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The House of the Scorpion
The House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer
MATTEO ALACRN WAS NOT BORN; HE WAS HARVESTED. His DNA came from El Patrn, lord of a country called Opium -- a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monster -- except for El Patrn. El Patrn loves Matt as he loves himself, because Matt is himself. As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by a sinister cast of characters, including El Patrn's power-hungry family, and he is surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards. Escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But escape from the Alacrn Estate is no guarantee of freedom, because Matt is marked by his difference in ways he doesn't even suspect.
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JGadz11
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Apropo.🤌🏼

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emileescengie

“People‘s souls are like gardens”

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emileescengie

Definitely for older children

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emileescengie
Mehso-so

I skimmed this book. I didn‘t really enjoy it because when I think of something for a future student to read I would want it to be relatable to them.

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SpeculativeFemale
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I promise, I'm still here and kicking! I haven't been around for a bit because the combo of trying for a new job and catching COVID had me kind of a mess for a while. But I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things soon.

In the meantime, I picked up this book from the local library on the recommendation of a professor from my college days I've stayed in touch with a bit online. He's one of the people whose judgement in books I trust most.

34 likes1 stack add
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sarahlandis
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Pickpick

Bittersweet! Mostly sweet. Finished the last book I‘ll have to read with students at my current job that I am leaving. It has been (mostly) a joy to delve into books with students. I enjoyed this book a lot and all it‘s wild twists and turns. It‘s about a clone of an evil drug lord in a strange dystopian future and the trials he faces. Some of the themes are a bit overdone and I probably wouldn‘t have picked it out for myself, but I enjoyed it!

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Mazzole18
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Pickpick

#ucflae3414su20
“The House of the Scorpion“ should be on your summer read list. This SF story is about a clone named Matt who was created from the cells of a powerful drug king. Matt has been hidden for six years until one day three children come and find him only things take a dramatic turn for the worst. Read this book to find out what happens to Matt.

Mazzole18 Nancy Farmer won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2002 then the John Newbery Medal in 2003. UDL 8.3 foster collaboration and community for this novel to be used for LS.ESOL strategy 3 encourages self talk and positive thinking. https://www.prestwickhouse.com/blog/post/2016/12/how-to-teach-the-house-of-the-s... has lots of good ideas about how to teach some of the difficult concepts in this novel.
4y
DrSpalding I have wanted to read this book for quite some time! Periodically a student like you will post on this and remind me that I need to read this. I think you meant LC for literature circles correct? Look at all the awards this book has won! 4y
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70crijoh
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Pickpick

Overall i found this book Engaging and the characters really likable.
The suspense keeps you tuned in and craving more.

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k.gauze

“When you‘re small you can choose which way to grow”

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k.gauze

I love this book. Super intriguing and keeps you interested the entire time. Would definitely want this in a classroom for older children.

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k.gauze
Pickpick

This Science fiction book is a crazy read! You learn to love the boy Matt at the beginning while he is living with Celia. You later find out he is a clone and the books is crazy to read. I think this would be a great book for an older child to read. It keeps you engaged and is fun to read!

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jash_v
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Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Date started: October 23, 2019
Date finished: December 10, 2019
How did you pick this book: It had an interesting book cover, so I decided to read it.
Summary:
Matt is a clone who is treated like an animal. He is the clone of El Patron( the most powerful person) and when he is not present people treat Matt differently. Before he found out that he was a clone, he lived very peacefully.

jash_v When he encountered the Alcran family and they found out that he was a clone, they trapped him inside a jail cell for a long time. After the abuse, torture, and almost death experiences he was let out. (edited) 5y
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Juliafass

“But you‘re a clone,” he went on. “You haven‘t got anyone to explain things to you. You‘re alone in a way real humans can‘t understand. Even orphans can look at pictures and say, “that‘s me ma and that‘s me da.”

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Juliafass
House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer

This book gives you a gut wrenching feeling of deep empathy for the clone boy, Matt. He really is just a little boy and wants to be loved and know who he is but his struggle with the fact that he is a mutation is hard to get over. How do you endow something with sentient and then also say it has no rights ?

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Juliafass
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Pickpick

The house of scorpion; national book award winner and Newbery honor book written by Nancy farmer and was published in 2002. This captivating science fiction book explores the creepy dystopia of a world where eternal life is possible through cloning but the twist is the clones have their own identities. A true page turner and the sequel, house of opium, is equally as good.

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Dcueto
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When your English teacher is a book nerd and spends all her classroom assistance money on new books for the classroom.

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Emm1
House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer
Mehso-so

Didn‘t really get into the story.

