This modern classic takes on an iron-fisted drug lord, clones bred for their organs, and what it means to be human. Winner of the National Book Award as well as Newbery and Printz Honors.

Matteo Alacr‡n was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patr—n, lord of a country called OpiumÑa strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. MattÕs first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monsterÑexcept for El Patr—n. El Patr—n loves Matt as he loves himself, because Matt is himself.

As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by a sinister cast of characters, including El Patr—nÕs power-hungry family, and he is surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards. Escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But escape from the Alacr‡n Estate is no guarantee of freedom, because Matt is marked by his difference in ways he doesnÕt even suspect.