Best Selling Books by Francisco X. Stork

"You know I''m coming. You''re dead already." Hector has always minded his own business, working hard to make his way to a better life someday. He''s the chess team champion, helps the family with his job at the grocery, and teaches his little sister to shoot hoops overhand. Until Joey singles him out. Joey, whose older brother, Chavo, is head of the Discipulos gang, tells Hector that he''s going to kill him: maybe not today, or tomorrow, but someday. And Hector, frozen with fear, does nothing. From that day forward, Hector''s death is hanging over his head every time he leaves the house. He tries to fade into the shadows -- to drop off Joey''s radar -- to become no one. But when a fight between Chavo and Hector''s brother Fili escalates, Hector is left with no choice but to take a stand. The violent confrontation will take Hector places he never expected, including a reform school where he has to live side-by-side with his enemy, Joey. It''s up to Hector to choose whether he''s going to lose himself to revenge or get back to the hard work of living.

Award-winning author Francisco X. Stork revisits some of the themes and ideas that made Marcelo in the Real World such an unforgettable novel. Alberto''s life isn''t easy: He''s an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who lives with his sister''s abusive boyfriend-but he''d always accepted his place in the world. Until he starts hearing the voice of a man called Captain America, a voice that wants him to achieve more, no matter the cost. Grace has it all: She has a supportive boyfriend, she''s on track to be valedictorian, and she''s sure to go to the college of her dreams. Still, nothing feels right to her any more after the divorce of her parents, and feels she needs something more. When Alberto and Grace meet, they have an immediate and electric connection. But when Alberto is present at the scene of a terrible crime, he becomes a suspect. And with his developing schizophrenia, he''s not even sure he believes in his own innocence. Can Grace find a way to prove Alberto''s innocence to himself and the world? This is a page-turning thriller and a sensitive story about mental health, love, and community that will appeal to anyone who has struggled with their place in the world, from award-winning author Francisco X. Stork.

You''ve never seen a Francisco X. Stork novel like this before! A missing girl, a determined reporter, and a young man on the brink combine for a powerful story of suspense and survival. Four Months AgoSara Zapata''s best friend disappeared, kidnapped by the web of criminals who terrorize Juarez.Four Hours AgoSara received a death threat -- and with it, a clue to the place where her friend is locked away.Four Weeks AgoEmiliano Zapata fell in love with Perla Rubi, who will never be his so long as he''s poor.Four Minutes AgoEmiliano got the chance to make more money than he ever dreamed -- just by joining the web.In the next four days, Sara and Emiliano will each face impossible choices, between life and justice, friends and family, truth and love. But when the web closes in on Sara, only one path remains for the siblings: the way across the desert to the United States.

Two sisters discover what''s truly worth living for in the new novel by the author of Marcelo in the Real World. TWO SISTERS: Kate is bound for Stanford and an M.D. -- if her family will let her go. Mary wants only to stay home and paint. When their loving but repressive father dies, they must figure out how to support themselves and their mother, who is in a permanent vegetative state, and how to get along in all their uneasy sisterhood. THREE YOUNG MEN: Then three men sway their lives: Kate''s boyfriend Simon offers to marry her, providing much-needed stability. Mary is drawn to Marcos, though she fears his violent past. And Andy tempts Kate with more than romance, recognizing her ambition because it matches his own. ONE AGONIZING CHOICE: Kate and Mary each find new possibilities and darknesses in their sudden freedom. But it''s Mama''s life that might divide them for good -- the question of *if* she lives, and what''s worth living for. Irises is Francisco X. Stork''s most provocative and courageous novel yet.

Marcelo Sandoval, a seventeen-year-old boy on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum, faces new challenges, including romance and injustice, when he goes to work for his father in the mailroom of a corporate law firm.

What would you do if you had one last summer to live? Nico has always believed in his dreams. Especially the dream he has of becoming a writer; it''s the reason why he started taking a creative writing class his senior year of high school. But then Nico has a dream about his own funeral. A dream that feels too real to ignore. In it, Rosario is beckoning to him. Rosario was Nico''s neighbor, his best friend''s girlfriend, and his inspiration. She was also the girl that Nico was in love with. And Rosario died last year. Nico becomes obsessed with figuring out what Rosario was trying to say to him, and how she died. Surely if he can make sense of her death, he can find a way to prevent his own? But at the same time, Nico''s mom is sick, and his brother is falling down a bad path with a local gang. Nico knows it''s on him to step up and take care of his family -- but how can he keep it together when, like Rosario, he sees how easy it might be to just let go of it all. This searingly beautiful and hopeful novel is about the search for a life of meaning and creativity, while also accepting the flawed life that we''re given. It''s a love story between a teen boy and the girl who still haunts his dreams.

