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A critic's favorite, this young adult novel did not do it for me. The world building was excellent. But the character development was not.
Set in a near future, Opium is the country that lies between the US and Mexico. It is controlled only by drug lords and its existence is sanctioned by both of its neighboring countries on the condition that the drugs produced there are sold across the ocean in Europe and Asia. Opium is run by a 143-year old drug lord, El Patron, whose lo ...more
A critic's favorite, this young adult novel did not do it for me. The world building was excellent. But the character development was not.
Set in a near future, Opium is the country that lies between the US and Mexico. It is controlled only by drug lords and its existence is sanctioned by both of its neighboring countries on the condition that the drugs produced there are sold across the ocean in Europe and Asia. Opium is run by a 143-year old drug lord, El Patron, whose lo ...more
(If you want to see my rationale for including this picture, it's in the
The House of the Scorpion is Young-Adult Dystopic Fiction (YADF)before YADF became cool. Before YADF became it's own genre. Scorpion was originally published in 2002, just as the wizarding craze was gripping youth (and adults) of the literary world.
I can't make the claim that House of the Scorpion started the current ubiquitous YADF movement, after al ...more
Riveting plot
Lots of interesting ideas posited
good for a wide range of audiences.
didn't make me cry though. felt slightly disconnected somehow. Maybe it's because it's in the third person? Not sure... but yeah. Great book. ...more
Lots of interesting ideas posited
good for a wide range of audiences.
didn't make me cry though. felt slightly disconnected somehow. Maybe it's because it's in the third person? Not sure... but yeah. Great book. ...more
I read this because my older son was reading it for school. (Actually, I listened to it and it's a fantastic book on tape). What a plot. Loved every minute of it.
...more
Hard to put down, even knowing the ending.
Really good. A boy grows up as the clone of a Mexican drug lord. Nicely complicated for a YA book, good characters, great worldbuilding. I especially liked that it continued after a point where some authors might have ended it.
Wonderful! I'll admit it took me a little bit to get into it, but once I did, it just whisked me away, and wouldn't leave me alone until I finished it. :)
...more
Jul 26, 2007
Lisa Vegan
marked it as to-read
May 23, 2012
Gary
marked it as to-read
Jan 20, 2013
Paige
marked it as to-read
Nov 11, 2014
Cynthia
marked it as to-read
Jun 01, 2015
erin
marked it as to-read
