Publishers Weekly
08/24/2020
In this sequel to The Disappeared, Stork revisits the Zapata siblings, who are now on the run from the cartels and seeking asylum in the U.S. Three weeks ago, Sara, a reporter in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, helped free her best friend Linda Fuentes, who was kidnapped by Leopoldo Hinojosa. When Linda sends Hinojosa’s cellphone to Sara, Sara becomes a target. After Hinojosa’s men attack them on the journey, Sara turns herself in to plead for asylum at Fort Stockton Detention Center, leaving Emiliano with the object. In Chicago, Emiliano hides with their father, Roberto Zapata, now Bob Gropper, who immigrated five years ago and started a new family. But Bob’s new wife, Nancy, is less than thrilled to be harboring “an illegal stranger.” Things grow more complicated when Emiliano’s whereabouts are discovered, and Sara learns that the guards at the detention center may be compromised. Stork delivers another thrilling story, carefully juxtaposing the issues asylum seekers face with the experiences of “illegal” immigrants in a dual-perspective first-person narrative. Socially relevant and politically poignant, Stork’s propulsive thriller explores how the U.S. justice system treats immigrants. Ages 12– up. Agent: Faye Bender, the Book Group. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Illegal:
"An eye-opening look at U.S. immigration wrapped inside a tense thriller." - Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee
"Illegal is a compelling read infused with Francisco Stork's signature heart and thought-provoking ideas. With honesty and authenticity, it grapples with questions that we all ask ourselves about the moral inequities of immigration. Heartbreaking, yet hopeful." - Pam Muñoz Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of Echo and Esperanza Rising
"Illegal is timely and evocative. Once again, Francisco X. Stork challenges and expands our perceptions of empathy, justice, and what it means to be human." - Sharon Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of The Light in Hidden Places
* "A thrilling page-turner and as a powerful analysis of injustice happening within America's borders." - Booklist, starred review
"A brilliant, penetrating follow-up." - Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Disappeared:
* "A timely and touching novel that will surely engross fans of true crime stories. This title would be a welcome addition to young adult collections." - School Library Journal, starred review
* "A tense thriller elevated by Stork's nuanced writing and empathy for every character, including the villains-superb." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "Stork beautifully explores the strong ties to one's home along with... the lure of power; and the strength necessary to dream, hope, and make positive change in such crushingly dangerous and difficult circumstances." - The Horn Book Magazine, starred review
* "Stork uses parallel storylines to flesh out the two protagonists, and then slowly brings them together to a harrowing climax. Not only does this result in a riveting story, it also highlights the harsh complexity of young Mexicans' lives. Readers will find this thrilling as well as eye-opening." - Booklist, starred review
Praise for The Memory of Light:
* "Stork further marks himself as a major voice in teen literature by delivering one of his richest and most emotionally charged novels yet." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "Stork writes sensitively about Vicky's journey from near death to shaky recovery... A subject that needs the discussion Stork's potent novel can readily provide." - Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "Accurate, heartbreaking, and hopeful... A beautiful read." - School Library Journal, starred review
* "Undeniable emotional strength and an encouraging, compassionate message. Stork writes his characters with authenticity and respect... Highly rewarding." - Booklist, starred 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
School Library Journal
08/01/2020
Gr 8 Up—Beginning immediately on the heels of Disappeared, siblings Sara and Emiliano Zapato find themselves separated in their attempt to escape a cruel cartel who threatened reporter Sara and her family, after she discovered the cartel was behind a string of young girls' disappearances in their hometown of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. After successfully crossing the border into the United States, Sara turns herself in to petition for asylum, and is being held at an immigrant detention facility where the Mexican cartel has more sway in her treatment than the rule of law Sara was so certain she'd find in this new country. Meanwhile, Emiliano heads to Aurora to live with his estranged father and attempts to lift incriminating information from the cellphone he and Sara were able to smuggle from the Mexican cartel. But the life and danger they left behind is more intertwined with the people they know stateside than Emiliano or Sara ever fathomed possible, and each sibling's next move to do what's right could be the one that sends them both back to Mexico—and certain death. While some of the circumstances that keep the suspense high require some suspension of disbelief, a truthful and timely look into the United States' immigration procedures and divisive political landscape shines through. An epilogue seems to conclude Sara and Emiliano's fate for good. VERDICT A strong showing for fans of crime and suspense, and recommended where the first title does well.—Brittany Drehobl, Morton Grove P.L., IL
SEPTEMBER 2020 - AudioFile
Roxana Ortega and Christian Barillas return to narrate the conclusion to Stork’s previous book, DISAPPEARED. Having escaped the cartel in Mexico and illegally entered the United States, Sara, voiced by Ortega, has applied for asylum and awaits in a detention facility for a decision on her status. Ortega conveys Sara’s frustration as her faith in the U.S. justice system wanes with each passing day. Her brother, Emiliano, voiced by Barillas, manages to evade U.S. authorities but is being pursued by the cartel because he has evidence that proves their trafficking activities. Brutal worlds are revealed as the siblings risk everything to secure better lives. An intense, action-packed listen. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2020-06-01
Following their escape from the cartels and corrupt local police threatening their lives in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Sara Zapata and her brother, Emiliano, learn that even Los Estados Unidos can’t guarantee their safety.
About 10 days have passed since their fateful trek across the border chronicled in the closing chapters of Disappeared (2017). Held captive at the Fort Stockton Detention Center, Sara awaits the results of her appeal for asylum in the U.S., every day losing more hope among the other women refugees. In the meantime, she must endure the ire of detention center personnel, including an office director with dangerous criminal ties. Unable to continue her investigation of a human trafficking ring with roots in Mexico and the U.S., Sara pins all her hopes on Emiliano, who now holds the all-important cellphone with incriminating data linking the powerful officials and criminals involved in the abduction and captivity of las Desaparecidas. Emiliano, meanwhile, heads off on a harrowing journey of his own, struggling to reconnect with his estranged, Americanized father while striving to elude danger at every corner, including the looming threat of deportation. Switching from third-person narration to a less enthralling first-person alternating narration, this sequel piles on the suspense and twists. Though there’s some muddled political commentary, Stork offers a biting indictment of the U.S. government’s immoral apathy to the refugee crisis within its borders. Strong character development, however, reigns supreme.
A brilliant, penetrating follow-up. (Thriller. 12-18)