This beautiful novel from the author of Marcelo in the Real World about life after a suicide attempt is perfect for fans of It''s Kind of a Funny Story and Thirteen Reasons Why. When Vicky Cruz wakes up in the Lakeview Hospital Mental Disorders ward, she knows one thing: After her suicide attempt, she shouldn''t be alive. But then she meets Mona, the live wire; Gabriel, the saint; E.M., always angry; and Dr. Desai, a quiet force. With stories and honesty, kindness and hard work, they push her to reconsider her life before Lakeview, and offer her an acceptance she''s never had.But Vicky''s newfound peace is as fragile as the roses that grow around the hospital. And when a crisis forces the group to split up, sending Vicky back to the life that drove her to suicide, she must try to find her own courage and strength. She may not have them. She doesn''t know.Inspired in part by the author''s own experience with depression, The Memory of Light is the rare young adult novel that focuses not on the events leading up to a suicide attempt, but the recovery from one -- about living when life doesn''t seem worth it, and how we go on anyway.

When Pancho arrives at St. Anthony''s Home, he knows his time there will be short. If his plans succeed, he''ll soon be arrested for the murder of his sister''s killer. But then he''s assigned to help DQ, whose brain cancer has slowed neither his spirit nor his mouth. DQ tells Pancho all about his "Death Warrior''s Manifesto", which will help him to live out his last days fully - ideally, he says, with the love of the beautiful Marisol. As Pancho tracks down his sister''s murderer, he finds himself falling under the influence of DQ and Marisol, and beginning to understand that there''s more to life than revenge and more to death than sadness. "I love Francisco''s books. They make you bigger inside after reading them" Maggie Stiefvater

“Who better to raise teens’ awareness of mental illness and health than the YA authors they admire?” —Booklist (starred review) “[A] much-needed, enlightening book.” —School Library Journal (starred review) Your favorite YA authors including Ellen Hopkins, Maureen Johnson, and more recount their own experiences with mental health in this raw, real, and powerful collection of essays that explores everything from ADD to PTSD. Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t get out of bed? Not the occasional morning, but every day? Do you find yourself listening to a voice in your head that says “you’re not good enough,” “not good looking enough,” “not thin enough,” or “not smart enough”? Have you ever found yourself unable to do homework or pay attention in class unless everything is “just so” on your desk? Everyone has had days like that, but what if you have them every day? You’re not alone. Millions of people are going through similar things. However issues around mental health still tend to be treated as something shrouded in shame or discussed in whispers. It’s easier to have a broken bone—something tangible that can be “fixed”—than to have a mental illness, and easier to have a discussion about sex than it is to have one about mental health. Life Inside My Mind is an anthology of true-life events from writers of this generation, for this generation. These essays tackle everything from neurodiversity to addiction to OCD to PTSD and much more. The goals of this book range from providing a home to those who are feeling alone, awareness to those who are witnessing a friend or family member struggle, and to open the floodgates to conversation.

Sixteen-year-old Hector is the hope of his family, but when he seeks revenge after his brother''s gang-related death and is sent to a San Antonio reform school, it takes an odd assortment of characters to help him see that hope is still alive.

At loose ends, he decides to go back and seek out the people of his past, including his long-lost love, Armanda. He succeeds in finding her but discovers that she has lost her youthful innocence as the result of a nightmarish life of drug addiction, prostitution, and the murder of her (and Ismael''s) child. Diaz''s attempts to rescue Armanda finally lead him to death row. As he writes his story in prison, he also learns the "way of the jaguar" from another inmate. Partly ancient Aztec philosophy and partly an idiosyncratic, extrapolated doctrine, it entails facing down La Pelona - death itself - and accepting life.

Seventeen-year-old Pancho is bent on avenging the senseless death of his sister, but after he meets D.Q, who is dying of cancer, and Marisol, one of D.Q.''s caregivers, both boys find their lives changed by their interactions.

Shares stories about growing up in diverse homes or communities, from an Asian youth who gains temporary popularity by making up a false background, to a biracial girl whose father clears subway seats by calmly sitting between two prejudiced women.