One Last Chance to Live

By: Francisco X. Stork

Narrated by: Christian Barillas

What would you do if you had one last summer to live?

Nico has always believed in his dreams. Especially the dream he has of becoming a writer; it's the reason why he started taking a creative writing class his senior year of high school. But then Nico has a dream about his own funeral. A dream that feels too real to ignore.

In it, Rosario is beckoning to him. Rosario was Nico's neighbor, his best friend's girlfriend, and his inspiration. She was also the girl that Nico was in love with. And Rosario died last year.

Nico becomes obsessed with figuring out what Rosario was trying to say to him, and how she died. Surely if he can make sense of her death, he can find a way to prevent his own?

But at the same time, Nico's mom is sick, and his brother is falling down a bad path with a local gang. Nico knows it's on him to step up and take care of his family—but how can he keep it together when, like Rosario, he sees how easy it might be to just let go of it all?

This searingly beautiful and hopeful novel is about the search for a life of meaning and creativity, while also accepting the flawed life that we're given. It's a love story between a teen boy and the girl who still haunts his dreams.

©2024 Francisco X. Stork (P)2024 Scholastic Audio Books

Critic reviews

A Junior Library Guild Selection

"The narrative's high-stakes conflicts are front and center, [but] it's the sheer sweetness of Alberto and Grace's love story that sets the tone of this hopeful read."—Publishers Weekly

"Alberto's suspected schizophrenia makes him heartbreakingly susceptible to both the best and worst of humanity. An illuminatingly powerful story about mental illness, young love, faith, and hope."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review