A recent book that I've read which has became one of my all time favorites is called "The House of the Scorpion." This is a really good science fiction book that takes place about 140 years into futuristic Mexico, except Mexico has been renamed "Aztlan" and a small empire called Opium that lies between Aztlan and the United States.
Opium is run by a 140 year old drug leader named El Patron who has a dark secret about how to live long. But the story centers around his clone, Matteo Alacran. Matteo's life is very sad because people think he is a beast because he wasn't born the natural way. He was grown from a small part of El Patron's skin then grown in a cow for nine months and was cut out of it. It's a stand alone novel by Nancy Farmer and it's really good. The front cover even has 3 book awards on it! The only downside is that the ending is sort of rushed, but I won't tell you anymore about how it ends. Look it up, buy it, and read it. I promise you that it'll become one of your favorites too.