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Melkyl
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Pickpick

My seventh grade students finished this book this week. We had a discussion today over the ending and the book. I love teaching English and having the opportunity to listen to kids discuss a great book that they have embraced. Their comments were incredibly salient and on point. This book leads to great discussion and is relevant with many current topics. I had a good day with my students.

Nute So cool! Thank you for being a teacher.🧡 6y
JamieArc I read this in college for a young adult books class and I remember being surprised by how much I liked it (hadn‘t read much in that genre yet). Always glad to see people post about it! 6y
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DoubleARon
Pickpick

This was an excellent book, well deserving of its many accolades. Showcasing the importance of our choices and the influences we choose to surround ourselves with in the midst of a postmodern north America. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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hipney
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ElishaLovesBooks
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Pickpick

This is the only book I‘ve finished in September so far. Which isn‘t like me at all, but life happens.😩I read this for school-I think we might teach it this year. I definitely liked it- I don‘t know if I loved it. I think it could have been edited a little more-some parts are slow. But the concept is fascinating. Matteo is the clone of a drug lord. The story is told through his eyes as he begins to understand the world around him and his purpose.

InBooksILive I've been on a reading slump this month as well! I've only read 1 book 😫 I usually got a good handful of books down by now! 6y
ElishaLovesBooks @InBooksILive It‘s so hard! Especially if you‘ve just read an amazing book but can find anything good to read after! I hope your slump goes away soon🤞 Right now, for me, life is so busy I don‘t have enough time to read or be on Litsy very much. Which I am NOT happy about! 😫😤😔 6y
InBooksILive Yeah the being too busy to read is what's a main problem of mine right now too! Its awful! Then when nighttime comes, which is when I usually get most of my reading done, I'm too tired and end up going to sleep instead of reading! 😫😫 6y
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ElishaLovesBooks
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First day of school ✅

New books to teach ✅

Excited for a new challenge but I need to get reading!
#teacherlife

CouronneDhiver The Outsiders is my favourite book from high school (or maybe it was middle school)! 😊 6y
AndreaReads Last year was my first year teaching The Outsiders and it was a total hit!!!! The kids LOVED it—I can‘t wait to teach it again! 6y
MStew Both of my favorite books!!!💚 6y
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Cinfhen Shana Tova & Shabbat Shalom 💕💕💕💕💕💕 6y
ElishaLovesBooks @Cinfhen Shana Tova!!! 🍏🍯 Life has been so busy!!! I haven‘t had time for Litsy! 6y
Cinfhen I know THAT story!!!! It's NEVER ENDING!! I love the chagim but they are soooooo exhausting 😟 6y
ElishaLovesBooks @Cinfhen And back to school for the kids. . . and for me. . . Everything always happens at the same time!! It‘s all good but I literally just finished my first book in September! I need more reading time!! 6y
Cinfhen And before u turn around we have YK & sukkot!!! 6y
Cinfhen No me time until October 6y
ElishaLovesBooks @Cinfhen I know! 😩😫😭 6y
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PeanutButterPie
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Saw this on my feed today. Good reminder to me to write more reviews

rather_be_reading love this! 💜 6y
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SheilaGrau
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Pickpick

This book won a ton of awards- Printz honor book, Newberry honor book, national book award- and for good reason. It‘s so original and well written, with a great cast of characters and an exciting plot. One of the best YA sci-fi books I‘ve read

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stacybmartin
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Pickpick

This book was really interesting and odd all at the same time. #labsoundtrack

Caterina Ohhh I‘d forgotten all about this book! I read it the year it came out and absolutely loved it! As soon as I saw the cover I was transported back to summer on my grandparents‘ hammock. 😍 7y
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BookaholicNatty
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Valentine Fun #10 - This book won the National Book Award, Newberry Honor Book Award and the American Library Association Honor Award!!!!! So I think it‘s safe to say it‘s good 😊It‘s considered Sci-Fi and has some fun characters in it!! What y‘all think? 👍🏽 or 👎🏽?

Booksblanketsandahotbeverage I remember reading this book during college during finals week 🤦‍♀️ So good! 7y
JanJan 👍 7y
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Melkyl
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Pickpick

This book is an award-winner, and it definitely lived up to its accolades. It is a very realistic dystopian novel. I found it to be very believable, and I think my students will love it.

