House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

F
FAR
SciFi/Fantasy

Nancy Farmer, a two-time Newbery honoree creates compelling, fascinating characters in the The House of the Scorpion. Matteo Alacran, a feudal drug lord in the country of Opium, which lies between the United States and Aztlan, formerly Mexico the setting of this novel. Field work,or any menial tasks, are done by "eejits," humans in whose brains computer chips have been installed to insure docility. Alacran, or El Patron, has lived 140 years with the help of transplants from a series of clones, a common practice among rich men in this world. The intelligence of clones is usually destroyed at birth, but Matt, the latest of Alacran's doubles, has been spared because he belongs to El Patron. He grows up in the family's mansion, alternately caged and despised as an animal and pampered and educated as El Patron's favorite. Gradually he realizes the fate that is in store for him, and with the help of Tam Lin, his rough and kind Scottish bodyguard, he escapes to Aztlan. There he and other "lost children" are trapped in a more subtle kind of slavery before Matt can return to Opium to take his rightful place and transform his country. Readers will be reminded of Louis Sachar's Holes in the camaraderie of imprisoned boys and the layers of meaning embedded in this compelling story. Posted by Mrs. Sewell