Stalked: The Boy Who Said No: A True-Life Novel

Stalked: The Boy Who Said No is the second book in this “true-life story.” You may, therefore, take this as a form of novelized biography or even as a ghosted autobiography. However, no matter what the label you put on this “historical thriller and romance,” there’s one moderately serious flaw to address. This is the story of Frank Mederos, who escaped from Cuba in 1967, and, through his hard work and can-do attitude, made a success of his life in America.

Now my own preference is for books that purport to deal with the history of a country to offer a reasonably comprehensive view of the social and political context for the action. But this effort only sees America as welcoming, while all the scenes set in Cuba show it as hopelessly inefficient and corrupt. The race riots in Newark are mentioned, but not explained. The political pressure against immigration, which led to the repeal in 1966 of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1959, is not mentioned. Everything is painted in black-and-white terms. That said, the story of this man’s life and the challenges he had to overcome are told honestly and affectingly. So read this for the human story, not for the history.