Francisco Xavier Arguelles was born in 1953 in Monterrey, Mexico. His mother, Ruth Arguelles, was a single woman from a middle-class family in Tampico. Six years later, Ruth married Charles Stork, a retired man of Dutch ancestry, who adopted Francisco. When Francisco announced that he wanted to be a writer, Charlie gave him a portable typewriter for his seventh birthday. Two years later, Francisco and his family moved to El Paso, Texas, where he was sent to grammar school to learn English.

As a teenager, Francisco was given a scholarship to the local Jesuit academy and soon rose to the top of his class. Based on his success there, he received an honors scholarship to attend Spring Hill College, a small Jesuit school in Mobile, Alabama. Francisco majored in English literature and philosophy and received the college”s creative writing prize. He was awarded the prestigious Danforth Fellowship to attend graduate school at Harvard University, where he studied Latin American literature with writers like Octavio Paz, the Mexican Nobel Laureate.

After four years at Harvard, Francisco went to Columbia Law School, planning to make a living as a lawyer while writing fiction. Twenty years, and 12 or so legal jobs later, he published his first novel for adults, THE WAY OF THE JAGUAR.

Francisco X. Stork works in Boston as an attorney for a state agency that develops affordable housing. He is married and has two adult children.

Books by Francisco X. Stork

Disappeared

by Francisco X. Stork - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Young Adult 12+

Four months ago, Sara Zapata's best friend disappeared, kidnapped by the web of criminals who terrorize Juarez.. Four hours ago, Sara received a death threat --- and with it, a clue to the place where her friend is locked away. Four weeks ago, Emiliano Zapata fell in love with Perla Rubi, who will never be his so long as he's poor. Four minutes ago, Emiliano got the chance to make more money than he ever dreamed --- just by joining the web. In the next four days, Sara and Emiliano will each face impossible choices. But when the web closes in on Sara, only one path remains for the siblings: the way across the desert to the United States.

The Memory of Light

by Francisco X. Stork - Family, Mental Health, Youth Fiction

When Vicky Cruz wakes up in the Lakeview Hospital Mental Disorders ward, she knows one thing: She can't even commit suicide right. But for once, a mistake works out well for her, as 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 her back to the life that drove her to suicide, Vicky must try to find the strength to carry on. She may not have it. She doesn't know.

Irises

by Francisco X. Stork - Young Adult 14+

Marcelo in the Real World

by Francisco X. Stork - Fiction, Young Adult 12+

Marcelo Sandoval has an unidentified, autism-like impairment and hears music no one else can --- and he's always attended a school that's been protective of his differences. But then his father demands that Marcelo work in his law firm's mailroom, where he learns about competition and jealousy, anger and desire. But it's a picture of a girl with half a face that truly connects him to "the real world": its suffering, its injustice, and what he can do to fight.

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors

by Francisco X. Stork - Fiction, Young Adult 12+

When Pancho arrives at St. Anthony's Home, he knows his time there will be short: If his plans succeed, he'll soon be arrested for the murder of his sister's killer. But then he's assigned to help D.Q., who has brain cancer and a "Death Warrior's Manifesto” that will change Pancho’s life for good.