Quarter Outside Reading Book Assignment

The House of the Scorpion- What science has come to in the future? House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. Simon Pulse, 2002 Genre: Fiction The House of the Scorpion is about a child named Matt Alacran. He is not an ordinary child, he is the clone of a very powerful druglord named El Patron who rules the country Opium. The story is set in the future where many monsterous things happen. On the Alacran estate and off. Putting chips in people's brains if they don't obey. Making children do very harsh labor and in very harsh places. Matt's world is filled with danger and people betraying him at every turn. "This is a powerful, ultimately hopeful story that builds on today's sociopolitical, ethical, and scientific issues and prognosticates a compelling picture of what the future could bring. All of these serious issues are held together by a remarkable coming of age story", from Booklist. I have not read any books by Nancy Farmer, but The House of the Scorpion did remind me of another book that I have read. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins reminds me of The House of the Scorpion. The two stories have the main character's homes be like the housing of the past even though the rest of the world is in the future. Katniss is from district 12 and her home looks like it is from a very long time ago. There are no high tech things that are in the future today. The capital on the otherhand and some of the other districts have a lot of technology. Matt grows up near El Patron's home and eventually inside of his house where it is very old fashioned (El Patron does not even have an air conditioner in his house) while the rest of the world outside of Opium (Matt's home) has more high tech things. "There was a level of terror and despair in that sound that made the hair stand up on his neck. This time he did grab Maria's hand" (118). I enjoyed reading The House of the Scorpion due. I think that the characters are developed really well as the years pass by during the book. I thought that she does a great job of describing what Opium is like and the horrors that happen on the Alacran estate. Lastly, I thought that she does a great job of putting the reader into Matt's shoes, you can empathize for Matt as you read the book, you can imagine what it must feel like to be treated so horribly, less than human. I think that what made this book so great was Nancy Farmer's writing style. I give The House of the Scorpion 5 paws- Devour it