The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Matteo Alacran was not born, he was harvested in a Petri dish and placed in the womb of a cow where he went from embryo to baby. His DNA came from El Patron, a 140 year old lord of country called Opium- a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. The fields are worked by “eejits,” clones controlled by brain implants. Matt is a boy but most people view clones as monsters so he endures many struggles, psychological and physical, and has to escape evil hands more than once. It’s an action packed sci-fi futuristic thriller with major ethical issues brought to light and I LOVED IT. It’s thought-provoking and imaginative plot that looks at the social implications of technological advances is also an inspiring coming-of-age story.
Certain aspects of the story will be relevant to our Mexican-American students who will recognize the land areas and many of us will relate to the border issues like drug trafficking and illegal immigration. Farmer's sci-fi twist on these real-life issues gives readers many interesting ideas to ponder. It makes this book an excellent choice for literature circles or book clubs!