1. The House of the Scorpion Nancy Farmer

2. Setting The story takes place in the future in a country called Opium. Opium is a strip of land between Aztalan (once Mexico) and the United States. The majority of the story takes place on the poppy farms in Opium. The area is remote except for those who are members of El Patron’s family.

3. Genre The genre of the story is Science Fiction. It takes place in the future and has technology that we currently do not have. For instance, the Eejits are people who have been controlled with a microchip in their brain.

4. Characters The main character in the book is a young man named Matt, who is a clone of El Patron. Throughout the book, he struggles with his identity and whether or not he is a clone or human. He wants to be accepted and loved. He shows characteristics of El Patron, such as shrewdness and intelligence. Another character within the book is Maria. Maria is a young girl who is close in age with Matt. She is a caring individual who eventually comes to see Matt as human as well.

5. Plot Summary Matt struggles with forming relationships in Opium because of his status as a clone. Regardless, he enjoys his time in the “big house,” receiving a wonderful education and survival lessons from Tam Lin, a body guard. However, Matt soon discovers his true purpose. Matt knows he must escape, but will he be able to? The story focuses upon Matt and if he will be able to escape his fate.

6. Theme or Life Lesson One theme in the book is that power and greed is dangerous. In the story, El Patron is greedy with his power. In fact, he gladly takes the lives of many in order to improve his own. El Patron does not care about the fate of others as long as he is happy. When he receives too much power, he becomes dangerous to those around him.

7. Your rating and recommendation I would give this book a 5/5 stars. This book has much action in it and has many plot twists. This book would be great for anyone who enjoys dystopian novels and science fiction! There were issues in this book that with which I could form a connection. The drug trade has become an issues in Mexico, and this book explores the possibility if one drug lord became too powerful. I feel like people who enjoy science fiction and technology would enjoy this book. If you liked the Hunger Games, this book may interest you as well.

8. Additional information Cloning has been done successfully in the past, yet never on humans. The first successful clone was a sheep named Dolly. People have debated on if clones are ethical. When someone is cloned, only one set of DNA is copied. As a result, the clone is an exact replica of the original. (www.Wikipedia.com)