Synopses & Reviews
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 Vick 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.
Review
Praise for Marcelo in the Real World:"[A] brisk, brilliant, unsentimental novel." -- Robert Lipsyte, New York Times Book Review
* "Stork introduces ethical dilemmas, the possibility of love, and other 'real world' conflicts, all the while preserving the integrity of his characterizations and intensifying the novel's psychological and emotional stakes. Not to be missed." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "It is the rare novel that reaffirms a belief in goodness; rarer still is one that does so this emphatically." -- The Horn Book Magazine, starred review
Praise for The Last Summer of the Death Warriors:
*"Stork's latest marks him as one of the most promising young adult authors of the new decade." -- The Horn Book, starred review
"Complicated yet ultimately endearing characters are a Francisco Stork standard. His latest novel doesn't disappoint." -- Chicago Sun-Times
Review
Praise for
The Memory of Light :
"The Memory of Light is filled with hard truths and beautiful revelations. It's a beacon of hope for those in the dark of depression. This book just might save your life." -- Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of Isla and the Happily Ever After
"The Memory of Light takes you to that strange, cold planet that is depression. Vicky's journey back from the darkness doesn't simplify or sentimentalize the pain of mental illness. Francisco Stork has shows us the universe of the human mind, how it can be terrifyingly dark--and how, in the company of the right sort of heart--infinitely dazzling." -- Martha Brockenbrough, author of The Game of Love and Death
"This is an honest look at recovery, about finding a way out from rock bottom, and about learning that the process of living with a mental illness is just that: a learning process. A solid, powerful story." -- Kelly Jensen, blogger at Stackedbooks.org
Praise for Marcelo in the Real World :
"[A] brisk, brilliant, unsentimental novel." -- Robert Lipsyte, New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
This beautiful novel from the author of
Marcelo in the Real World about life after a suicide attempt is perfect for fans of All the Bright Places 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.
About the Author
Francisco X. Stork is the author of
Marcelo in the Real World, winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for Teens and the Once Upon a World Award;
The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, which was named to the YALSA Best Fiction for Teens list and won the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award; and
Irises. He lives near Boston with his wife. You can find him on the web at www.franciscostork.com and @StorkFrancisco.