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Description

Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium -- a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a... read more

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis

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Cast of Characters/Important People

  • Matt Alacran: The clone
  • El Patron: The original Matt Alacran; a powerful drug lord
  • Celia: Chief cook and Matt's caregiver
  • Tam Lin: Bodyguard for both El Patron and Matt
  • Maria: Younger daughter of Senator Mendoza, friend to Matt
  • Chacho: A Lost Boy in the Plankton Factory
  • Fidelito: A Lost Boy; eight years old
  • Ton - Ton: A Lost Boy; driver of the shrimp harvester
  • Jorge: A Keeper
  • Rosa: Housekeeper; Matt's jailer
  • Willum: Chief doctor for the Alacran household; Rosa's lover
  • Mr. MacGregor: A drug lord
  • Tom: Son of Feliciia and Mr. McGregor
  • Felicia: Mr. Alacran's wife; mother of Benito, Steven and Tom; a drunk
  • Mr. Alacron: El Patron's great grandson
  • Senator Mendoza: A powerful politician in the United States
  • Esperanza: Maria's mother; disappeared when Maria was five

Memorable Quotes

  • “Very dark indeed is his majesty when he wants to be. When he was young, he made a choice, like a tree does when it decides to grow one way or the other. He grew large and green until he shadowed over the whole forest, but most of his branches are twisted.”
    Tam Lin
  • “You could say I'm a cat with nine lives. As long as there's mice to catch, I intend to keep hunting.”
    El Patron
  • “Fetal brain implants - I must try that sometime.”
    MacGregor
  • “You can tell how much someone loves you by the size of the present.”
    El Patron
  • “I peed in a shrimp tank - don't ask me which one. I don't remember. And I left water running in the kitchen sink.”
    Matt, making up confessions

First Sentence

In the beginning there were thirty-six of them, thirty-six droplets of life so tiny that Eduardo could see them only under a microscope.

Authors & Contributors

  1. Nancy Farmer (Author)
 

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