The House of the Scorpion

By Nancy Farmer

Book #1 in the The House of the Scorpion series

A clone's fight for freedom in a world that fears him.

4.1/5 Goodreads · 97,873 ratings

432 pages· 100,586 words· Est. 9.5 hour read

$12.99Save 4%

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Bookroo's summary

Matt Alacrán, a clone of the powerful drug lord El Patrón, grapples with his identity in a world that sees him as a monster. As he navigates the treacherous Alacrán Estate, surrounded by sinister forces and a power-hungry family, Matt realizes that escape is his only hope for survival. But even if he breaks free, can he ever truly be free from the shadow of his origins? In a land where his very existence is a threat, Matt must uncover the truth about himself and what it means to be human.

From the publisher

This modern classic takes on an iron-fisted drug lord, clones bred for their organs, and what it means to be human. Winner of the National Book Award as well as Newbery and Printz Honors. Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium–a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt’s first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monster–except for El Patrón. El Patrón loves Matt as he loves himself, because Matt is himself. As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by a sinister cast of characters, including El Patrón’s power-hungry family, and he is surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards. Escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But escape from the Alacrán Estate is no guarantee of freedom, because Matt is marked by his difference in ways he doesn’t even suspect.