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The House of the Scorpion

The House of the Scorpion is a novel by award-winning author Nancy Farmer. It is about a boy who was ignorant about the cruel world outside his home, and struggles to find his real identity along his journey to find out more of the world he never knew.

Matteo Alacran thought of himself as only an orphan. But one day, he was taken away from Celia, his caretaker, and he discovered that he was a clone of an Opium plantation owner, El Patron. Everyone in his estate thought of clones as animals or livestock and worse, monsters. As he was taken into El Patrón’s family, things began to change. He was treated well, but behind El Patrón’s back, everyone talked about how crazy it is to be taking care of a clone. Despite all the backstabbing in the household, Matt and Maria, the grand daughter of El Patron, remained friends and after many years, their relationship developed.

As Matt grew older, he also discovered some secrets of El Patrón’s estate and also of his family. One was that the hundreds of workers in the opium fields were eejits, people or animals with microchips implanted in their heads. He also learned as time passed, more secrets of the people he had trusted his own life, more than he could ever imagine and handle.

The House of the Scorpion is an exciting and dramatic story. It is recommended to everyone, especially to teenagers, because they can relate to the problems Matt was enduring at home. It is also painful to think while reading this story that it is connected to certain issues today like advanced technology, cloning and even child labor. It will make the reader think what can happen in our world in the future.

If you enjoyed thrilling and adventure stories like the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, City of Beasts by Isabel Allende and A Girl Named Disaster also by Nancy Farmer, you will definitely enjoy reading this excellent book. # Gaea Claver for NORDIS

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