At the end of The Memory of Light, Francisco X. Stork vulnerably revealed his own experiences with depression and suicide. In another intimate author's note appended to his 10th novel, I Am Not Alone, about an undocumented Mexican teen suspected of murder, Stork writes about his auditory hallucinations caused by bipolar disorder. That sensitive knowledge imbues his dramatic narrative with haunting power.
Eighteen-year-old Alberto's "mind work[s] slow," but "slow [is] not the same as dumbass." He's employed (at half-wages) by his sister Lupe's abusive boyfriend, Wayne, doing apartment maintenance. Wayne provides Lupe (and, by default, Alberto) with a place to live, since Wayne is the father of Lupe's baby. Alberto suspects Lupe is back on drugs.
Alberto isn't doing well himself. The voice in his head is getting stronger, taunting him with horrible thoughts. He calls the voice Captain America, "like the comic book character. It was not real. It had no power over him." But sometimes, Alberto blacks out and can't remember what happened. Captain America insists he killed, then robbed the old lady whose home he was painting. Lupe warns Alberto that the police are looking for him. The only person he can turn to is a girl he recently met--a girl with everything to lose if she helps him.
Stork constructs an intricate hunt for truth through the maze of mental illness. While Alberto's thrilling "did he or didn't he?" mystery drives the story, Stork also intertwines crises (and recoveries) of faith, family reunions, a love-story-in-progress, and maybe even a pottery lesson. Stork's resonating, empathic fiction once again provides audiences with convincing reasons to believe "I am not alone." --Terry Hong, BookDragon