A National Book Award Winner A Newbery Honor BookSome see Matt as a beast. But for El Patro n, 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(R) 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 Alacrn 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 Aztln, formerly Mexico; its vast poppy fields are tended by eejits, human beings who attempted to flee Aztln, 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.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 6-10-In a possible near future, the United States and Mexico have dealt with their continuing border troubles by forming a third country called Opium. It is run by drug lords who control opium production using the labor of humanoid "eejits" with computer chips in their brains. Matt has spent the first six years of his life in isolation until the day he is discovered by three children and taken to the big house. The adults treat the boy like an animal, but with superficial deference once they realize he is a clone of El Patr-n, the supreme ruler of Opium. Scientific advances have made it possible for the man to live to be 142, via transplanted organs harvested from clones, most of whom have their brains stunted at birth. Matt was spared this fate and is educated as a conceit of El Patr-n. At 14, with the death of the old man, he is able to flee from Opium. He is caught and detained in a work camp/orphanage, but with the help of his new friends, he escapes and returns to Opium to try to right the wrongs of the past. The novel's well-described, exotic setting is a background for imaginative science fiction that looks at the social implications of technological advances. The multilayered story raises many issues, and doesn't always resolve them in obvious ways. Fans of Farmer's work will seek out this title. Some readers may be put off by its length, but those who dive in will find it worth the effort.-Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PACopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. 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	2
2. The Little House in the Poppy Fields	5
3. Property of the Alacran Estate	15
4. Maria	25
5. Prison	36
Middle Age: 7 to 11
6. El Patron	52
7. Teacher	65
8. The Eejit in the Dry Field	75
9. The Secret Passage	84
10. A Cat with Nine Lives	92
11. The Giving and Taking of Gifts	102
12. The Thing on the Bed	112
13. The Lotus Pond	122
14. Celia's Story	136
Old Age: 12 to 14
15. A Starved Bird	146
16. Brother Wolf	156
17. The Eejit Pens	166
18. The Dragon Hoard	178
19. Coming-of-Age	186
20. Esperanza	194
21. Blood Wedding	203
22. Betrayal	215
Age 14
23. Death	230
24. A Final Good-bye	240
25. The Farm Patrol	248
La Vida Nueva
26. The Lost Boys	260
27. A Five-legged Horse	269
28. The Plankton Factory	277
29. Washing a Dusty Mind	288
30. When the Whales Lost Their Legs	295
31. Ton-Ton	306
32. Found Out	317
33. The Boneyard	324
34. The Shrimp Harvester	334
35. El Dia de los Muertos	345
36. The Castle on the Hill	353
37. Homecoming	363
38. The House of Eternity	373

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.