The House of the Scorpion – Nancy Farmer

Author: Nancy Farmer
Title: The House of the Scorpion
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: 2002
Age range: 13 – no upper limit
Genre: Science Fiction / Award Winner
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Plot summary: Matteo Alacrán is a clone of El Patrón, drug magnate in a small country called Opium, sandwiched between the southern border of the United States and Aztlán, the land that we call Mexico today. This story takes place at some point in the future when hovercrafts are a normal mode of transportation, and cloning and brain implantations are commonplace. Opium, however, is frozen in time for the most part, with few modern amenities, as El Patrón prefers being reminded of the simple life of his childhood. In the book he reaches his 148th birthday. Such extended old age is only possible through morally dubious surgeries and organ transplants. Matt is El Patrón’s ninth clone.

Matt has been copied from El Patrón’s DNA, and though El Patrón grants him a happy childhood, a more sinister reason for bringing a clone into existence eventually becomes clear to Matt. El Patrón has allowed Matt to become educated and musically skilled only to keep him content and docile until his body parts are needed. El Patrón doesn’t count on Matt’s allies, however: Celia the cook, who raised Matt as a little boy, and Tam Lin, the Scottish bodyguard who loathes El Patrón’s way of life and gives Matt the clues and tools he needs to escape to Aztlán and avoid certain death. Until his escape, Matt is treated by most people as worse than livestock; they don’t believe that clones are human. The opium workers and other servants around El Patrón’s fabulous drug-financed residence are people with a chip implanted in their brains to render them able to do single tasks only, zombie-like. Mistreated himself by everyone except El Patrón, Celia, Tam Lin, and María, the kind-hearted daughter of a crooked US Senator, Matt feels a natural empathy for these ‘eejits’, as they’re called. The ‘eejits’ are generally people who have been caught trying to cross from the US to Aztlán or vice versa.

Finally able to escape to Aztlán, Matt is once again enslaved and forced to work in an orphanage of sorts where the boys are all forced to cultivate plankton and recite certain Socialist-minded slogans ad nauseum. A smart boy who has been encouraged to think and learn about the business of running a drug empire, Matt cannot stomach the hypocrisy he observes in the adults’ treatment of himself and the boys in the plankton factory. He becomes friends with several of the boys, and when they are mistreated they stand up for each other, to the disgust of the men in charge. Matt and his friend Chacho are left to die in the salty desert, but the boys band together to escape. They are able to make it to the small town where María attends school in a convent, and Matt is drawn into a plan by certain government powers of both Aztlán and the US to bring down Opium and shut down El Patrón’s empire. Matt is only too happy to free the ‘eejits’ and end the unequal treatment he sees in Opium; through his own suffering he has developed a deep sense of empathy for those considered to be undeserving of happiness.

Comments: Farmer tells an amazing story and envisions a disturbing alternate reality. The characters are detailed and emotions run strong as the reader cannot help but be disgusted by the way Matt is treated and the hypocrisy that runs rampant through the story. Matt’s own behavior is far from perfect, as he is encouraged early on to be a perfect little copy of El Patrón. Matt perfects El Patrón’s cold way of dealing with his underlings, and believes that the old man loves him. He is truly torn when he discovers that after all the time and money invested in his education and upbringing, El Patrón does in fact mean to use him for spare parts. Matt can’t help but still love the old man as he loves himself, even though El Patrón is so cold-hearted.

The supporting characters are detailed and very consistent. Each has their own back-story, and Farmer does a wonderful job of weaving these finer points in with Matt’s own story. It is chilling to read about Matt’s treatment at the hands of people who see clones as less than human. It is equally satisfying to read about Matt growing up to become self-reliant, recognizing the dignity with which all people should be treated, and finally finding friendship with his peers.

Dates Read: 10 – 15 March

Airborn – Kenneth Oppel

Author: Kenneth Oppel
Title: Airborn
Publisher: Harper Trophy Canada
Publication Date:2004
Age range: 10 - 16
Genre: Fantasy / Award Winner / Canadian Author / Series Fiction
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Plot summary: Matt Cruse was born in the air, and he only feels at home and free while working and sailing in the Aurora, a luxury airship that caters to wealthy travelers and makes long journeys from continent to continent. Matt knows every inch of the Aurora, and is the best possible sort of cabin boy, always ready to do what is needed no matter what the situation. When he rescues a dying hot air balloonist, he unknowingly embarks on a new sort of journey, however, where his life and the Aurora herself are caught up in a fantastic adventure. Kate de Vries is a privileged teenager and the granddaughter of the hot air balloonist, accustomed to getting whatever she wants and determined to understand what her beloved grandfather went through before he died. Before she can find what she's looking for, the Aurora is plundered by deadly air pirates, and damaged seemingly beyond repair. Matt gets caught up in Kate's explorations of the tropical island the ship lands upon, even though his first instinct is to help with the ship's rescue. Filled with unlikely adventure and yet completely realistic emotional drama, this is a wonderful story of soaring beauty and dedication to one's beliefs, taking place in a slightly shifted alternate world much like the one we know, but different in fantastic ways. This book won the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature in 2004.

Comments: Matt Cruse is a great protagonist, and reading about his love for flying and crippling fear of being grounded is enthralling. This book has some other wonderful characters, like the charismatic pirate leader Szpirglas and the snippy but humorous head chef Mr Vlad, for example. With thrilling destinations and a likable main character who shows his feelings very clearly, it is easy to develop a quick connection to Matt and get tied up in his enjoyment of providing great service to the guests on the Aurora, as well as his hopes for promotion and desire to work on the Aurora's sails, maybe even captaining his own ship one day. I find it interesting that the male characters are more believable and fleshed out than the female characters, which may be a reflection of the author's gender. Kate and her chaperone, Miss Simpkins, are less fully developed than Matt, Captain Walken, and the pirate Szpirglas. The male characters seem to get more complexity, while the females stick to stereotypes in a great fashion: Kate is stubborn and willful, Miss Simpkins is hysterical and controlling.

Matt, however, vacillates between his devotion to the Aurora, frustration at being passed over for promotion in favor of a wealthy outsider's son, and the desire to be close to his father, who worked on the Aurora herself until his death. Nowhere else but in the air and on the Aurora can Matt feel the close connection to his father. Matt works hard, and is rewarded for his loyalty, but things don't always go his way, and when he comes up against difficulties, the reader discovers how resourceful and clever Matt really is. I look forward to reading the rest of this series!