The Memory of Light

This beautiful novel from the author of Marcelo in the Real World about life after a suicide attempt is perfect for fans of It's Kind of a Funny Story 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. 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 reviewPraise 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 reviewPraise 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 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; Irises; The Memory of Light, which received four starred reviews; and Disappeared, which also received four starred reviews and was named a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. He lives near Boston with his wife. You can find him on the web at franciscostork.com and @StorkFrancisco. From The Memory of Light:"What happened, mi niña? Why you do something so horrible? Something happen in school?""No, no." "Do you miss your mamá? I miss her too. Your mamá wouldn't want you to do this.""I know," I say, rubbing my eyes with my hands. "Who hurt you, mi niña? Tell me.""No one, Nana, no one hurt me. It just hurts inside, I don't know why.""Is it Barbara? Is that what happen?""No . . ." I have no answers to these questions, no explanations that make any sense. I feel my head shrinking, tightening with pressure, as if I were taking an exam in a foreign language on a subject I never even knew existed. "She okay. She tries. She needs learn to smile. So serious always. But s