Farmer, Nancy "The House of the Scorpion" New York, Simon Pulse 2002
I chose this book because I've heard about this book for almost 4 years and i've never bothered to read it, even though it had 3 award stickers on the front, but as I learned more about controversial issues, with one of them being cloning, I chose this book as I remembered that the book's theme revolves around cloning. It's mostly mystery/realistic fiction with some romance and it takes place in a somewhat expanded border line between the U.S. and Mexico and a good distance toward the future, where there are hovercrafts and cloning.
The story revolves around Matt, who is born as a clone somewhere between the mexico, u.s. border, and he struggles to understand why he is treated so differently from other people. He realizes that he is the clone of El Patron, who is the most powerful human being and drug lord alive, and is still alive at 140 years old. He finds out that he is the only clone that survived without his brain being destroyed because El Patron has enough power to break the law. He gradually discovers more about his life and the life that clones would have as miserable and fated to die for their genetic double, Matt realizes this and tries to change and no one acknowleges him except Maria,Ceilia, and Tam Lin who's parents are close to El Patron, and eventually becomes close friends with Matt. Tam Lin is the supposed "father figure" as he is picked by Matt as his body guard and treats Matt like a human being along with Maria and Ceilia. He also learns about El Patron, how he came to power, his chracteristics, and what he does as he ages. He eventually comes to find out that El Patron kept his brain alive for brain transplants, but Matt gets taken in early as El Patron needs a replacement heart. El Patron tells Matt the story of how he is the 7th clone to do what he does, and that he's no different from the other clones that he raised. Matt learning that he is no longer safe at the mansion that El Patron built as Ceilia made Matt's heart too weak for a transplant. El Patron dies and Matt runs for the border and tries to cross to the United States, where he is told by his mother figure "Ceilia" how everyone in the United States has their own house and live peacefully. He gets caught while attempting to run for the U.S. and gets taken in to a type of border facility, where he like the other children, are kept there to to do dirty work for the rest of their lives. He soon finds a way out with the friends he makes at the facility, escapes back to Atzlan, the country that was Mexico and meet Maria and her mother, who is supposedly well connected with high end officials in the U.S. and Aztlan gives Matt the assurance that he will take over as El Patron and end the drug empire.
Matt is physically redescribed as this book portrays the story from Matt's age at the beginning of the story 7, to 15, where the book ends. He is described as a somewhat average kid, not scrawny, or not bulky. As he starts being educated at El Patron's mansion, he can be seen as a genius with a vast amount of knowledge in most subject far too advanced for his age, and has musical talent as well. Matt being the main character is the best described character in the book, he has the interesting ability to find inner qualities inside himself that makes him so different from human beings, from clones, and tries to change throughout the whole book. Being El Patron's clone he was expected to be just like the drug lord himself, but as he grew up, the experiences he had as a human being ultimately changed him to turn out good and fight against the drug empire.
I realized that after reading this book, that it was one of the most briliantly written book of all time, not because I had an interest in science fiction, it was because how everything tied together was what made me love this book. The book gave an emphasis on moral and controversial issues at the very end, where the law defined what a clone can and can't do, and how that was a realistic example of what can actually happen if human cloning went in the wrong hands. It also showed that change can be done on to oneself if they have the will and courage to do so, the entire book proves that you can change yourself.
I realized that this book is an incredibly eye opening book, because of the way it is told. It is told through an partially omniscient narrator, and through Matt's perspective. The story was compelling because even though he was a clone, he was no different than any other human being, and that was what allowed me to relate to this book as a human being.
Nancy Farmer has written other newberry award winning books such as "the ear, the eye, and the arm", and "A girl named disaster" she has also written various picture books for children. I think that "The House of The Scorpion" is a very good book to discuss about the controversial issues of cloning, and how that it can be closely tied to the near future of the world today.
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