The Lord of Opium

As the teenage ruler of his own country, Matt must cope with clones and cartels in this riveting sequel to the modern classic House of the Scorpion, winner of the National Book Award, a Newbery Honor, and a Printz Honor.

Matt has always been nothing but a clone--grown from a strip of old El Patron's skin. Now, at age fourteen, he finds himself suddenly thrust into the position of ruling over his own country. The Land of Opium is the largest territory of the Dope Confederacy, which ranges on the map like an intestine from the ruins of San Diego to the ruins of Matamoros. But while Opium thrives, the rest of the world has been devastated by ecological disaster--and hidden in Opium is the cure.

And that isn't all that awaits within the depths of Opium. Matt is haunted by the ubiquitous army of eejits, zombielike workers harnessed to the old El Patron's sinister system of drug growing--people stripped of the very qualities that once made them human.

Matt wants to use his newfound power to help, to stop the suffering, but he can't even find a way to smuggle his childhood love, Maria, across the border and into Opium. Instead, his every move hits a roadblock, some from the enemies that surround him...and some from a voice within himself. For who is Matt really, but the clone of an evil, murderous dictator?

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 09/03/2013
ISBN: 9781442482548
Pages: 411
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.17h x 6.29w x 1.45d
Award: Buckeye Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Volunteer State Book Awards - Nominee

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 01/01/0001
Kirkus Bea Big Book Guide 05/15/2013 pg. 65
Booklist 06/01/2013 pg. 75
Publishers Weekly 06/24/2013
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2013
Voice of Youth Advocates 08/01/2013 - Recommended - Better Than Most
Kirkus Reviews Fall Preview 08/15/2013 pg. 52
School Library Journal 09/01/2013 pg. 156
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2013 pg. 94
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 01/01/2014 pg. 265
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2014 - Superior,Well Above Average

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 160443 / Lord of Opium
Reading Level: 5.2 / Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus / Point Value: 17