Circle Time

Hi, my name is David and I have something that I need to get out. I actually finished my outside reading book like two months ago...a week after it was assigned, and I've been blogging about it as if I don't know what is going to happen next.

There. So now, I'll just quickly summarize the rest of the book up in this post, discuss some important quotes in the next one, and then talk about ATPH for the last four blogs. Yay.

Okay, so a lot of stuff happens that shows how much people hate Matt, and its interesting if you're reading the book, but for the sake of time, I'm going to sum up the rest of the book fairly quickly:
After a near-fatal heart attack, El Patrón requires a heart transplant from Matt to himself, but is foiled when Matt's guardian, Celia, reveals that she has poisoned Matt with foxglove and arsenic, just enough that it would not kill the boy, but would kill El Patrón if he were to acquire Matt's heart. El Patrón dies, and Matt escapes the mansion in the ensuing chaos with the help of María. At this point in the book Maria and Matt confess that they love each other, though it is unclear whether Maria loves Matt romantically or simply as a pet. With the preparations that Tam Lin left for him, Matt manages to escape Opium to Aztlán, which was once Mexico. There, he comes across many events and places, such as a cruel environment for orphans. These orphans are called the Lost Boys, and Matt is sent to live with them. The "Keepers" operate plankton farms on the principles of communism, treating the orphans unfairly and irrationally. The boys are forced into labor, and demanded to eat "healthy and nutritious" plankton, even though all it does is give those who eat it terrible acne. The Keepers are allowed lavish quarters and delectable food, claiming that this is fair because they earned the right to do so by working hard during their childhood.

Matt is at first an outcast, and deemed an unwanted aristocrat by the Keepers. However, as his peers see that he is nothing of the sort, Matt is more accepted, and leads a rebellion against the Keepers making him a hero. Matt soon finds Maria after liberating the Lost Boys. After living in a convent with María and her mother, Matt learns from Esperanza [María's mother] that Opium is in a lockdown state. This means that nothing can enter or leave the country. The only way to end this state is with El Patrón's fingerprint and DNA. Matt's fingerprint is identical to the former drug lord's, and he is able to enter Opium. There, he finds Celia, his old piano teacher and Daft Donald. The bodyguard tells Matt that El Patron has had a funeral, and his family had gathered to celebrate his death, because they lived their lives in perpetual fear of him. They drank a special wine harvested in the year El Patrón was born, which turned out to be poisoned, killing everyone present except for Daft Donald, who had been guarding the place with Tam Lin. Tam Lin drank the wine as well, with knowledge of its poison, because he wanted to end his life, regretting all of the evil things he has done in the past [killing 20 children by accident with a poorly placed bomb that was actually meant for the English prime minister].

Esperanza leaves Matt with the impression that he can make a difference, and Matt is eager to start his new life as ruler of Opium. She offers him support as well as aid from both the United States and Aztlan, but only if he promises to destroy Opium. Matt agrees with this plan, ready to erase the pain from his past and revert all eejits back into capable humans.

Aaaand thats it.