On the Hook - Francisco X. Stork (Blog Tour & Review)

Date of Reading: 11/05/2021

Author: Francisco X. Stork

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publication Date: May 18, 2021

Source: Edelweiss+

Rating: 5/5

(This review is part of the blog tour organised by Colored Pages Tours)

About the book:

"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.

Review:

        Ah! This book . . . it has made me speechless and flabbergasted. Why did I ever sign up for this nerve-racking, utterly realistic, anxiety inducer? And why are my eyes constantly leaking? It is high time I dusted my room. My allergies are getting worse it seems.

        Let's talk about the story then. Hector is your typical smart ass nerdy student who is timid around girls but brutal on a chess board. He is all set for his future academic endeavours which can take him out of that shitty neighbourhood of drug dealers until everything goes down the drain when he is singled out by Joey. He is bullied and threatened to the point that the fear begins to consume him.

        Things begin to take a turn for the worse when his brother Fili is killed by Joey in his fight against Joey's brother, Chavo. Hector temporarily decapacitates Chavo and both of them are sent to a school for correction for six months. A lie could have saved Hector but he has an ulterior motive now: revenge. He needs to kill Joey.

        He could either go on with his life with the insurance money his brother has left or pursue revenge which will ultimately shut him permanently in a federal prison. So what is it to be? The agony had me glued to the kindle the entire time, sharing his pain, anger and guilt of watching his brother helplessly being killed in front of him. It could be my primitive animalistic nature speaking here, but I wanted Hector to kill Joey, the consequences be damned. Yes, Joey had his share of a tragic past, but does knowing that take away the pain of a loved one lost forever?

        Unfortunately the odds are stacked against Hector. This is no fantasy movie where the traumatised hero can be transformed into a vigilante overnight. How could one fight against someone good in street fighting? And with each opportunity lost where Hector gets humiliated, my anger rose to new levels. That is why I really appreciate the way author chose to end the story satisfying both the good and the bad.

        It goes without saying that this is one of the best books I have read this year. It has been a long time since I felt so close to a particular character as if he is a living breathing human being with emotions so real.

Favourite quotes:

"Courage was more than the willingness to take risks. . . It was composure under pressure, the ability to keep the mind alert and focused no matter what."

"I've watched my own cowardice with my mind's flashlight for many years. Looking at it doesn't make it go away. It just helps me live with it. As far as I can tell, that's what courage is, finding a way to live with our cowardice."

"Happiness is what you like to do, and duty is what you need to do. But what if the duty comes from love?"

Meet the author:

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.