The story begins in a laboratory where 36 embryos are present.

Slowly but surely, they start to die off one by one until there is only a single embryo remaining. That one embryo is named Matt.

In the early part of the book, Matt is cherished and loved by his caretaker, Celia. However, one fateful day, Matt is discovered by some kids.

They take him away to their magnificent mansion. There, we are introduced to a mean and grouchy servant named Rosa. She treats Matt as if he were an animal, showing no kindness or compassion.

Finally, Matt gets to meet his creator, el Patron. But from that moment on, everything seems to take a turn for the worse.

If you're looking for a thrilling and edge-of-your-seat read, then pick up "House of the Scorpion". Although it may have some slow moments at times, it's still a captivating story that will keep you hooked until the very end.

Matteo Alcran, a misfit in society, embarks on a journey of struggle.

With unwavering determination, he challenges the rigid bonds that confine him.

Trust becomes a crucial element in his path, as he places his faith in those he believes can help him.

However, his gullibility also plays a role, sometimes leading him astray.

Despite the setbacks, Matteo refuses to give up.

He continues to push forward, defying the norms and expectations of society.

His story is one of perseverance and the pursuit of freedom.

It shows that even in the face of adversity, one can find the strength to break free and create their own destiny.

Matteo Alcran's struggle serves as an inspiration to all those who feel like outsiders, proving that anything is possible with determination, trust, and a bit of naivete.

I really liked the fact that Nancy Farmer brought up several very relevant issues in this novel. These issues include cloning, drugs, and the search for a sense of belonging.

Matt is a clone living in Opium, a place where he is despised by almost everyone. Through his experiences, the reader can identify with his struggles and root for him to be accepted throughout the novel.

The author set the book in a country based on the drug industry, which provides a lot of room for discussion about this topic, as well as cloning. Both of these issues are of great interest to teenagers and are likely to spark their opinions. Although the book does not delve deeply into the morality of either issue, there are many starting points for discussion.

The social hierarchy in both Opium and Aztlán also provides material for philosophical discussions about how a society "should" be and what is "fair."

Despite all the great potential for discussion, I was not completely captivated by this book. I managed to finish it, but it didn't meet my expectations after hearing other people's reviews and seeing all the awards it has been nominated for. I think the book is a bit too long for its intended audience. The story could have been told more concisely or perhaps made into a series, with one part focusing on the story at El Patrón's mansion and the other on Matt's adventures in Aztlán. I would probably only recommend this book to students who are really interested in the topics it raises, as it can be time-consuming and tiresome otherwise.

Wow...Just wow.

Here is an extensive list of awards this remarkable book has won: National Book Award in 2002, Newbery Honor in 2003, Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book in 2003, Buxtehuder Bulle in 2003 (Germany), ALA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults, IRA Young Adults' Choices, Sequoyah Young Adult Award, Volunteer State Award in 2006, Arizona Young Readers Teen Award in 2005, South Carolina Junior Readers Award from 2005 - 2006, Rhode Island Teen Book Award nominee in 2004, Young Hoosier Book Award in 2006, Nevada Young Readers' Award in 2005, Senior Young Readers' Choice Award by the Pacific Northwest Library Association in 2005, and the Bay Area Book Reviewers’ Association Award for Children’s Literature.

Yes, I am commencing this review with this book's impressive resume. It seems only just to highlight when a YA novel has received such extensive praise for over a decade. It was, in fact, one of the primary reasons I initially picked up the book. It felt as if it was tailor-made for me...The cover art, although simplistic, is visually captivating. With countless literary achievements, a dystopian theme (I'm a huge fan of YA dystopia, in case you haven't noticed), and topics that push the boundaries and make you think deeply. It was like a perfectly wrapped book present, eagerly awaiting my discovery.

When I finally opened this book...I could hardly put it down. It was filled with action and intensity. But that wasn't what truly ignited my interest. It was the thought-provoking nature of the story. I was truly impressed. There are numerous topics covered in this story: human rights, socialism, the debate between predeterminism and self-determinism, slavery, and the world of cloning. It explores a wide range of areas and does so with great skill. It's not overly political or preachy. It simply compels one to pause and reflect on life. To me, that's a winning formula when it comes to writing. But wait! There's more...

