The House of the Scorpion

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Summary: The House of the Scorpion
Review: Book Review for The House of the Scorpion

This book is called The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. The genre was fiction. Nancy's previous books were The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, and A girl named Disaster. They were two Newbery Honor Winners. Other books include Do You Know Me, The Warm Place, and three young picture books for young children. The book length was 380 pages long. The plot in the book was that there was this family called the Alacran's. The history of this family is BIG to the young ones in the future. There are a lot of problems going on in the family, so they need to find out what is happening. The story begins when the Alacrans lived by the border of Mexico and lived in the Poppy Fields. One fine day, Eduardo found a baby in a basket crying. Then Eduardo called Justin to come see what they got, they got a baby boy! Then they tried to think of names, so they the named him Matteo. In the book, I thought it was interesting when in the beginning, before you start the story, in the family history; Matteo had a clone, which came later in the book. I thought the characters were unbelievable. A sentence the author wrote is "Always choose your bodyguards from another country".
Then in the middle when Matteo was 14, he went to a house. As he looked around the house, he saw a deadly scorpion. So he ran away. He told his dad about it. He said to never go there yet again. So he went without telling his dad. He went in the house, and then something terrible happened! He got bit by the deadly scorpion!! So his dad couldn't find him. So he called the Police, and did a Search and Rescue. They found him on the ground in the scorpion house. He died in the hospital. That's why you should get this book!




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Summary: potential award winner!
Review: I agree wholeheartedly with Ursula K. Le Guin's comments on the back cover, and with the published reviews; along with an exciting plot, Ms. Farmer gives readers a thoroughly imagined future setting, moral passion, and characters we can relate to on a human level. Little Matt has lived all his life (until age 6) in a shack in the fields with his loving guardian, the cook Celia. When other children discover him, Matt is both scared and excited. He longs to make contact with the other kids, but, when he tries, both wonderful and terrible things start to happen to him. Gradually Matt begins to understand that he is a clone, born specifically to provide body parts for El Patron. Although most people despise clones as less than animal, Matt is lucky to have a few people who love him - and he also has a sharp intelligence and determination. Will these things be enough to help him avoid his preordained fate? Published as a children's book (for ages 12 and up), "House of the Scorpion" should also be read by all adults with any taste for science fiction. I'd love to see it get the Nebula as well as the Printz award! It's a challenging book, for teens and adults alike, but also engaging, stimulating and rewarding.

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Summary: really good book!!
Review: I had to read this book for school and I thought it wouldn't be good because the title isn't that appealing to me but it was really good!!! It is about a boy named Matt and he is a clone of El Patron, a really important guy who is 143 years old and basically controls everyone. Most clones get their brains damaged so they aren't like normal people but Matt didn't so he is basically a normal kid but he was never allowed to go outside of his tiny cottage near the Alacran Mansion. One day, while Celia, his "mom" type person, is out working as a maid at the mansion, Matt sees the Alacran kids outside, so he breaks the window open and jumps outside to play with them. He cuts his bare foot on some of the glass so the kids take him to their house. Then Rosa, another maid, sees the tattoo on his foot that proves he is a clone and she locks him up. Throughout the book Matt learns more about clones and about how evil El Patron really is. Even though El P might seem nice to Matt in the beginning, he is just using Matt. If you want to know if Matt escapes from the prison Rosa put him in, why he wasn't brain damaged and why El Patron had a clone made (and how he lived to be 143)...then read this awesome book!! It is very exciting and the things that happen to Matt are really interesting. It's so good you won't want to put it down.

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Summary: Adam's Review
Review: The authors purpose for writing this novel was to give the reader suspense and mystery. One example is when Matt, the main character, is framed for killing his friends dog when he didn't. He then must prove his innocents to a crowd of prejudice people. It is suspenceful when one of Matt's best friend's, Tam Lin, pretends to become evil in order to help save Matt.I think the author definitely achieved her two goals of being suspenseful and providing mystery. This book was brilliantly written.

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Summary: Great book even for adults!!
Review: The House of the Scorpion is not your everyday futuristic, well-written Sci-fi book. It is great for a broad spectrum of reading ages. I am 22 years old and I really enjoyed the book. It was a smooth read that kept you very interested each second. I never wanted to put it down.

The House of the Scorpion is about a boy Matt who is the clone of a 140 year old drug lord named Matteo Alacran or El Patron. His Alacran Drug Estate is located where northern Mexico is today bordering the United States. It goes through Matt's life learning finally at 6 he is a clone, and then all the tribulations and trials of being a clone in the Alacran mansion. He has few friends and a love at the mansion but has many more enemies. Matt lives the life of luxury as El Patron's clone but what lies ahead for Matt... You will just have to find out by reading this great Sci-fi book, but remember it is is not like other Sci-Fi books and will keep you reading it!!! Enjoy!

