Cover Love:
Not really. I don't really like this one of the other version that is floating around. However, the new ones coming out are pretty cool (the ones with the blue scorpion).
Why I Wanted to Read This:
My partner librarian does not read a ton. I know that sounds weird to say about a librarian. She has so many other strengths and I read a lot of the in our collection so we balance each other out fine. But when she take the time to read something it's something she loves. And she always talks about this book as one of her favorites. So I finally broke down and read it. Here's the synopsis from GoodReads:
Matteo Alacran was not born; he was harvested with the DNA from El Patron, lord of a country called Opium. Can a boy who was bred to guarantee another’s survival find his own purpose in life? And can he ever be free?Romance?: Matt and Maria definitely have feelings for one another but they are too young to act on them.
My Thoughts:
There are several things I like about this dystopian world. First the author gives us a little history of how we got there. Normally things are left up for interpretation so it was nice to read why the world ended up that way.
I also liked how the whole world was not one way, the author talks about other areas of the world and their struggles or riches. Mostly in dystopians the whole story is focused on just one region so we are left to assume that either the whole world is that way or there is only that specific region still thriving in a wasted world.
With the way this world was presented it was easy to see that this is actually a possible future for the human race.
Poor Matt, he just has no idea who or what he is supposed to be. Growing up with only two positive influences (kind of three is you count Maria, which it's hard to do because she is so hot and cold with him) doesn't leave a lot of room for maturity. And the fact that everyone is so quick to believe the worst about him!
I am not sure what El Patron's end goal for Matt was. Did he expect him to take over the business? Was his brain going to be implanted into Matt? Was he going to be harvested for parts? These are questions that were left unanswered, kind of. There was an answer of sorts, but I am not sure if that was what was planned for Matt or not.
With the overall bleakness of his world I really didn't expect that there could be a happy ending for Matt. And not that the ending was overly happy, there was much room for hope for him.
To Sum Up: A very different kind of dystopian book. A wonderful read for everyone!
Book from my library collection.
I've always wondered about this one. 5 cookies is BIG praise! I may have to break down myself! :)
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