Newberry Honour Award Winner & National Book Award Winner. Matt is six years old when he discovers that he is different from other children and other people. To most, Matt isn't considered a boy at all, but a beast, dirty and disgusting. But to El Patron, lord of a country called Opium, Matt is the guarantee of eternal life. El Patron loves Matt as he loves himself - for Matt is himself. They share the exact same DNA. As Matt struggles to understand his existence and what that existence truly means, he is threatened by a host of sinister and manipulating characters, from El Patron's power-hungry family to the brain-deadened eejits and mindless slaves that toil Opium's poppy fields. Surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards, escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But even escape is no guarantee of freedom . . . because Matt is marked by his difference in ways that he doesn't even suspect. Praise for The House of Scorpions: 'It's a pleasure to read science fiction that's full of warm, strong characters... that doesn't rely on violence as the solution to complex problems of right and wrong. It's a pleasure to read.' Ursula K. LeGuin 'Fabulous' Diana Wynne Jones Also by Nancy Farmer: The Sea of Trolls Land of the Silver Apples The Islands of the Blessed The Lord of Opium

A desert castle. An evil presence. A thirst for vengeance. Four teenagers are about to have a vacation they'll never forget. When Layla, her brother Adam, and their friends Zaid and Zahra, arrive at Dukhan Castle, they anticipate an exciting time exploring the mysteries of nature. They soon find themselves delving into mysteries of a different nature. A cloaked figure, spooky midnight screams, incense being burned in the eerie lookout tower, and startling secrets are just a few. The clues can only lead to one conclusion. Something sinister is simmering beneath the surface and it's just a matter of time before it breaks loose. A chance encounter with a gypsy woman begins a guessing game of intrigue, pitting the teenagers against a shadowy foe known as Al-Aqrab, the Scorpion. As danger draws closer to the castle, they must race against time to unmask the Scorpion and foil a demonic scheme of revenge. The Sign of the Scorpion is the thrilling second book in The Moon of Masarrah Series.

On April 11, 2002, nearly a million Venezuelans marched on the presidential palace to demand the resignation of President Hugo Chvez, Led by Pedro Carmona and Carlos Ortega, the opposition represented a cross-section of society furious with Chvez's economic policies, specifically his mishandling of the Venezuelan oil industry. But as the day progressed, the march turned violent, sparking a military revolt that led to the temporary ousting of Chvez. Over the ensuing, turbulent 72 hours, Venezuelans would confront the deep divisions within their society and ultimately decide the best course for their country - and its oil - in the new century. An exemplary piece of narrative journalism, The Silence and the Scorpion provides rich insight into the complexities of modern Venezuela.

Matt has always been nothing but a clone - an exact replica, grown from a strip of old El Patron's skin. Now, age fourteen, Matt suddenly finds himself thrust into the position of ruling over his own country, Opium, on the one-time border between the US and Mexico, stretching from the ruins of San Diego to the ruins of Matamoros. But while Opium thrives, the rest of the world has been devastated by ecological disaster… and hidden somewhere in Opium is the cure. And that isn't all that's hidden within the depths of Opium. Matt is haunted by the ubiquitous army of eejits, zombie-like workers harnessed to the old El Patron's sinister system of drug growing... people stripped of the very qualities which once made them human. Matt wants to use his newfound power to help stop the suffering, but he can't even find a way to smuggle his childhood love Maria across the border and into Opium. Instead, his every move hits a roadblock - both from the traitors that surround him and from a voice within himself. For who is Matt really but the clone of an evil, murderous dictator?

The teenage princess of a future-world Canadian superpower, where royal children are held hostage to keep their countries from waging war, falls in love with an American prince who rebels against the brutal rules governing their existences.

Explores the Civil War and the anti-slavery movement, specifically highlighting the plan to help abolish slavery by surrounding the slave states with territories of freedom and discusses the possibility of what could have been a more peaceful alternative to the war.