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Summary: The best book ever
Review: The House of the Scorpion was my all time favorite book. The plot is about a boy, Matt. He is a clone of an evil dictator, El Patrón. The book takes place in the future, where clones are just used for spare parts. When a clone is born, he (or she) is supposed to be given an injection that "eats away" at their brain, leaving them like a wild animal. Everyone thinks that Matt is like that, but he was never given the injection, and is raised as a normal child. Also, instead of slavery, people implant a computer chip in a person or animal's brain, so that it does whatever you want it to. Also, almost everyone he knows is taking drugs, which most people do. The book in the beginning is about Matt's adventures, until El Patrón has a heart attack. Matt is his only clone, so the doctors start to take out his heart, but find out that he has a heart problem, that makes his heart is unfit for transplant. He ends up running away, and is enslaved at a plankton factory. The book is really good because even though it is sci-fi, what happens in the book could happen in real life. If people clone, then the clones could become slaves just cut up like animals for spare parts. Another lesson is that things aren't always what they appear to be. A group of people saves matt from being shot, then lets him live with them. They end up enslaving him, forcing him to work at a plankton factory. They start out being nice, acting like they want to be his friend, then they use that to get him to be a slave. A lot of politicians are like that. When they are trying to get elected they act nice, and say they will do a lot of good things that many people want, and then once they are elected, they do the complete opposite of that, and turn out to be nasty people. It also teaches a large lesson about prejudice. Everyone hates Matt because he is a clone, but when they don't know, they are friends with him. Many people judge someone else before they know them, except not to the extreme like the book. People actually leave him on a field to die when he is injured.

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Summary: Science fiction that's too close to believable.
Review: The House of the Scorpion, written by Newberry Honor book author, Nancy Farmer, has earned the National Book Award and is a Junior Library Guild Selection. An excellent example of literary merit, this novel draws you into its unique settings and expansive characters. You truly feel as if you are lost in the Poppy Fields in the midday heat on El Patron's estate or coughing and itching along with Matt as he endures months of captivity in a room filled with chicken litter and roaches. Farmer's characters are so believable you find yourself feeling compassion for a clone, and anger at those who treat him as anything less than human. Farmer cleverly uses figurative language and understatements to slowly build your curiosity and the suspense. You struggle along with Matt as he attempts to understand his purpose and what those who love him are trying desperately to convey to him.
"So many hints! So many clues! Like a pebble that starts an avalanche, Matt's fear shook loose more and more memories. Why had Tam Lin given him a chest full of supplies and maps? Why had Maria run from him when they found MacGregor's clone in the hospital? Because she knew! They all knew!"

The characters never are able to tell Matt directly what he so desperately wants to know.
"They're looking for you everywhere.....They've sent bodyguards to comb the stables and fields..... 'Why are they looking for me?' (Matt desperately wants to know.) 'You have to know. Tam Lin said you were too clever not to figure it out.' Matt felt turned to stone. The bodyguard evidently gave him more credit than he deserved. Matt hadn't figured it out- not really-until a few minutes ago."

Although this book has a science fictional flair to it, it appeals to a wider range of readers including those who enjoy suspense and mysteries. As well as, readers who are not afraid of controversial topics like cloning, drug lords, brain-deadened eejits and wealth that surpass morals and the laws. Within a classroom, this book could be used to stimulate discussions on present day controversies of cloning, stem cell research as well as nature vs. nurture, since Matt and El Patron had the same DNA however turned out to be very different people.

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Summary: I know many people will not agree with me...
Review: This book is well written. It perfectly protrays betrayel, wanting, isolation, and imprisonment near masterfully. There are also many things which will suddenly come which you will not expect.

Matteo Alacran, El Patron's clone, is raised and treated alternately between a peice of trash and a prince. Growing up this way, he comes to beleive he will spared the fate of other clones, but when El Patron has a heart attack, strange things to Matt. His heartbeat goes weird and he becomes unusable so he is spared..... but what will happens when El Patron has a second heart attack? WIll he be lucky again?

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Summary: The House of the Scorpion - A book about differences
Review: This is one of those rare books that you think of time and again, because it is that good. My 12-year-old and I both read it and it led to us discussing the ethics of cloning and the unfairness of life. Great book for this age group (and their parents!)

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Summary: Clone Harvesting Season Already?
Review: What a book! I couldn't put this one down once I began it. I am not usually a fan of futuristic sci-fi, but this one had a great story line about overcoming the odds that intriguied me. The whole idea of clones and the ethics of cloning are very hot topic at this time. This book provides at interesting take on what could be. The drug trafficking undertones adds another dimension to the social commentary contained within the pages, but the book never comes off as preachy or even attempting to sway your opinion either way. It's just a fantastic story!

One note of caution. The listing of family and connections that begins this story may appear daunting to some readers. When students have started this one I have told them parts of the story line to entice them, then told them to start reading and refer back to the list at the beginning of the book. Two pages of Spanish names is enough to freak some of my students out. Those who braved past it were truly glad they did.