computer chips have been installed to insure docility. Alacran, or El Patron, has lived 140 years with the help of transplants from a series of clones, a common practice among rich men in this world. The intelligence of clones is usually destroyed at birth, but Matt, the latest of Alacran's doubles, has been spared because he belongs to El Patron. He grows up in the family's mansion, alternately caged and despised as an animal and pampered and educated as El Patron's favorite. Gradually he realizes the fate that is in store for him, and with the help of Tam Lin, his bluff and kind Scottish bodyguard, he escapes to Aztlan. There he and other "lost children" are trapped in a more subtle kind of slavery before Matt can return to Opium to take his rightful place and transform his country.
Nancy Farmer, a two-time Newbery honoree, surpasses even her marvelous novel, The Ear, The Eye and the Arm in the breathless action and fascinating characters of The House of the Scorpion. Readers will be reminded of Orson Scott Card's Ender in Matt's persistence and courage in the face of a world that intends to use him for its own purposes, and of Louis Sachar's Holes in the camaraderie of imprisoned boys and the layers of meaning embedded in this irresistibly compelling story. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell
Product Description:
Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium -- a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monster -- except for El Patrón. El Patrón loves Matt as he loves himself, because Matt is himself.
As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by a sinister cast of characters, including El Patrón's power-hungry family, and he is surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards. Escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But escape from the Alacr n Estate is no guarantee of freedom, because Matt is marked by his difference in ways he doesn't even suspect.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - The House of The Scorpion by Nancy Farmer Science Fiction
_ In Opium a land of poppy fields between America and modern day Mexico Matt Alacran is a normal young boy; at least that's what he thinks. When he met El Patron, a 140-year-old man, everything changed. His mansion was decorated exquisitely so you could tell that he is a very rich and powerful man. There are scorpions, the symbol of his family, around the house. What El Patron actually did that made him so wealthy, Matt did not know. He has a very intense intimidating and suspicious manner. Matt ... Read More
Rating: - Recommended for middle schoolers through adults (a review of the audiobook)
Limiting this book to a young adult audience is a disservice to the book and to the themes it brings up. This would be a fantastic book for an adult discussion group - there are so many themes and controversial topics that a group could discuss for hours and hours.
That being said, I nearly quit listening to this audiobook after the first hour. It was sooooo slow to get started. On top of that, it was often dark and opressive. However, after the character Tam Lin comes in to the story ... Read More
Rating: 
- The House of the Scorpion
While the plot is a well-crafted one, this sometimes frustratingly long book is one best enjoyed in short bursts.There are passages of long, dry description that hinder the reader and make the story less interesting than it is.The characters are all well-developed, particularly Tam Lin, with unique individual personalities (or, with the case of the eejits, a lack of one).It's not a book I would ordinarily read, but I did enjoy it nevertheless, although it's not something completely stunning and ... Read More
Rating: - A Sopisticated and Frightening Possible Future
Nancy Farmer is a wonderful writer; her splendidly genre-blending funny and futuristic adventure story The Ear, the Eye and the Arm is a perennial favorite of mine and my children, and I have gone out of my way to read all the other books she has written, with no disappointments. But she has grown enormously! In addition to being a compulsive page-turner, "The House of the Scorpion" is sophisticated prose. It is a wonderfully complex, rich and believable tale, with such real characters that they seem ... Read More
Rating: - wonderful futuristic story for adolescents
I read this novel with a group of fairly mature fourth-graders who loved it.We discussed cloning, DNA and related issues, and also the drug trade between Mexico and the USA - fairly advanced topics for their age.I think it is more appropriate for middle-schoolers.It has won several well-deserved awards.
- The House of The Scorpion by Nancy Farmer Science Fiction_ In Opium a land of poppy fields between America and modern day Mexico Matt Alacran is a normal young boy; at least that's what he thinks. When he met El Patron, a 140-year-old man, everything changed. His mansion was decorated exquisitely so you could tell that he is a very rich and powerful man. There are scorpions, the symbol of his family, around the house. What El Patron actually did that made him so wealthy, Matt did not know. He has a very intense intimidating and suspicious manner. Matt ... Read More
- Recommended for middle schoolers through adults (a review of the audiobook)Limiting this book to a young adult audience is a disservice to the book and to the themes it brings up. This would be a fantastic book for an adult discussion group - there are so many themes and controversial topics that a group could discuss for hours and hours.
That being said, I nearly quit listening to this audiobook after the first hour. It was sooooo slow to get started. On top of that, it was often dark and opressive. However, after the character Tam Lin comes in to the story ... Read More
- The House of the ScorpionWhile the plot is a well-crafted one, this sometimes frustratingly long book is one best enjoyed in short bursts.There are passages of long, dry description that hinder the reader and make the story less interesting than it is.The characters are all well-developed, particularly Tam Lin, with unique individual personalities (or, with the case of the eejits, a lack of one).It's not a book I would ordinarily read, but I did enjoy it nevertheless, although it's not something completely stunning and ... Read More
- A Sopisticated and Frightening Possible FutureNancy Farmer is a wonderful writer; her splendidly genre-blending funny and futuristic adventure story The Ear, the Eye and the Arm is a perennial favorite of mine and my children, and I have gone out of my way to read all the other books she has written, with no disappointments. But she has grown enormously! In addition to being a compulsive page-turner, "The House of the Scorpion" is sophisticated prose. It is a wonderfully complex, rich and believable tale, with such real characters that they seem ... Read More
- wonderful futuristic story for adolescentsI read this novel with a group of fairly mature fourth-graders who loved it.We discussed cloning, DNA and related issues, and also the drug trade between Mexico and the USA - fairly advanced topics for their age.I think it is more appropriate for middle-schoolers.It has won several well-deserved awards.
