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Eric Park

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Eric Park rated a book it was amazing

The House of the Scorpion (Matteo Alacran, #1)

by Nancy Farmer (Goodreads Author)

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in July 2011

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Eric Park said: "
Before I read "The House of the Scorpion", I searched the web for reviews on this book because I was curious if I had chosen an enthralling book to read; fortunately, I had chosen a book that had received 8 awards and would keep me reading for hours.
Before I read "The House of the Scorpion", I searched the web for reviews on this book because I was curious if I had chosen an enthralling book to read; fortunately, I had chosen a book that had received 8 awards and would keep me reading for hours. The main character of this wonderful story goes by the name of Matt (abbreviation of Matteo Alacrán) who is a clone of the merciless drug lord El Patrón. The story begins with a scientist called Eduardo trying to nurture exactly 36 cloned embryos, all of them containing the cloned genes of El Patrón. Only one survives and that surviving clone grows up to be Matt.

Praised to be one of the best, if not the best, book for young adults, "The House of the Scorpion" was actually much better than I had expected it to be because it contained a lot of contemporary issues and I like books that indirectly address such topics. I was amazed at how Nancy Farmer was able to address issues like cloning, drug trade, human trafficking and slavery in a single book while maintaing an amazing plot; being dead honest, not once did I feel that the story was getting boring. By making the main character a clone and mainly focusing the story on Matt, Farmer really does a splendid job in showing the potential consequences of cloning, dominant drug trading and excessive human trafficking once they start to show up in our future lives. Another thing about this book that had me reading for hours was that the characters, despite the book itself being a science fiction book, were realistic and very believable; María sounded like the polite and innocent little girl next doors, Tam Lin reminded me of the land owner who looks fearsome but is actually very kind and Celia somewhat represented a mother who loves her child.

I must say, Nancy Farmer really is an amazing writer. I did not expect to come upon such an irresistible page turner when I first chose "The House of the Scorpion" for my summer assignment. It's been years since I've come upon a book that has made me carry it wherever I go and "The House of the Scorpion" will definitely be one of my all time favorites. ...more "

Jul 30, 2011 06:00AM · see review