The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

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.