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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
LOOK at those award medals!,
By
This review is from: The House of the Scorpion (Hardcover)
You will find this in the YA or the Juvenile section but don't let that keep you from reading it. If I could give it 10 stars I would. This National Book Award Winner is one of the best near future sci-fi thriller novels written in the past few years. Early in the novel, Matt discovers he is a clone in a future where clones are thought of as little more than animals. Matt is the clone of a very powerful drug lord, and because of this, he enjoys a much more comfortable life than most. Matt learns a lot in the course of the novel...perhaps the most frightening of these is that there are many reasons for cloning one's self. I hear a lot of people review books and say things like "a page turner" and "you won't want to put it down." I read a lot and usually don't have too much trouble putting a book down if something else catches my eye or if it's late at night. This one kept me up until three a.m. This "Newbery Honor" is head and shoulders above the winner of the medal for 2003. (Crispin isn't even in the same league as this book). This is also head and shoulders above most SF books of 2003! Give it a look you won't be sorry!
37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A creative tour de force for our day and age,
By
This review is from: The House of the Scorpion (Hardcover)
May I gush for a moment about Nancy Farmer? Please bow, one and all, for the premiere sci-fi children's author of the day. The successor, to my mind, of Madeline L'Engle with a hint of Mildred Taylor for flair. She won me over initially with her extraordinary "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" and reeled me in completely with "House of the Scorpion". In this, her latest offering, the moral implications of cloning and the drug wars are brought to terrifying extremes. And yet who knew that organ farming could be so readable? The main character, Matteo, is followed from his very conception to the age of fourteen. The book does not, surprisingly, dwell too closely on the nature of existence and Matteo's own appearance on the globe. Instead, it chooses to simply lay out a world in which the drug lords of South America have created their own land and laws. The book abounds with interesting characters and ideas. Though I found it odd that member of the Alacran clan would openly despise their leader's clone before him, there are few missteps in this powerful novel. That it was a Newberry Honor Book impresses me especially. Some parents will undoubtedly find the depictions of violence that spot this book (and they do certainly crop up at regular intervals) too much for younger children, just as older kids will adore the gorier details. Like "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm", this is a wordy tale. It is 380 pages in length and it feels it. And truthfully, the first false climax, when Matt escapes the land of Opium, seems as if it should be the end of the book, only to open up into a whole new story. I would be very interested to know if any teachers have read this book to their students. Just the same, consider this book highly recommended and Ms. Farmer a master of wordplay.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Science fiction that's too close to believable.,
By M. Shara (Allentown, PA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The House of the Scorpion (Hardcover)
The House of the Scorpion, written by Newberry Honor book author, Nancy Farmer, has earned the National Book Award and is a Junior Library Guild Selection. An excellent example of literary merit, this novel draws you into its unique settings and expansive characters. You truly feel as if you are lost in the Poppy Fields in the midday heat on El Patron's estate or coughing and itching along with Matt as he endures months of captivity in a room filled with chicken litter and roaches. Farmer's characters are so believable you find yourself feeling compassion for a clone, and anger at those who treat him as anything less than human. Farmer cleverly uses figurative language and understatements to slowly build your curiosity and the suspense. You struggle along with Matt as he attempts to understand his purpose and what those who love him are trying desperately to convey to him."So many hints! So many clues! Like a pebble that starts an avalanche, Matt's fear shook loose more and more memories. Why had Tam Lin given him a chest full of supplies and maps? Why had Maria run from him when they found MacGregor's clone in the hospital? Because she knew! They all knew!" The characters never are able to tell Matt directly what he so desperately wants to know. Although this book has a science fictional flair to it, it appeals to a wider range of readers including those who enjoy suspense and mysteries. As well as, readers who are not afraid of controversial topics like cloning, drug lords, brain-deadened eejits and wealth that surpass morals and the laws. Within a classroom, this book could be used to stimulate discussions on present day controversies of cloning, stem cell research as well as nature vs. nurture, since Matt and El Patron had the same DNA however turned out to be very different people.
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