The House of the Scorpion (2002) is a science fiction novel by Nancy Farmer. It features Matteo (Matt for short) Alacrán, a young clone raised by a drug lord of the same name, usually called "El Patrón." It is a story about the struggle to survive as a free individual and the search for a personal identity. It won the U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature and was named a Newbery Honor Book and a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. In the speculative fiction field, it was a runner-up for the Locus Award (young adult category) and the Mythopoeic Award (children's).