The House of the Scorpion is a young adult dystopian fiction novel written by Nancy Farmer. The story is set in the future, and takes place in both Atzlán (formerly Mexico) and Opium, a small country between Atzlán and the United States. Its plot revolves around the life of Mateo Alacrán, the young clone of Opium’s ruler, El Patrón. Opium’s main source of wealth is the drug trade, and El Patrón’s estate is the largest producer of opium in the country. The country’s labor force is made up of people and animals who have been given brain implants to turn them into mindless workers. Most clones are given brain implants so their organs may be harvested for the person they were cloned from, thus enabling people with access to clones to live past the normal human lifespan. As a result, clones are viewed as less-than-human. Mateo, however, has been spared from the brain implants and instead lives in secret with one of El Patrón’s staff, Celia. Eventually Mateo is discovered by a girl named María, whom he later befriends, and goes to live in El Patrón’s estate, adopting an aristocratic lifestyle and receiving an education.

However, when El Patrón suffers a heart attack, he reveals to Mateo that he was to be used as an organ donor. Before the surgery is able to begin, Celia tells El Patrón that she has been feeding Mateo small doses of arsenic. The dosage of poison is not enough to harm Mateo, but would likely kill El Patrón, who is over 140 years old. El Patrón dies soon after. Tam Lin, Mateo’s bodyguard, is ordered to kill Mateo but instead gives him a bag of supplies and instructs him to flee into Atzlán.

Upon crossing the border, Mateo runs into a group of orphaned boys employed by men known as “Keepers.” The Keepers force the orphans—some of which are as young as eight years old—to labor on plankton farms, and beat or starve the children for refusing to work. Mateo discovers a book written by a woman named Esperanza Mendoza, whom he realizes to be María’s mother. With the help of the orphaned children, Mateo overthrows the Keepers and makes his way to San Luis, a nearby city. He reunites with María and learns that most of the Alacrán family is dead from drinking poisoned wine at El Patrón’s funeral. Mateo assumes the role of the next El Patrón and becomes the new ruler of Opium.

I really enjoyed how this book presented morality. Mateo’s first few years of life are spent being treated like an animal, and when El Patrón rescues him from that situation, Mateo looks up to him and treats him as a father figure. Even when El Patrón has attempted to take his life and revealed his true colors, Mateo still laments his death, though he realizes that El Patrón does not deserve his mercy. The characters in the story felt incredibly human, and the way the villains were written seemed realistic and not over-the-top as many antagonists tend to be.

My main criticism of this book is the story after Mateo crosses the border. The inclusion of the Keepers is an obvious statement on socialism, but because socialism plays no role in the rest of the story, this particular plotline added nothing to the quality of the book. I would have been fine with the inclusion of political commentary had it fit with the rest of the novel, but it felt incredibly forced.

I would give this book an 8/10. I enjoyed how the characters were developed, and for the most part the plot was rich and interesting. It explores complex themes of morality and what it means to be human. Overall, while it was very different from other dystopian novels I have read, it was a captivating and thought-provoking read.

Checkout The House of the Scorpion Review at the Newport Beach Public Library.