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allibear39's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
zepeng's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, just wow. Such a revolutionary book. I'm glad that I discover this book at this moment, a period where I can differentiate a good book and a lousy book, where I develop my own reading taste, where I can fully appreciate books that discuss important topics. I will highly recommend this book to those who enjoy deep, philosophical books.
mdevlin923's review against another edition
3.0
Dystopian future set in the country of Opium (between the United States and what was Mexico), which is a huge producer of drugs. Matteo Alacran is the clone of a drug overlord. We follow Matteo as he grows up in a community that shuns him for being a clone.
A quick read, but a lot of heavy topics are explored: illegal immigration, slavery, cloning (and the ethics surrounding it), and environmental concerns.
A quick read, but a lot of heavy topics are explored: illegal immigration, slavery, cloning (and the ethics surrounding it), and environmental concerns.
artismarti's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
platanomuffin's review against another edition
5.0
This book was truly an internal and external journey for me. The characters developed fairly well and so did the story. one of my favorites this year! A must read for everyone!
tinky47's review against another edition
5.0
Matt is a child hidden in a tiny cabin in the middle of an opium farm. He is also the clone of the master of the Opium farm, the most powerful drug lord in the world. When he is discovered by children from the main house, he becomes a part of the household as a pet...for a clone by law is an animal. He is intelligent, sensitive and loathed by most. Matt discovers that there are worse horrors that just being treated as an animal. In this house of riches and betrayal he is trapped as the rich family members of El Patron.
shelbymarie516's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Basically if all drugs were legal and the cartels for each ran a region. Oh and there are clones used to continue their reign. I do have a weak spot for dystopian and sci fi.
Basically if all drugs were legal and the cartels for each ran a region. Oh and there are clones used to continue their reign. I do have a weak spot for dystopian and sci fi.
ellis_eden's review against another edition
5.0
Really excellent YA scifi. The story is well written and composed, the plot moves well, the characters have a breadth and depth, and I was pleasantly surprised to find such a gem by accident.
valetparkering's review against another edition
3.5
The first two thirds of this is a really great book. It has a fascinating and consistent world, there's menace and intrigue and a hint of something more going on outside of our main character's view. I think this is perfect for a YA protagonist but also I really enjoy that narrative structure in general. I love exploring Matt's complicated feelings about being a clone and figuring out his allegiance to El Patron (sorry no Spanish keyboard to do the accents). Even though we're just watching Matt grow up, there's so much tension in the interpersonal politics we're seeing. There's so much complexity in the characters' actions.
And then Matt escapes from Opium and we're dropped into a really clumsy analog of socialism for most of the rest of the book. This section lacks any of the nuance of the preceding two thirds. The adults are functionally indistinguishable within the Keepers and instead of doing any interesting character work, they just repeat these obviously pig-headed interpretations of socialist philosophy. The one singular axis of comparison is about the eejits/zombies and how the boys are dehumanized in the plankton farm.
There is a kind of throw-away line said by one of the people he meets in San Luis, that El Patron is really responsible for what's happening in Atzlan because he economically pushed the country into this position, but there's not enough room in the book for Matt to reckon with this. Farmer has said before that she wished she had 50 more pages, and if that was going towards the Atzlan section, that would have really helped develop the themes she's trying to get across. As it is it really seems like the Keepers are the only place with a Marxist philosophy and the rest of the country is just as it was before.
Sidenote: Atzlan is a Mexcia (Aztec) word/concept. A lot of times with decolonial movements there is a push to rename places with traditional or indigenous names in order to reclaim the space. Like if they changed Mexico City to Tenochtitlan again. It's a subtle piece of worldbuilding since she's deciding that future Mexico is a socialist hellscape.
I reread this because it had been stuck in my head since I read it about 10 years ago, but for the life of me I could only remember the stuff that happened on the farm and nothing at all about how it ended. I'm happy to say that the first two thirds of this book really holds up, unfortunately the ending is incredibly rushed. Matt being able to legally replace El Patron after he dies comes out of nowhere and I would have appreciated some hints that there was an active plot against El Patron in order to usurp him this way.
And then Matt escapes from Opium and we're dropped into a really clumsy analog of socialism for most of the rest of the book. This section lacks any of the nuance of the preceding two thirds. The adults are functionally indistinguishable within the Keepers and instead of doing any interesting character work, they just repeat these obviously pig-headed interpretations of socialist philosophy. The one singular axis of comparison is about the eejits/zombies and how the boys are dehumanized in the plankton farm.
There is a kind of throw-away line said by one of the people he meets in San Luis, that El Patron is really responsible for what's happening in Atzlan because he economically pushed the country into this position, but there's not enough room in the book for Matt to reckon with this. Farmer has said before that she wished she had 50 more pages, and if that was going towards the Atzlan section, that would have really helped develop the themes she's trying to get across. As it is it really seems like the Keepers are the only place with a Marxist philosophy and the rest of the country is just as it was before.
Sidenote: Atzlan is a Mexcia (Aztec) word/concept. A lot of times with decolonial movements there is a push to rename places with traditional or indigenous names in order to reclaim the space. Like if they changed Mexico City to Tenochtitlan again. It's a subtle piece of worldbuilding since she's deciding that future Mexico is a socialist hellscape.
I reread this because it had been stuck in my head since I read it about 10 years ago, but for the life of me I could only remember the stuff that happened on the farm and nothing at all about how it ended. I'm happy to say that the first two thirds of this book really holds up, unfortunately the ending is incredibly rushed. Matt being able to legally replace El Patron after he dies comes out of nowhere and I would have appreciated some hints that there was an active plot against El Patron in order to usurp him this way.