A National Book Award Winner-A Newbery Honor Book-Some see Matt as a beast. But for El Patrn, Matt is a guarantee of eternal life, for they share the same DNA. Matt tries to understand his existence while facing sinister characters. An Accelerated Reader-title for Ages 11 to 14. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Farmer's (A Girl Named Disaster; The Ear, the Eye and the Arm) novel may be futuristic, but it hits close to home, raising questions of what it means to be human, what is the value of life, and what are the responsibilities of a society. Readers will be hooked from the first page, in which a scientist brings to life one of 36 tiny cells, frozen more than 100 years ago. The result is the protagonist at the novel's center, Matt a clone of El Patron, a powerful drug lord, born Matteo Alacr n to a poor family in a small village in Mexico. El Patro n is ruler of Opium, a country that lies between the United States and Aztl n, formerly Mexico; its vast poppy fields are tended by eejits, human beings who attempted to flee Aztl n, programmed by a computer chip implanted in their brains. With smooth pacing that steadily gathers momentum, Farmer traces Matt's growing awareness of what being a clone of one of the most powerful and feared men on earth entails. Through the kindness of the only two adults who treat Matt like a human Celia, the cook and Matt's guardian in early childhood, and Tam Lin, El Patron's bodyguard Matt experiences firsthand the evils at work in Opium, and the corruptive power of greed ("When he was young, he made a choice, like a tree does when it decides to grow one way or the other... most of his branches are twisted," Tam Lin tells Matt). The author strikes a masterful balance between Matt's idealism and his intelligence. The novel's close may be rushed, and Tam Lin's fate may be confusing to readers, but Farmer grippingly demonstrates that there are no easy answers. The questions she raises will haunt readers long after the final page. Ages 11-14. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 7 Up-Nancy Farmer's 2002 National Book Award winner and Newbery Honor book (Atheneum, 2002) takes listeners to a futuristic, but familiar, Central American landscape where a powerful drug lord includes his own clones among his possessions. Narrator Robert Ramirez does a solid job with a large cast of characters and the many Spanish words and phrases that heighten the story's authenticity. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 7^-10. Young Matteo (Matt) Alacran is a clone of the original Matteo Alacran, known as El Patron, the 142-year-old absolute ruler of Opium, a country separating the U.S. and Aztlan, once known as Mexico. In Opium, mind-controlled slaves care for fields of poppies, and clones are universally despised. Matt, on El Patron's orders, is the only clone whose intelligence has not been blunted. While still quite young, Matt is taken from the loving care of El Patron's cook and placed into the abusive hands of a maid, who treats him like an animal. At 7, brought to El Patron's attention, he begins an indulged life, getting an education and musical training, though he is never allowed to forget that he is not considered human. Matt doesn't learn until he is 14 that El Patron has had other clones, who have provided hearts and other organs so El Patron can go on living. This is a powerful, ultimately hopeful, story that builds on today's sociopolitical, ethical, and scientific issues and prognosticates a compelling picture of what the future could bring. All of these serious issues are held together by a remarkable coming-of-age story, in which a boy's self-image and right to life are at stake. --Sally Estes From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Youth: 0 to 6
1. In the Beginning	p. 2
2. The Little House in the Poppy Fields	p. 5
3. Property of the Alacran Estate	p. 15
4. Maria	p. 25
5. Prison	p. 36
Middle Age: 7 to 11
6. El Patron	p. 52
7. Teacher	p. 65
8. The Eejit in the Dry Field	p. 75
9. The Secret Passage	p. 84
10. A Cat with Nine Lives	p. 92
11. The Giving and Taking of Gifts	p. 102
12. The Thing on the Bed	p. 112
13. The Lotus Pond	p. 122
14. Celia's Story	p. 136
Old Age: 12 to 14
15. A Starved Bird	p. 146
16. Brother Wolf	p. 156
17. The Eejit Pens	p. 166
18. The Dragon Hoard	p. 178
19. Coming-of-Age	p. 186
20. Esperanza	p. 194
21. Blood Wedding	p. 203
22. Betrayal	p. 215
Age 14
23. Death	p. 230
24. A Final Good-bye	p. 240
25. The Farm Patrol	p. 248
La Vida Nueva
26. The Lost Boys	p. 260
27. A Five-legged Horse	p. 269
28. The Plankton Factory	p. 277
29. Washing a Dusty Mind	p. 288
30. When the Whales Lost Their Legs	p. 295
31. Ton-Ton	p. 306
32. Found Out	p. 317
33. The Boneyard	p. 324
34. The Shrimp Harvester	p. 334
35. El Dia de los Muertos	p. 345
36. The Castle on the Hill	p. 353
37. Homecoming	p. 363
38. The House of Eternity	p. 373

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.