House of the Scorpion

Fiction by: Nancy Farmer

Reviewed by: Devlin F
Not in NVHS library as of this post
5 out of 5

How would you feel if you were a hated and considered an animalistic clone? Or how would you feel knowing that you weren’t born, but harvested in a lab? Or even knowing that the only reason you exist is to give organs. This is the life of Matteo, Matt as he’s called. At first this book starts just a little bit too slow for me. But when it picks up it picks up. This book takes place in a land between Mexico and the United States, called Opium. For one El patron, Matt’s “owner”, grows opium by the mile. When Matt was young, he was restricted to what he could do and had no outside contacts, beside the TV. But when Matt falls on broken window glass, his world changes, he comes upon the “big house” where el Patron lives. He bleeds profusely and the doctors must save him. The family doctors and maids take care of him until they discover what’s written on his foot, “Property of the Alacran Estate”. Then, because they have discovered he’s a clone, he’s tossed onto the street like a common pig. But, to Matt’s advantage, el Patron intervenes and saves Matt’s life. Then he’s forced into the care of an abusive maid, Rosa. Rosa treats Matt like a bug, as he was forced to sleep on a mound of sawdust! Much later in the book, when el Patron’s dying, Matt discovers his one purpose of life, to keep el Patron alive. Matt tries to deny this to himself but can’t. As he is getting prepped for surgery and death Celia, who took care of him when he was young, tells Matt and everyone something that will cost her her life as a normal human. Find out if Matt survives and what happens to Celia. I highly suggest this book if you like a little fantasy, but the events in the book could still happen.

Nancy Farmer, whose books have had much recognition as the best, is a very good author and tells the story perfectly. Her descriptions of the characters are amazing. She does a grand job in tying up any unknown information at the end. I thought that it was a great read, though it’s over 300 pages long. But if length doesn’t bother you, this is the book you should read.