The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

     The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is a great science fiction book. It teaches that everyone has a soul, and you can't judge people if they are different than you. This book is about the clone of a drug-lord named El Patron. El Patron rules a piece of land between Mexico and the US, called Opium.

      Matteo Alacran, or Matt, is the clone of the evil El Patron. For years, Matt has lived in seclusion, but finally he is noticed by El Patron. Soon, Matt moves into El Patron's big mansion, where he encounters El Patron's great-great grandchildren (El Patron is very old), and the daughters of a United States Senator- Maria and Emilia. However, his whole life, Matt has been treated like scum. Everyone literally treats animals better than him. Why? Because Matt is a clone, and clones 'don't have a soul.' But if you didn't know that Matt was a clone, you would see him as a regular human being. Only his mother-like figure, Celia; his father-like figure, Tam Lin; and his friend Maria see that Matt does have a soul.

      This book was very interesting and exciting, because it is set in the future, where there are hovercrafts, humans who are turned into zombies, and clones. Also, it was very cool to see the story through the clone's perspective. I really felt sorry for Matt when he was treated badly.

       I completely disagree with most of the characters in the book when they say that clones don't have souls. I guess it was the fact that I knew all of Matt's story. Matt really does have a soul, and he's a really good kid. I think that the author wanted to show her readers that everyone can do good, and we can't judge people if they are different than us. I completely agree with what she is portraying. This book really affected the way that I think about others. I know that I should never treat others like they are under me. I always knew this, but this book brought it into a brighter light.

      I really enjoyed this book (I'm a sucker for sci-fi), and I think most people would. However, I think it would be best if you understood a little bit of Spanish; but only a tiny bit. If you know what gracias means, then you will probably be good. Overall, I loved this book, and it will remain on the list of some of my favorite books.