The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002. ISBN: 0689852223
Near future science fiction chronicling the life of the clone of a very wealthy drug lord in an era when clones have no legal rights, and are not even considered human.
It is interesting to compare The House of the Scorpion with Mercedes Lackey’s Joust, blogged here on August 5, 2003. Both are good examples of the youngster overcoming severe difficulties on the road to maturity theme. Both books end with the protagonist about to embark on a new and much more serious role in life. But this book is science fiction, while Joust is clearly fantasy. Consequently, the adversity experienced by our young clone is much more severe than anything our “Jouster” faces, although perhaps not any more believable, ultimately.
Although this book is classed as “Young Adult,” presumably because it deals with growing up under difficult circumstances, it is likely to be equally attractive to adult readers. It certainly isn’t written “down” to its intended audience. I had no idea it was “young adult” until I looked in the library catalog while preparing this blog entry.
Near future science fiction chronicling the life of the clone of a very wealthy drug lord in an era when clones have no legal rights, and are not even considered human.
It is interesting to compare The House of the Scorpion with Mercedes Lackey’s Joust, blogged here on August 5, 2003. Both are good examples of the youngster overcoming severe difficulties on the road to maturity theme. Both books end with the protagonist about to embark on a new and much more serious role in life. But this book is science fiction, while Joust is clearly fantasy. Consequently, the adversity experienced by our young clone is much more severe than anything our “Jouster” faces, although perhaps not any more believable, ultimately.
Although this book is classed as “Young Adult,” presumably because it deals with growing up under difficult circumstances, it is likely to be equally attractive to adult readers. It certainly isn’t written “down” to its intended audience. I had no idea it was “young adult” until I looked in the library catalog while preparing this blog entry.
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