the house of the scorpion By: Nancy Farmer

1. the house of the scorpionBy: Nancy Farmer Austin Vestal

2. What is it? The book takes place in Opium and South America in 2100. The main character is Matt. Attribute: The setting makes this book realistic/science fiction Title: the house of the scorpion What is your book’s genre? Realistic/Science Fiction Attribute: There is realistic technology, as well as advanced Attribute: realistic and futuristic characters Example: Heir Apparent by Vivian Vandevelde Example: Hunger Games by Susanne Collins Example: Mocking Jay by Susanne Collins

3. Setting-Realistic settings, combined with some unrealistic elements. “One hundred years ago there had been trouble between the United States and Aztlàn…” “…set aside land along their common border…” “…would promise not to sell drugs to the citizens…” 168-169 “Matt was deposited onto a hard bare mattress. The room was long and narrow.. At one end was the door and at the other a window covered with iron grillwork.” 27 “Matt saw high security fences in the distance, and his heart sank. The air was foul, the temperature broiling, and the humidity so high that his jumpsuit clung to his body like a second skin.” 281 Back to map

4. Technology-Current technology mixed with futuristic technology “’Look. The ambulance is already on its way.’ He pointed up, and Matt saw a hovercraft pass overhead. The antigravity stirred the hair on his arms.” 348 “They were fed by tubes, and their bodies exercised by giant metal arms that grasped their legs and flexed them as though the cows were walking through an endless field….Their brains were filled with quiet joy from the implants in their skulls. Were they aware of the children growing in their wombs?” 3-4 “Every view screen had at least two gorrillalike bodyguards watching it. They flicked restlessly from scene to scene and spent a lot of time studying boring places, like the spaces behind pillars or curtains.” 211 Back to map

5. Characters-Realistic and scientifically advanced and altered characters “’It’s a Safe Horse, which means it has an implant in its head. It won’t bolt or jump. It won’t even drink unless you tell it to.’ ‘…Not even if it’s very thirsty?’ ‘…If I hadn’t told it to drink, it would have stood in front of the through until it died.’” 78 “’He’s stable,’ said Tam Lin. ‘They had to do a piggyback heart transplant on him…..That’s where they put a donor heart next to his, to regulate the beat. The donor was-the heart was- too small to do the job by itself. 181 “’Why don’t you put a computer chip in the horse’s brain? Then it wouldn’t matter how many legs it had’…’Are you saying----?...’Are you suggesting we turn the horse into a zombie?’ ‘I don’t see much of a difference between that and sawing off the extra leg,’ ‘What you’re after is a horse that works hard and doesn’t waste time looking at flowers.’” 274 Back to map

6. Is the house of the scorpion a good example of a realistic/science fiction novel? the house of the scorpion is a great example of a realistic/science fiction novel because of it’s great use of the elements. Nancy Farmer carefully used the setting, technology, and characters to create a futuristic yet believable world. From hovercrafts, to computers, and from scientific zombies, to normal people, the two genres were flawlessly intertwined, creating a fantastic experience for the reader. Back to map