Reviews: (by author)

Farmer, Nancy. The House of the Scorpion. NY: Atheneum, 2002. ISBN 0-689-85222-3.

This science fiction novel by Nancy Farmer is a winner of National Book Award, Newbery Honor and Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in young adult literature. The House of the Scorpion is a complex and thought-provoking novel about Matt, the clone of Matteo Alacrán, a powerful drug lord in the opium country that stretches along the borders of United States and Aztlán (former Mexico). Following protagonist's journey to save himself from being murdered by the man he feels closest to, the reader confronts the ethical and practical complications of cloning, religion and international politics. The House of the Scorpion is worthy of its young audience but will not disappoint adult readers. It is a necessary read for those residing along Mexican-U.S. border.

Highly recommended.

Reviewed by A.B., October 2003

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