I Am Not Alone

by Francisco X. Stork

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338736267
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/18/2023
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Francisco X. Stork (he/him) emigrated from Mexico at the age of nine with his mother and his adoptive father. I Am Not Alone is his tenth novel. Other novels include: Marcelo in the Real World, recipient of the Schneider Family Book Award, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, which received the Elizabeth Walden Award, The Memory of Light, recipient of the Tomás Rivera Award, Disappeared, which received the Young Adult Award from the Texas Institute of Letters and was a Walter Dean Myers Award Honor Book and Illegal, recipient of the In the Margins Award, the Young Adult Award from the Texas Institute of Letters and the International Latino Book Award. On the Hook published in 2021, received four starred reviews and was the recipient of the International Latino Book Award.

Editorial Reviews

06/05/2023

Stork (On the Hook) interweaves issues of racism, mental health, and classism with a budding romance in this moving read. Teenage Alberto lives with his beloved nephew, his drug-dependent older sister, and her married, physically abusive boyfriend. On top of dealing with his tumultuous homelife and working as a housepainter to help financially support the rest of his family back in Mexico, he must also navigate concerns about his own undocumented status, his undiagnosed learning disability, and a mysterious voice in his head that pressures him to commit violent acts. On a job, he meets Grace, a Princeton hopeful from an affluent Jewish family, who’s drawn to Alberto’s kindness. When Alberto goes on the run after being accused of murdering an elderly client, Grace resolves to help him. But with all the evidence seemingly pointing to Alberto, and Alberto himself experiencing frequent blackouts and doubting his own mind, Grace must enlist the teens’ N.Y.C. community to ensure justice. Straightforward prose and the pair’s alternating perspectives paint an accessible picture of Alberto’s auditory hallucinations (informed by Stork’s own experience, according to an author’s note) and suspected schizophrenia, and Grace’s own doubts regarding her future. While the narrative’s high-stakes conflicts are front and center, it’s the sheer sweetness of Alberto and Grace’s love story that sets the tone of this hopeful read. Ages 14–up. Agent: Faye Bender, Book Group. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for I Am Not Alone:

A Junior Library Guild Selection

A Bank Street Best Book of the Year

★ "An affecting, deeply emotional story. An important book." — Booklist, starred review

★ "Alberto's suspected schizophrenia makes him heartbreakingly susceptible to both the best and worst of humanity. An illuminatingly powerful story about mental illness, young love, faith, and hope." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "This taut and suspensefully plotted emotional drama offers a nuanced, poignant story of friendship in the face of adversity." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"The narrative's high-stakes conflicts are front and center, [but] it's the sheer sweetness of Alberto and Grace's love story that sets the tone of this hopeful read." — Publishers Weekly

"An intricate hunt for truth through the maze of mental illness. Stork's resonating, empathic fiction once again provides audiences with convincing reasons to believe "I am not alone." — Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

★ 2023-05-09
A kind, loving, undocumented teen in New York struggling with mental illness is accused of a terrible crime and isn’t sure if he’s innocent.

Eighteen-year-old Alberto works hard—earning money as a painter that he sends back to family in Mexico, studying for his high school equivalency certificate, and helping the older sister he lives with care for her baby—all while pursuing his passion for pottery. But he worries about his deteriorating mental health: An aggressive, insulting voice in his head has begun urging him to engage in uncharacteristic violence. Jewish high school senior Grace is at the top of her class. Although she’s planning to attend Princeton and become a doctor, Grace has been questioning everything since her parents’ divorce. She’s drawn to Alberto from the day they meet, and when tragedy strikes and Alberto is accused of killing an elderly client and goes on the run, the pair struggle to figure out what really happened. Alberto’s suspected schizophrenia makes him heartbreakingly susceptible to both the best and worst of humanity; he encounters those who cruelly take advantage of his mental state but experiences extraordinary kindness from Grace’s formerly estranged family members and their rabbi. Told in the teens’ alternating perspectives, the narrative poignantly conveys how compassion and a willingness to overcome the perceived stigma of severe mental illness, together with the appropriate medical attention, can make all the difference.

An illuminatingly powerful story about mental illness, young love, faith, and hope. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

Narrators Christian Barillas and Gail Shalan believably voice two teens who are trying to navigate their worlds while wanting more from their lives. Alberto, portrayed by Barillas, is an 18-year-old undocumented Mexican immigrant with an undiagnosed mental illness. He often hears a voice berating him and encouraging negative behavior. Shalan portrays Grace, a Jewish high school senior from a privileged background. Alberto and Grace form an immediate bond. Alberto's circumstances make him vulnerable, and he's accused of murder. Grace is certain of his innocence and attempts to prove it. Barillas and Shalan narrate alternating chapters, infusing their performances with emotion and urgency. Both effectively use accents for various characters and Spanish when necessary. A sound effect, doubling Barillas's voice, effectively suggests Alberto's voices. A.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2023 - AudioFile