Chapter 1-5 Tyler

The first chapter of The House of the Scorpion was quite short, as expected, but served its purpose in the fact that it set the scene and provided background information about Matt and how he came to be. In the next chapter, Farmer describes Matt as a small child that's life is viewed differently from being a genetic success to a very sheltered boy. He is being taken care of by someone that he loves dearly but Matt has no idea of what she really does. In the third chapter, Matt meets some mysterious kids around his house and wants to meet them, so he breaks the glass window and jumps out, getting sliced up by the broken glass in the process. Chapter four is about him becoming some-what friends with Maria, one of the kids that he met by his house and how he realizes how sheltered he has been. I think that the some-what friendship between Matt and Maria will blossom in to a very strong friendship that will take them in to places that they never dreamed of going.

Chapter 1-5 - Bryden

• This novel has definitely gripped onto me, making me want to read it ever so much. During the first few chapters, I wondered what the relationship was for Matt and Celia but after I read chapter 5 where the author reveals Matt is a clone, I understood that Celia's character was created to raise Matt. I assume she is raising Matt to a certain age and then handing him over to someone else because in chapter 2, Celia said that she "loans" Matt, meaning that she will have to give him back later. I also wondered where the "other kids" such as Maria, Steven, and Emilia came from. In the book, when Celia was explaining the big house to Matt, she talked about the 3 children, Emilia, Steven, and Maria. Celia talked about how Stephen lives in the big house, but Maria and Emilia don't and came from elsewhere. I'm also very confused as to why Matt was even created, I wonder what his purpose in this story is.
• I was struck by the compassion and love that Celia has for Matt because I was listening to my classmates talk about how mean she was before I started reading, making me already assuming she was a villainous character, which in fact she is the opposite. It is obvious that Matt is around six-years-old because of his crying and such. 
• I think that Farmer is making the choices in the first section like so, because she wants to create a stronger setting and also attach the audience to the characters Matt, Celia, and Maria. So far, Farmer has done just that and created a powerful atmosphere which leaves me perplexed and curious and we all know, curiosity killed the cat. 

Chapter 1-5 - Emily

• What are you wondering about? 
• I was left wondering about what's going to happen to Matt now that Celia has found him. At first, I was confused about why Celia locked him in the house at the beginning, but in the end I understood. I'm also wondering what's going to happen with Maria and Matt because of how Maria was sent away when she was caught visiting Matt. I'm also interested to see what happens when El Partron is introduced and to see his relationship with Matt.  There was a lot going on in this section and I'm excited to read more and figure out how everything will play out. 
• Has anything struck you about this section? 
• This chapter was really interesting, in the beginning I didn't like Celia because I thought it was harsh that she was hiding Matt from the outside world. Later on, we found out that she was protecting him from being hurt and captured.  I also found it interesting that Maria was so interested to know and talk to Matt, when the other kids want to leave him alone. This section was really interesting with a lot happening leaving me excited to read more!
• Why is Farmer making the choices that she is in this first section?
• I think Nancy Farmer made these decisions to create lots of relationships for Matt to have. In the first section Matt has a lot of different relationships with different characters. He has a relationship with Celia that's very mother-son like, even though they are not related. Maria and Matt have an awkward friendship, it's like they want to be friends but can't. Matt and Rosa don't have a good relationship, Rosa is mean to Matt because he is a clone. 

Chapter 1-5 - Haley

So far, I have found the House of the Scorpion extremely gripping from the start. I found it interesting that Nancy Farmer made the entire first chapter about the ‘growth’ of Matt and I have a feeling that the scientist that created him, Eduardo will come back into the book later on. At first, I was left wondering about why Celia had Matt in her possession, but I quickly understood that it was simply because she was looking after him. What has really stuck out to me so far, is how Maria acted towards Matt when she found out he was a clone compared to how Emilia and Steven treat him. It really shows how much nicer and more innocent young kids are compared to their older counterparts. Matt’s reaction when he first saw Maria leads me to believe that as Matt ages later on in the book, Matt and Maria might become a couple. Although it is awful how Rosa and the doctor treat Matt, it is refreshing to see how nice El Patron is to Matt in chapter 6.