Matteo Alacrán wasn't born, but cloned. The copy of the notorious drug lord who rules the land of Opium, a strip of land that exists between the United States and Mexico (now called Aztlán), The House of the Scorpion chronicles Matt's life, from his isolated existence at the edge of the poppy fields with Celia, to the years spent alone in a cell under the cruel Rosa, to his life in the big house as the treasured guest of the real Matteo Alacrán (known as El Patrón). Tutored and pampered, Matt believes that he's destined for something more, but he quickly learns the real reason why El Patrón needs him. A dystopia written for young people before dystopia was the hot thing, The House of the Scorpion is written more in the vein of 1984 or The Giver than any of the more popular dystopias since. Nancy Farmer provides a critical look at the ethical issues surrounding cloning, as well as issues like the drug trade and slavery through the scope of Matt's life, making a compelling case for nurture over nature in the raising of a child. I first read this way back when it first came out, and I remember it blowing my young mind, but the second time around, not so much. It's still a fantastic story, so if you like your dystopias more sci fi based, you'll like this one.
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