The story is also highly unique. Firstly, the setting. Set in a future Mexico, it's evident that the author has in-depth personal knowledge about the culture and aspects related to the U.S./Mexican border. I relished reading about a place I knew little about. It made the story even more fascinating for me. I wasn't just learning about Mexico; I was experiencing it in a different era.

The way the cloning topic is approached was also novel to me. The main character, Matt, discovers his true identity throughout the novel. He is regarded as livestock or a source for harvesting organs. But this combines with a coming-of-age narrative. And soon, one realizes that he is striving to figure out who he is. Not who or what society deems him to be, but who he is in his own eyes. It's powerful and beautiful to witness this unfold.

There is NOT a love triangle. Thank goodness! I could write an entire essay on this alone. But I'll spare you because many of you probably already understand. Now, there is a small love story...But it's not the main focus. It's a part of the story that makes sense and actually adds a nice dimension. For once, I can say I liked it and it warmed my heart amidst the heavy topics.

I will conclude with this. The Chaos Walking: A Trilogy is, by far, my favorite YA dystopia series (the Hunger Games doesn't even come close anymore). This is the first book I've read that is on par with it. If you're a fan of Patrick Ness, this is a book well worth your time. Now...to prepare for the sequel!

Great book!

I read it when I was a child, and it was just as good as I remembered it, if not even better.

The story is truly interesting and compelling. There wasn't a single part of it that bored me, which is quite rare.

The characters are well-developed and engaging, making it easy to become invested in their lives and experiences.

The plot is full of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat, eager to find out what happens next.

The author's writing style is clear and concise, yet also beautiful and descriptive, painting a vivid picture in your mind.

This book is a classic for a reason, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great read.

The House of the Scorpion was truly amazing. It was like a whole new world opened up before my eyes. If this is the kind of quality I can expect from the books I'll read in 2012, then I'm really in for a treat. It's a masterpiece of literature. I had never read a Nancy Farmer book before, although I had rented The Sea of Trolls twice but never got around to reading it. I was extremely satisfied with this book and couldn't stop recommending it to everyone I knew. Sadly, they haven't read it yet.

The characters in the book were all very well-developed. Matt, the main character, was a kind and curious child. He made mistakes like any other child, which made him very relatable. The "villains" were also humanized, which made them both hateable and pitiful at the same time. Rosa was a great example of this.

The plot of the book was slow-paced at first, but it gradually built up to a thrilling climax. Some of the surprises were expected, but there were still enough twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat. The ending left me hanging, which made me eager to read the sequel.

Overall, I highly recommend The House of the Scorpion to mature audiences. It's a great book with a good moral and well-written characters and plot. I can't wait to read more of Nancy Farmer's work.

The House of the Scorpion (Matteo Alacran #1) by Nancy Farmer is a captivating and thought-provoking novel.

Set in the fictional country of Opium, a strip of land between Mexico and the United States ruled by the powerful drug lord Matteo Alacran, or El Patron, who is over 140 years old. The story follows the life of Matt, a clone of El Patron.

For the first six years of his life, Matt lives with Celia, a cook, in a small house on the edge of the poppy fields. When he is discovered by three children, his life takes a drastic turn. He is treated kindly at first, but when his true identity as a clone is revealed, he is locked in a room and treated like an animal.

However, El Patron intervenes and gives Matt clothes, his own room, and a bodyguard, Tam Lin. Matt befriends Maria, and their relationship blossoms into romance. But when a cruel joke reveals his true identity to him, Matt discovers the dark secret behind clones in Opium.

He learns that all clones are supposed to be injected with a compound that cripples their brains and turns them into mindless animals meant to donate organs. In denial, Matt convinces himself that El Patron has other plans for him.

As Matt struggles to come to terms with his identity, he faces many challenges and obstacles. He must navigate the dangerous world of Opium, filled with powerful and ruthless people, while also trying to understand his own place in it.

The House of the Scorpion is a powerful and engaging story that explores themes of identity, cloning, power, and morality. It is a must-read for fans of science fiction and dystopian literature.

