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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
Some violence in the drug lord's compound; Matt's precarious existence
Language
Barely any
Mild language
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
Barely any
Drug production is the background economy of the setting
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological weight of a child discovering he exists to be harvested for parts; the long process of claiming personhood
What this book is about
Matt is eight years old when he learns the truth: he is the clone of El Patrón, the ancient ruler of Opium—a drug state between the United States and Aztlán. His existence has a single purpose: to provide organs when El Patrón needs them. Nancy Farmer's National Book Award winner is a rigorous and disturbing exploration of identity, free will, and what it means to be a person when society has decided you're property.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
A clone created to be an organ source
Drug lord power and its violence
The philosophical questions about personhood the novel raises
Reader Verification
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