Author: Nancy Farmer
Format: Paperback
Published: Simon & Schuster, 2002

Matt is a clone.  Feared and reviled by the non-cloned humans around him, he struggles to make sense of his identity as the exact genetic replication of El Patron, the wealthy, power-hungry lord of the drug-producing country Opium.  Opium lies between the United States and the former Mexico and is peopled by drug lords, opium addicts, and eejits, slaves whose brains have been destroyed.  Danger is everywhere, particularly for Matt, whose purpose as a clone he is only beginning to understand.  In The House of the Scorpion, acclaimed author Nancy Farmer creates a thrilling and believable work of science fiction that serves also as a remarkable cautionary tale.  Winner of the National Book Award and a Newbery Honor.