The House of the Scorpion

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: The fact that the book won three awards does not surprise me at all. Some people may think this book is horrible but they are wrong. From the first sentence, _The House of the Scorpion_ speeds right in to an extremely well-written story.

Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE
Review: This has got to be the best book I've ever read...and I've read Artemis Fowl, the Harry Potters, and the Lemony Snicket books. In a sense, it's Harry Potter without the magic. It focuses on Matt, a boy (or should I say clone?), living in the drug country of Opium. Because he is a clone, he is treated badly, because 'real' beings feel that he is inferior. He is raised by Celia, a slave, and is the clone of El Patron, the leader of Opium. He is also taken care of by Tam Lin, one of El Patron's bodyguards. He finds out that El Patron made him only to use his organs as transplants, and just in time he escapes to the country of Aztlan (present-day Mexico). There he is taken by an orphanage, and meets two new friends, Chacho and Fidelito. The three are moved to a plankton factory where they meet Ton-Ton. The keepers there treat them terribly, so they plan an escape plan to San Luis. They make it there, and Matt finds out that he is the actual leader of Opium, because El Patron has died. He goes back to Opium and finds out that everyone except for Celia, one of El Patrons other bodyguards, and Mr. Ortega, Matt's music teacher, had been killed. It's a gripping book just BEGGING for a sequel. Recommended to anyone who likes the Harry Potters and those kind of books.

Rating:
Summary: this reveiw does not to The House of the Scorpion justice
Review: this is terrific peice of scince fiction, filled with intresting science and tough moral issues. possibly the best thing about this book is the charictors; every one of them is a complete person, highly developed with strengths, weaknesses and emotions. even the most evil charictors envoke pity, and even the good people do bad things. as i said earlier, the science is also well developed; but the science discribed seems like such a small step away from where we are now that i got the eerie feeling that in my lifetime fiction like this could become reality

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book You Will Ever Read
Review: It all started in a little house in the poppy fields of Opium. A little boy named Matteo Allacran lived in this little house. He lives with a woman named Celia, but she is not his mom. One day two people visited the house when Celia was at work. Their names were Maria and Tom. They visited the house a couple days later and tried to get Matt to come out of the house. He had to break open the window and jump out. When he landed he landed on all the glass. The visitors had to carry him all of the way to their house. When they got there, a maid come out and carried him into the house. That?s when Matt found out his very deep secret that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He wasn't a human. He was a clone. A clone of the most powerful man in the world. El Patron. He was then put in a prison like place for a very long time. He was then rescued by Celia and was sent to El Patron. He was extremely old. He was about 140 years old!
Fourteen years later, he finds out a very deep secret about what clones are used for. He was then about to be used for it, but he escapes to the border and is then caught by a keeper. He owned an orphanage. He was then sent to another orphanage with two other people. Their names were Fidelito and Chacho. He also made another friend named Ton-Ton in the other orphanage. The keepers treated the ophans very bad. If they did anything wrong, then they got beaten. They decided to run. They made it, but there were many obstacles ahead. Find out what happens next in: The House of the Scorpion!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderous and Exciting!
Review: The House of the Scorpion is what you would call a book 'beyond its time'. Not only is the setting a century from now, but the sensation of feeling as if you were in a time warp flying through the future (well not quite as expressive as the Jetsons') is accompanied with reading the book itself. Nancy Farmer gives the life story of a young 'boy' who is actually a clone of a 140+ year old drug lord named Matteo Alacran, (or El Patron as he is more locally called throughout the book) ruler of the country of Opium (an area within 'former' Mexico and the US). Of course, the clone is also given the same name as well (Matt). In the beginning, Matt was grown within a cow (yes cow) from DNA given from El Patron. Despite his old age, El Patron creates his clones as a way to help him live on through the use of a clone's organs once his own grow bad. However, clones usually have their brains destroyed so any form of rebellion would be prevented. As for El Patron, he does exactly the opposite. Instead, he gives his clones the lap of luxury to give them confidence until it's too late.
As a young boy, Matt is shielded from the outside world from his caretaker Celia, cook of El Patron's mansion. As time progresses, Matt is later discovered and winds up in the Big House (El Patron's house). From here on Matt begins his long journey of self discovery to find out who and what he really is. However, no journey goes without obstacles. Tom, a son of a US senator's wife (ok the wife cheated a little), terrorizes Matt's life by doing whatever possible to make his life a nighmare. Likewise, the entire estate of the Alacran's segregate Matt from itself for what Matt is. On the other hand, Maria, daughter of the US senator (no cheating this time) ends up being Matt's secret crush, that is despite some difficulties in the beginning. Tam Lin is another of Matt's favorites. Originally being a 'terrorist', he is one of El Patron's top bodyguards and becomes Matt's as well. Tam Lin teaches Matt of nature and survival as he (Matt) soon learns these techniques and lessons would come to great use in the near future (You'll have to read why...hey I can't tell everything :)]. Secret passages, hospitals, exploration, captivity, love, self-discovery, and an all out war of mind over body plus much more is what one would find in this guaranteed Farmer classic: The House of the Scorpion.

