Section 1: Chapters 1, 2 & 3 Summary

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is an intriguing story about a young man who discovers he is a clone and must struggle to learn what this means. Matteo Alacran, a clone harvested from the DNA of El Patron, the Master of Opium, is treated poorly by the Alacran family and servants, despite his superior education and his attempts to fit in. After escaping death by fleeing to the neighboring nation of Atzlan, Matt faces isolation for reasons he never imagined. The House of the Scorpion is an entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable novel.

In Youth, Chapter 1: In The Beginning, Eduardo worries about the cells under the microscope, fearing what will happen to his family if he fails and is sent to the Farm. After being implanted into a cow, only one embryo grows until it resembles an infant, and...