Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Krysten Weller

The book begins in a lab where clones are being harvested. The doctor is about to remove the intelligence from the infant, as is customary with clones, when the nurse stops him. This child is to be spared from the practice and will keep his intelligence. The book fast-forwards a few years and we see the clone has grown up to be a young boy named Matt Alacran. Matt lives in Dreamland, a section of land between the United Stated and Mexico. Matt stays in a small house with a caretaker named Celia and isn't allowed to go outside. Celia has filled his head with the dangers of the outside world and Matt has to keep himself amused by watching television and staring out the window at the poppy fields. Matt desperately wants to go outside and play like the children he sees in the fields, but the windows in his house have been nailed shut and the doors are locked. Matt breaks the window to reach the children, but is cut by the glass shards and must be taken to "the big house" for medical care. The servants take care of him until it is revealed that he is a clone, the lowest life form. He is thrown in a cell and kept prisoner until his caretaker finds him and reveals that he is the clone of the most powerful man in Dreamland, El Patron, a 148 year-old drug lord/dictator.

El Patron comes to meet his clone and suddenly Matt's life changes. Although he is still loathed by the others, they now must be polite to him and give him the run of the house. He is showered with presents by El Patron and given music lessons to nurture his tremendous musical talent. He even has his own bodyguard, Tam Lin. Matt loves El Patron, a man who is known as the "Vampire of Dreamland," who is feared by everyone. One cannot speak ill of El Patron. There are even cameras in all of the rooms to prevent any sort of rebellion. But in the coming years, Matt learns the real reason that clones are created, to be used as organ donations. El Patron and many others use these clones to keep themselves alive and rejuvenated. Matt is convinced that he will be spared since he was the only clone allowed to keep his intelligence. Then El Patron's heart begins to fail and Matt's heart is his only chance for survival. Matt manages to escape and begins a new life where he learns the truth about Dreamland and the evil El Patron.

Nancy Farmer, a two-time Newberry Honor author, has written an excellent saga of the young clone who is shunned from society and despised and yet was so valuable to the most powerful man in Dreamland. Each of the characters is carefully woven into the plot and each has a story of their own which adds to the suspense. The complex tale takes many twists and turns as we learn about each of the character's backgrounds. Each clue leads us closer to the truth about El Patron and his drug cartel. While the story is complex, Farmer is careful to give the reader a list of all the characters and how they relate to Matt to avoid any confusion. She manages to take Matt from a naive boy to an informed man. This is an excellent book with suspense that holds you captive. It is a must read.