The House of the Scorpion is an engaging book that delves into the life of a clone named Matteo Alacran, or Matt for short.

He was cloned from El Patron and harvested from a cow, and his mother figure is Celia. When Matt lives with Celia in the poppy field, he is oblivious to the fact that he is different from others. However, his life takes a significant turn when he is brought to "The Big House." Here, he meets Maria, a girl he likes and who likes him back. But unfortunately, he is treated horribly by the other inhabitants of the house. For six months, he endures a life similar to that of an animal.

Everything changes when Maria's father sends a letter to El Patron, revealing the mistreatment Matt has been suffering. When El Patron arrives at "The Big House," Matt's treatment improves as long as El Patron is around. But once El Patron leaves, Matt is once again treated with disrespect.

This book is a captivating blend of suspense, action, mystery, and even a touch of horror. It has the power to evoke a range of emotions, making you both cry and laugh. Despite being a long book, it is so well-written that even non-readers like myself can't help but love it. It is truly one of the best books I have read in a long time, and I highly recommend it to everyone. Although it is a fictional work, the author's skillful writing makes you empathize deeply with Matt, and you feel as if you are part of the story. That, in my opinion, is the beauty of The House of the Scorpion.

The story is set in the future when the country of Mexico no longer exists. Between the US and what was once Mexico is a vast stretch of land filled with poppy fields, known as Opium. And the ruler of the Opium region is El Patrón, whose real name is Matteo Alacrán - a man over 140 years old and the leader who single-handedly built the Opium empire, supplying drugs to the rest of the world.

This future is also the place where soulless clones exist, and Matteo Alacrán - called Matt to distinguish him from the living El Patrón - is one of them. Matt was created from a cluster of cells of El Patrón, developed into an embryo and implanted in the womb of a cow, and then the cow "gave birth" to Matt. Matt's unusual birth, like that of many other soulless clones, has made him and those like him despised and treated brutally by society.

At the beginning of the story, Matt is given to a servant of the Alacrán family named Celia to raise "on loan". Because on paper and in the eyes of society, Matt is regarded as the "property" of El Patrón, a living being without citizenship rights or enough "personality" to be treated like a real human. However, Celia still treats Matt like a loving mother, caring for her "child". Then one day, Matt encounters the Alacrán family, and he is treated like an animal by them, imprisoned in extremely dirty living conditions and punished by Tom - the many-generations-removed, mischievous and evil grandson of El Patrón. These chapters show how cruel humans can be when they are led by the thought of hating and despising those who do not have the same origin as them, in this case, the soulless clones; that the soulless clones are not human beings, but just a form of possession, a kind of inferior thing that should not exist in this world and should be eliminated. It is not until El Patrón appears and learns how Matt - his soulless clone, identical to him in appearance and genetic material - is being treated that Matt's life takes a different turn.

El Patrón allows Matt to live in the luxurious mansion of the Alacrán family, treating him as a member of the family, a member of whom he is extremely proud. He hires a tutor to teach Matt the piano, provides him with learning conditions and hires a bodyguard, Tam Lin, to protect him. Matt grows up in awe, gratitude and admiration of El Patrón. However, everyone has their dark side, especially a person who has become rich and maintained his wealth for a long time like El Patrón. Matt's growth in the Alacrán family is the process of a boy facing the ugliness and the insidious schemes of the jealous family members towards the attention and pride that El Patrón shows to him. At the same time, it is also the process by which Matt gradually realizes the truth behind the wealth and prosperity of the Opium empire, and what El Patrón has done to maintain that wealth and prosperity.

From a child who uses the ugliness he learned from El Patrón to fight against the ugliness and injustice aimed at him by the Alacrán family, especially represented by Tom and his mother Felicia, Matt gradually learns to see El Patrón for who he really is. He is a person who uses his former poor and humble background to justify his greedy desire to possess everyone and everything. He is a person who has built the Opium empire by implanting chips in the heads of humans and animals with their own minds and thoughts, turning them into "zombies" called eejits - mindless machines that only know how to work tirelessly until they die of thirst in the poppy fields to harvest drugs for him. He is also, as Matt finally concludes in horror, a man who ordered the creation of his own soulless clones with the aim of taking their organs, helping El Patrón realize his desire to maintain an eternal life and a body that is not damaged by time and age.