LeeRHarry Like the sound of this - stacked! 😊 7y
Cinfhen Good to know! 7y
missevievelyn I‘m currently listening to the audiobook! It‘s great 7y
JamieArc I read this for a YA lit class in college 10 years ago, and still think about it. One of the few books I want to get around to rereading. 7y
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Radams
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Pickpick

#ucflae3414f17 This is a thrilling Science Fiction novel by Nancy Farmer. I will say that it contains themes targeted for more mature readers, so it may not be appropriate in lower level classes. That being said, I have read this in 6th grade so I believe this to be the appropriate age for readers of this book. Anyways, this is an awesome story about a boy living in a dystopian future taking place in “Aztlán” (Mexico). He‘s confined in a cottage

Radams On an estate and manages to break out. He then finds out that he is a clone of his leader, El Patrón, created to provide body parts for the original. This book is gripping, students won‘t want to put it down. For this novel I definitely suggest independent reading along with literature circles. UDL ‘foster collaboration and community‘ can be applied to the LC. EL 10 ‘teach think, pair and share strategies in cooperative groups‘ can also be applied 7y
Radams Teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=3187 has several great resources for teaching along with this book 7y
DrSpalding What a fantastic post. Believe it or not this book has been in my TBR pile for years. I have had many students share their passion for it. Definitely for older students. Excellent choice. Look at those lovely awards! 7y
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Auntynanny
House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this book. The main character was very sympathetic. It showed a vision of the near future that I hadn't encountered before.

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Book.Life
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Pickpick

This book could only be described as a heart throbbing marathon. I easily get attached to characters quickly- even if their minor. The ending of this book really made me cry!!!

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LikelyLibrarian
House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer
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Eating dinner and prepping for my dystopian fiction class 😋

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bitcheslovebooks
House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer
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Finally reading this.

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EmilyChristine
House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer
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This is my pick for @Liberty 's #READATHONANIMAL. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!

23 likes2 stack adds
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mydearwatson
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Listening to the audiobook of this. I read it before a long time ago and loved it (and I love Raúl Esparza's character on *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit*).
#audiobook

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maximoffs

I just can't get into this one and I'm about 50% in. Should I have read it in one sitting? I'm struggling friends. Is it worth finishing?

EmilyChristine I'm a fan of it so I'd say finish it. But it might also help to take a step back from it and then finish. Either way I hope you finish it. I managed to get several of my bookclub ladies to read it and the sequel. 8y
maximoffs @EmilyChristine I'm halfway through and just bored. But I've heard such phenomenal things. So yeah I think I'll just mark this as "lost interest" and maybe let it find its way back to me in the future 8y
EmilyChristine @steverogers I'm kind of a mind that when a book doesn't hold interest you're meant to read it at another time in your life. 8y
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maximoffs @EmilyChristine love that. Especially this is full of things I know I love typically. 8y
youngreadrshelf I read a number of years ago and while I didn't love it then, I did enjoy it. I think I might have different feelings about it now. Especially in the current political climate. 8y
NovelGirl82 I feel the same way @EmilyChristine ! I would probably put it down for a while, then try to come back to it later. 8y
41 likes1 stack add6 comments
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iamcourtneyb
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The reason I was able to finish my book last week! #snowday #noschool #ateachersdream #thehouseofthescorpion #imreadyformore

2 likes1 stack add
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Lauren.Hughes
House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer
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Pickpick

Published in 2002, but one of my favorite reads of 2016. This YA sci-fi novel explores cloning and what it means to be human. Deserves every award it won and I'll even give it a medal of my own 🏅

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iamcourtneyb
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maich
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1 like1 stack add
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iamcourtneyb
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113 pages in and haven't come up for air yet. Loving this book! #thehouseofthescorpion #nancyfarmer #mattalacrán #elpatrón

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EmilyChristine
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Hosting bookclub today. Baked some scones. Most of the ladies are at least 40 years older than me. I made them read science fiction! 😃 several already said they really liked it. Yay!

BookishMarginalia Yum! And yey! 8y
EmilyChristine And three of them want to read the sequel!! Bookclub/librarian win! 8y
14 likes2 comments
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EmilyChristine
House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer
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Pickpick

Wow! If you haven't read this book you need to. Even if you're not a big fan of science fiction this might be a good option. Matt is a clone of the most powerful drug lord in a place called Opium which is an area between the US and Mexico. Matt grows up a mostly normal life but then finds out what it means to be a clone. And what his purpose is.

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EmilyChristine
House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer
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Such an interesting perspective. Clones are considered animals. There are reasons for this but I won't spoil that. Matt wants to prove to everyone that he isn't an animal and that if he can excel then people will forget that he is a clone.

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EmilyChristine
House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer
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Bookclub book for November and it's my pick! I'm making them read some science fiction. 😉 I started reading at lunch and it's not quite the start I thought it would have. Very interesting idea about the cloning and having implants in people and animals.

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Hushlander
House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer
Pickpick

Great world building and some solid food for thought! Interesting and complex characters round out this stand-out modern classic. Not perfect, but definitely recommended!

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jordanerickson
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Pickpick

Extremely quick read but really enjoyable. Another one to recommend to a teen that likes Ender's Game

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jordanerickson
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Next book in the stack, recommended by a coworker

1 like1 stack add