The House of the Scorpion

I just finished reading THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION by Nancy Farmer last night, and there's a reason it has so many awards on its cover. As I closed the book I wondered, "why was this book classified as a YA"? The only reason I can see is that the protagonist is young. The story speaks to so many modern issues and ideaologies - it's certainly good reading for adults as well. I was reminded a bit of THE HANDMAID'S TALE by Margaret Atwood (not for kids). It's a scary editorial on where we as a society could end up if we keep going the direction we're going. It was a great read and somewhat disturbing. I'm sure I'll be "chewing" on it for a while (my mark of a good book).