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The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer MAG
When my mom gave me The House of the Scorpion, I thought I would never read it. The cover was red and black and had a large, creepy scorpion on it. My first thought was this was some horror story with bugs crawling all over. I finally gave in and began reading it. Immediately I was sucked in; The House of the Scorpion is not about actual scorpions, but a family whose last name is Alacrán, which means scorpion.
This novel is set in a futuristic world of Mexico and the Southern United States. The main character is Matteo Alacrán, the clone of a powerful drug lord. This book is about his journey as a clone with everyone looking down
on him. When he finds out the horrible secret of why he was created, he realizes he must escape. The House of the Scorpion is not just thrilling but thought-provoking.
It is very easy to connect with the characters because the author, Nancy Farmer, writes so beautifully. She paints pictures with words; I could see everything as it happened. Because I was so engrossed in this world, it was hard to put it down. When I finished, I wanted to read it again and again.
The cover of The House of the Scorpion doesn't bother me anymore – probably because I love the story behind it. I finally learned with this book the age-old rule: “Don't judge a book by its cover.” If anyone is looking for a fascinating read, I highly recommend The House of the Scorpion.
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This article has 41 comments.
Amazing book! I had to read it for a literature class and thought it'd be creepy.. but it's really good!
Your review made me think of exactly how I felt!