Looking for a good book to read? Try “The House of the Scorpion” by Nancy Farmer. It was first published on November 4, 2002 and is a multiple award-winning international bestseller.

“The House of the Scorpion” follows the growth of the main character, Matteo Alacrán, who is the clone of the powerful drug lord El Patrón. El Patrón rules a country called Opium, which lies on the border between the U.S. and Mexico (known in the book as Aztlán). Matteo, or Matt, came from an embryo, which was produced from the cells of a skin sample from El Patrón. The embryo was planted in a cow, and then he was harvested from the cow. As a clone, Matt is regarded as a beast, lower than an animal. The only Real People who treat him like a person are El Patrón, his bodyguard Tam Lin, his foster mother Celia, and his love María. Matt knows that the only way to survive is to escape, but he is surrounded by enemies, both known and unknown. How can he escape? Where can he go? And how can he, struggling as he is now to discover who he truly is, hope to fit in?

If you’ve already read “The House of the Scorpion,” then you should read the newly published, long-awaited sequel, “The Lord of Opium,” which was published on September 3rd, 2012.

In “The Lord of Opium,” Matt takes over as the supreme drug lord and ruler of Opium, the largest country in the strip of land between the U.S. and Aztlán known as the Dope Confederacy. The fourteen-year-old former clone has suddenly been thrust upon this large role, and he tries hard to fill it. He receives much condescension for being a mere child, as he was looked down upon when he was a clone. Matt faces many obstacles- including loneliness, curing the eejits– people with implants in their brains, which turn them into mindless slaves who express no emotions or desires– , fighting off another drug lord threatening to take over Opium, standing up against the driven U.N. leader Esperanza Mendoza, and restoring the rest of the world with the key hidden in his country. Even within Opium, Matt can’t be sure who he can trust and who is secretly working against him. He tries to use his new power to help, but keeps getting blocked. And then there’s the ancient voice within himself that he has to deal with…

I read “The House of the Scorpion” about a year ago, and I loved it. Parts of it were almost heartbreaking to read about, but it compelled me to keep reading to the end. And the path to that end was full of unexpected twists.

It turned out that the end was not really the end, because then “The Lord of Opium” came out.

I borrowed “The Lord of Opium” from the public library one month after it was released. It evoked as much emotion in me as the first book did, and though the journey was hard for Matt, there were sweet parts that I could really feel. I think that this book is an amazing sequel to an excellent book. Both of these books are well-crafted works, and they keep you turning the pages. These books, if you haven’t already read them, should definitely be on the top of your list of books to read!