Francisco Stork

Alberto has recently begun hearing a voice in his head. The voice is loud, says mean things, and tells Alberto to do bad things. Alberto fights against the voice but as the story proceeds, it becomes harder for Alberto to fight. Grace meets Alberto when he comes to clean the windows in her and her mother’s apartment. Grace is on her way to becoming valedictorian and attending Princeton, and a future with boyfriend Michael, but lately she has felt a loss of purpose, perhaps some depression. Grace is drawn to Alberto’s gentleness when they meet, and soon there is an attraction. But Alberto ends up the suspect of an elderly woman’s murder. His mental illness means he sometimes can’t remember things, and he doesn’t remember killing the woman. His illness worsens and Grace is caught between wanting to help him and wondering if she should. There's a connection of care within the community besides Grace; there is the rabbi and Benny among others. Author has lived experience with bipolar disease.… (more)

{My thoughts} – I just picked a random book out of my review pile for Scholastic and started reading it. Most of the books I have an idea of what they are about, but a majority of the time it’s a nice little mystery until I start reading. This book was definitely a nice little mystery.

Vicky lost her mother at a young age and her father remarried not long after. Her older sister Becca moved on in much the same way as their father. This left Vicky in the dark alone, sad and missing her mother, no one seemed to share or display the sane feelings she had which was causing a kind of rift between the members of the family without them actually realizing it was happening.

Vicky decided that since she felt so empty and alone that she’d take her own life. She attempted but her cat and her Nana saved her life. It’s a lucky thing that she was able to live through what she’d done and that she’d been given a second chance.

The book covers suicide awareness as well as depression awareness. Vicky’s main issue is a depression that had been ignored and not treated. When that happens it has the potential to escalate into suicide tendencies.

I know about both topics all to well. They have both effected my life in one way or another. Making people aware that they aren’t alone and that there is real hope at the end of the long dark tunnel is the only thing that can be honestly done. Hope is essential and important to assist with the desire to move forward.

Once Vicky started to hope and understand that there was a real future for her is when she started to accept her illness as just that an illness. It’s not something that defines an individual it just has the potential to make life a little more complicated for those suffering from it.

I highly recommend this book for anyone that’s ever felt depressed or suicidal. It’s incredibly well written and helps to show that no matter how alone you may feel in the terrible dark times, that your never truly alone.… (more)

{My thoughts} – I just picked a random book out of my review pile for Scholastic and started reading it. Most of the books I have an idea of what they are about, but a majority of the time it’s a nice little mystery until I start reading. This book was definitely a nice little mystery.

Vicky lost her mother at a young age and her father remarried not long after. Her older sister Becca moved on in much the same way as their father. This left Vicky in the dark alone, sad and missing her mother, no one seemed to share or display the sane feelings she had which was causing a kind of rift between the members of the family without them actually realizing it was happening.

Vicky decided that since she felt so empty and alone that she’d take her own life. She attempted but her cat and her Nana saved her life. It’s a lucky thing that she was able to live through what she’d done and that she’d been given a second chance.

The book covers suicide awareness as well as depression awareness. Vicky’s main issue is a depression that had been ignored and not treated. When that happens it has the potential to escalate into suicide tendencies.

I know about both topics all to well. They have both effected my life in one way or another. Making people aware that they aren’t alone and that there is real hope at the end of the long dark tunnel is the only thing that can be honestly done. Hope is essential and important to assist with the desire to move forward.

Once Vicky started to hope and understand that there was a real future for her is when she started to accept her illness as just that an illness. It’s not something that defines an individual it just has the potential to make life a little more complicated for those suffering from it.

I highly recommend this book for anyone that’s ever felt depressed or suicidal. It’s incredibly well written and helps to show that no matter how alone you may feel in the terrible dark times, that your never truly alone.… (more)