The theme and background of "The House of The Scorpion" may be difficult to imagine and understand for some young readers. However, the lessons and messages that the author weaves into Matt's journey are not difficult to understand at all. Referring to themes related to scientific progress and moral boundaries, the book allows readers to accompany Matt in his discoveries, thoughts and experiences through the events, people that Matt encounters and goes through. The conflicts, pressures, feelings and finally the formation of Matt's views are also presented very realistically and vividly. Especially the way Matt views El Patrón, a man who has given Matt the opportunity to be educated, but whose crimes are always worthy of being judged, when the purpose of creating Matt is ultimately only to use him, to take what he can give; when he creates such a magnificent Opium empire by depriving others of their free will and humanity.

And although it is a story set in the future, "The House of The Scorpion" also creates a sense of closeness for readers in the way the author weaves in the viewpoints originating from the religious views of the devout characters in the book, especially those like El Patrón's great-grandson. This viewpoint helps people like El Patrón's great-grandson see the horror in the desire of people like El Patrón to exist forever - those who want to seize the power of creation and go against the normal cycle of life (that is, there must be death) by using scientific progress to carry out inhumane and immoral acts.

Above all, "The House of The Scorpion" is also an exciting story about the journey of a soulless clone finding and defining his identity, that is, who he is when he is always an exact copy of someone else. This journey has helped Matt find the strength within himself - the strength to survive in the harshest of circumstances, find the truth that whether a person is a natural born human or a cloned human, they are all the same, and are all equally worthy of having the same civil rights. This journey has also helped Matt find friends and the connection between people - something he severely lacks during the time he lives with the Alacrán family - on the way to escape from being imprisoned and targeted after El Patrón dies and he no longer has any value to be used. And finally, this journey has also helped Matt find the purpose of his actions, now that his "master" - El Patrón - has died, and Matt officially becomes Matteo Alacrán - the new leader of the Opium empire.

It is extremely enjoyable beyond expectations. The YA/sci-fi genre story is about Matt, a boy who is a clone of El Patron, the powerful drug lord of the Opium Empire. El Patron created clones to use their organs as spare parts. If the original gets seriously ill, he can have a transplant immediately. Clones are regarded as a kind of livestock, so the people in the Alacran household are very disgusted and treat Matt very badly.

Although the story has a bit of drama, some dialogues also make people laugh and feel excited many times. Later, Matt has to go on an adventure in a strange land that has stopped time for a hundred years to encounter the real future world. (There is a Mexican cultural flavor throughout the story because Opium is located between the American continent and Azlan, or what was originally Mexico.)

If the story is developed in a mystery style, it might be more interesting. But telling it straightforwardly like this is still very enjoyable, and the translation is also very good. Surprisingly, this book is classified in the middle grade category, but some scenes and moments really hurt the hearts of readers over 20 years old like me. 55

This book was extremely difficult to read.

The abuses described within its pages were truly awful, leaving a sense of horror and disgust.

The entire story seemed to be enveloped in darkness, with no glimmer of hope or light.

It was a harrowing experience to journey through the narrative, as it delved deep into the depths of human depravity and suffering.

The author's vivid descriptions and detailed accounts made it all the more real and disturbing.

Despite its challenging nature, however, this book also has the power to make readers reflect on the darker aspects of society and human nature.

It serves as a reminder of the importance of standing up against abuse and fighting for a more just and compassionate world.

Overall, while this book may not be for the faint of heart, it is a powerful and thought-provoking work that will stay with readers long after they have turned the final page.

Wow, I really despised this work. It was such a struggle for me to force myself to complete it.

I am completely perplexed as to how this managed to win such highly esteemed awards.

The concept was an interesting dystopian one, which is typically something I adore. However, the plot was extremely disjointed, jumping around without any clear direction.

The characters were flat and unidimensional, and they really grated on my nerves.

The dialogue was utterly unrealistic and bordered on the absurd. Moreover, there were several blatant grammatical errors that made me extremely frustrated.

Worst of all, I was incredibly bored for the vast majority of the book. I would highly recommend skipping this one!