Other info:
Reading Level: Middle School +
Recommendations: Great for school reports and projects or just for fun!
Overall: Guaranteed to send shivers down the spine and tears in the end! Will keep you begging for more!

Rating:
Summary: A Truly Enrapturing Novel
Review: Written on the same writing level as the Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl Series, House of the Scorpion was truly one of the best books I've read in a long time. Not only does the novel raise intriguing moral and social issues, but it has a plot full of surprises and deep characters that enchant your mind and your soul. Do yourself a favor and read this! Take it from a 14 year old boy---you will not be dissapointed.

Rating:
Summary: The House Of The Scorpion
Review: This book is the best book I've ever read I love how this book has everything. I was hooked the whole time it all starts out with this kid named Matteo Alacran who lives with a girl named Celia who live in a poppy field the size of 4 football fields combined Matteo (or matt) had been cut off from the world in which case he never played with kids the only thing he had was Celia who one day left for the market. 3 kids walked up to the house and asked him to play he couldn't answer knowing through the glass they couldn't here them so he grabbed a frying pan and took it through the window he ended up cutting his feet so one of the kids named Steven picked him up and brought him to the house where he found out he was one of the most hated creatures by man... a clone. He was kept in a room full of chicken litter and the only toys he had were old chicken bones his keeper (Rosa) who hated him more than anything. One day Celia was walking by and looked in his window in which case she saw he had been starved. Celia demanded the person who made matt come see what had happened turns out Matt's owner El Patron is one of the most powerful people in the world so he gave Matt the feast of his life but the creepy thing is that El Patron is 142 years old and in two days he's going to turn 143. But to Matt's surprise its also his birthday when he is turning 12 but then he try's to embarrass one of his best friends named Maria by making her give him one thing that would embarrass her beyond belief... a kiss. When she did it El Patron was overwhelmed with joy Matt finally realized he was beginning to be bossy but the only way he could calm down was music. In which case he demanded a music teacher everyone was so surprised because no one ever knew the El Patron had a musical side to him. Matt became the best music player in the house. One day Matt became curious when he was riding threw the poppy field with his best friend Tam Lin, Matt saw a person lying on the ground he asked Tam Lin what was wrong Tam Lin explained how that person was called an "Eejit" which is a person who can not think for themselves not even if it could save there own lifes.

The fantasy elements in this story are Matt being a clone they're being a man who is 143 yrs. And being so rich you have the best house and doctors in the world. I think this story's elements are just fine but I think there could have been more elements in this whole story which is 380 pages long I really do think if they added about 10 more fantasy elements then this book would be more popular then Harry Potter himself.

Rating:
Summary: Come and enter the world of a clone
Review: On a scale from one to five, we would rate the book House of the Scorpion a definite five. The House of the Scorpion is about a boy named Matt who is a clone of the powerful drug lord El Patron. Matt, El Patron's servants, and Matt's family all live in Opium, a strip of poppy fields between the U.S. and Aztlan, Mexico.
As Matt discovers the true purpose of his existence, an adventure of survival and secrecy ensues. Find out what happens to Matt and his life secret by reading The House of the Scorpion.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book
Review: This is a stellar book from beggining to end! Though I have not finished the book, I have yet to put it down. If you like sci-fi's this is a very good book for you. A story about clones, corrupt Mexico, and compelling twists that will blow you away.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Book of All Time
Review: I loved this book, I think it is the best book ever. I feel like I can relate to Matt Alacran. The characters are very detailed, some alike and some different. I highly recommend this book.