On the Hook

Title: On The Hook
Author: Francisco X. Stork
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: May 18th, 2021
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis:

“You think you’re better than everyone else?

Listen to me, I’m going to kill you.”

Hector has always minded his own business, working hard to make his way to a better life someday. He’s the chess team champion, helps the family with his job at the grocery, and teaches his little sister to shoot hoops overhand.

Until Joey singles him out. Joey, whose older brother, Chavo, is head of the Discípulos gang, tells Hector that he’s going to kill him: maybe not today, or tomorrow, but someday. And Hector, frozen with fear, does nothing. From that day forward, Hector’s death is hanging over his head every time he leaves the house. He tries to fade into the shadows – to drop off Joey’s radar – to become no one.

But when a fight between Chavo and Hector’s brother Fili escalates, Hector is left with no choice but to take a stand.

The violent confrontation will take Hector places he never expected, including a reform school where he has to live side-by-side with his enemy, Joey. It’s up to Hector to choose whether he’s going to lose himself to revenge or get back to the hard work of living.

Thank you so much to Colored Pages Tours and the author for providing me an e-copy of the book. Today I bring to you all an interview of Francisco X. Stork!

Author Interview

How would you describe yourself in few words? If you had to choose a music genre to represent yourself and your writing, which one would it be? Is there a particular music artist you favor?

I just realized that it has been a very long time since I tried to describe myself. I’m 68 years old and I try to be a good, kind, helpful person to others. My writing would probably resemble one of those jazz pieces that is quick-paced, interesting, and soulful. I love Keith Jarrett – The Melody at Night, with You is one of my favorites.

Which type of genre and style of story do you prefer the most to read about? Does it have any influence on your writing style and world view?

Most of what I read is realistic fiction which is also what I write. The authors that have influenced me the most have a way of immersing me in the story with their ability to describe reality, including the inner world of the characters, in a way that makes me see and understand my self and the world more clearly.

How would you rank the following and why – character development, story setting and plot twists?

Character is always first for me. I spend a lot of time creating characters, making them real, before I even start writing. The story is the telling of how the characters grow and the obstacles that threaten to keep them from growing. Plot is always related to the inner life and moral decisions of the characters.

When did you start writing and does your professional background play a special role in your stories?

I started keeping a journal when I was in high school and got into the habit of writing every day. Sometimes I just copied passages from books that I was reading that inspired me. But it wasn’t until I was forty-years old that I started to write novels with the hope of publication. I was working as a lawyer at the time and had a family, so I had to make time in the mornings before work and at night after my children were in bed. Some of my novels have lawyers and law firms in them, but the influence of my legal career in my writing is mostly stylistic. I think being a lawyer trained me to search for the exact word and to write with brevity, clarity and simplicity.

If you had to describe your journey writing this book in one word, how would you describe it and why?

The one word to describe my journey in writing On the Hook would be: Renewal. This book is a renewal of a book I first wrote some fifteen years ago. I kept the name of some of the old characters and some of the setting but set about to create a new story with characters that were more real and more complex. Writing this book was also a kind of personal renewal for me in that the seed for the story was my experiences living in the housing projects of El Paso when I was a teenager. Writing the story of Hector and Joey gave me a certain closure with that period of my life.

Which message do you want the readers to understand through the main characters and general outline of the book?

I think that one of the big issues for young people is finding out who they want to be. Actually, this is an important question even for old people like me! It takes a long time for Hector (the main character in the book) to realize that he can actually choose who he wants to be and not be a slave to his desire for revenge or to some external image of masculinity. Hector’s journey of discovering the freedom to be is the journey that I would like my readers to make.

The themes of this book include killing, loss and revenge… was there a particular reason for these themes and the combination?

Many young people live in places where people get killed, where there is daily loss and where hatred is pervasive. I wanted to present the reality of this type of environment and the psychological and spiritual effect it has on the young people that live there.

How important do you think it is for the young adults to get to know the message you are trying to portray? Do you think there is good representation of the same in the media or publishing industry?

I am really hoping that this book makes its way into the hands of young men who are at risk of losing their lives or their spirit through violence. I worked very hard at making this book interesting and meaningful to someone like them. There are lots of movies and books that portray hatred and revenge, but what I don’t see so much is a realistic portrayal of how a young person can disengage, can “unhook” himself or herself from hatred, anger and violence. To do so requires a mental and spiritual process. My hope is that this book helps young people by telling the story of Hector and Joey as they struggle with this process.

I am really curious about this question – what is the most unusual writing quirk you have?

For some reason it’s hard for me to concentrate when my writing room (a little office I have in the basement of my house) is messy. I spend some time before writing making sure everything is in the right place!

Lastly, what piece of advice would you like to give to the upcoming writers about their stories and getting themselves published?

Write about things that are interesting and meaningful to you – things you would write even if no one publishes them. Think of writing as something that you will do all your life and every effort is practice that makes you a better writer and also the person you are meant to be.

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Review

I am genuinely touched and a bit surprised at how dynamic this book is. I am finding it difficult to fish for words to describe because every common adjective seems too bland to associate it with this book – mainly because of the fact that this book covers various aspects.

The main character and his family are grieving the loss of their father and due to this sudden change, they come to live at the housing projects in their city and it is not at all easy for them. Neither the grief nor the housing conditions, continuously on edge because of the drug dealer in the area. Hector tries to keep a low profile so as to not get ‘singled out’ by Joey and his brother but fails when one evening he sees that he is in their radar. Things go well and Joey ends up killing Fili, leading him and Hector to the reform school, side by side. Hector is brimming with his urge for revenge and does not know what to do.

Now, the thing is that the book is actually what the blurb tells us – there’s violence, grief and all. But oh my, underlying it all there is such a sad and hopeful plot. It hurt so much reading that just when Fili and the whole family started to try to get past their grief, things went so south field ugh. Coupled with it Hector’s grief, anger and revenge was something that even I could feel. I couldn’t help but wonder what would I have done if I was in his shoes and the fact remains that I don’t know. These turn of events costed him his family, his dreams, his aspirations just because of some really bad people and he did not deserve all this at all.

And I am not gonna lie, even though I was urging Hector to move past his revenge… a part deep inside me was hoping that he would get his revenge fulfilled because why not? But each time things got more difficult for him and there was no easy way out. I am happy how the ending turned out with this one because I was satisfied with it. I tried creating different scenarios as to how it could have been ended but there was nothing. I lived for the character development and the dynamic story setting that was going with this book. Oh and I regretted not keeping tissues beside me because that meant I had to control my tears and not listen to songs because then I would have ended up crying so much. And no, it wasn’t like the story paused when I took a break from reading because my thoughts and emotions did not find peace until I had finished this book. A great read, indeed.

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Author Info

Francisco X. Stork was born in Mexico. He moved to El Paso Texas with his adoptive father and mother when he was nine. He attended Spring Hill College, Harvard University and Columbia Law School. He worked as an attorney for thirty-three years before retiring in 2015. He is married and has two grown children and four beautiful grandkids. He loves to discover new books and authors. His favorite books are those where the author’s soul touches his. He does not read reviews to his books so you should feel free to write whatever you want. Also, he is genuinely interested in learning about books and life from his friends on this site. He would love it if you find his books worthy to be read, but that’s not why he wants to be your friend.
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