Trigger warnings: Death of parents, grief and loss depiction

5/10, after I read some science fiction and fantasy books I wanted to take a break from them and decide to read a realistic novel instead but I was so underwhelmed by this and where do I even start since there are so many problems with this. Irises by Francisco X. Stork starts with sisters Kate and Mary who just lost their father and their mother is in a coma for quite a while, they're hoping that she will recover from that but I will see her fate later on. To pass the time one of the sisters decides to make some more art and they both go to school and live the best life they can though they have harder lives than others due to that devastating loss however I felt that all of the characters were quite flat and I ended up not caring for them at all since they weren't fleshed out nor developed and I especially didn't like Kate and Mary as much since they were cold and spoke unrealistically since they forced themselves not to use slang and sometimes that works but in this case, it didn't. Towards the end of the book, the sisters ponder on whether to take off life support from their mother and they eventually let her die, now they are orphans but it doesn't matter anyways since one sister is 18 and can take care of the other sister who is 16. If you like books about grief skip this one and try Where the Road Leads Us by Robin Reul or Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley. ( )

Two sisters discover what's truly worth living for in the new novel by the author of Marcelo in the Real World.

TWO SISTERS: Kate is bound for Stanford and an M.D. - if her family will let her go. Mary wants only to stay home and paint. When their loving but repressive father dies, they must figure out how to support themselves and their mother, who is in a permanent vegetative state, and how to get along in all their uneasy sisterhood.

THREE YOUNG MEN: Then three men sway their lives: Kate's boyfriend Simon offers to marry her, providing much-needed stability. Mary is drawn to Marcos, though she fears his violent past. And Andy tempts Kate with more than romance, recognizing her ambition because it matches his own.

ONE AGONIZING CHOICE: Kate and Mary each find new possibilities and darkness in their sudden freedom. But it's Mama's life that might divide them for good - the question of *if* she lives, and what's worth living for. ( )

Irises is a YA story by Franciso X. Stork, an author that I have found incredibly reliable at delivering interesting stories in an intelligent, well written manner. This is the first book by him that I haven’t been totally absorbed by and loved. Don’t get me wrong, it is still an interesting subject matter and is very well written, it just wasn’t a story that particularly appealed to me at this time.

It is about two sisters, Kate and Mary, who have been brought up by a strict father and whose mother, who brought the light and laughter to their lives, has been in a vegetative state for the last two years. The live in El Paso, Texas, but Kate dreams of going to university at Stanford in California. Mary lives to paint, although since her mother’s accident she has struggled to find the passion for her art. When their father dies suddenly, the two sisters must find a way to reach an agreement on some major decisions that need to be made before the girls can be free to find their way forward.

Irises is a story of love, sorrow and hope as these two sisters work through some very real problems and learn the value of having family at your side to help with the pain and hardships. Although this wasn’t a story that I particularly identified with, I can see that, like most good YA literature, it could generate good discussion among fourteen – fifteen year old readers. ( )

"Our mother has been in a vegetative state for years, our father just died, what should we do now?" For a book whose plot is, essentially, a series of logistical issues proceeding from this premise, this is surprisingly page-turny. It was fairly clear to me early on what the best resolution of the logistics should be, but watching the sisters get there was compelling. I especially loved (and was surprised by) the explorations of spirituality, and the character of Rev. Soto. It's definitely older YA, or whatever we're calling the "early 20s" category of readers ("New Adult"? Is that accepted now?). It's slow and meditative, romance isn't central, and most of the questions are the "what should I do with my life?" questions of new adults rather than the "who am I?" questions of younger teens. I don't think I'd recommend it to the 14-year-olds who love John Green or [b:If I Stay|4374400|If I Stay (If I Stay, #1)|Gayle Forman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347462970s/4374400.jpg|4422413]; I'd be more inclined to give this to an older teen or young actual adult, especially one dealing with family responsibility or interested in spiritual questions. ( )

This is a wonderful story about family and growing up. It was hard to read because of my own upbringing, a strict household with a religious parent, but only because my family was well adapting. I knew why Kate and Mary's dad was so hard on them but they didn't because he never got a chance to explain like mine did.
What made this story worth the struggle to read was the growing relationship between the two sisters. Kate being the oldest and bearing the brunt of her father's loving but overbearing nature was the more selfish of the two. She dreamed of going to Stanford because her mom made her promise she would go there. At one point Kate also promised to take care of her family no matter but somehow made a lot of choices that weren't the best for them. She struggles with how to take care of her sister and continue pursuing her dreams and by the end the conclusion was so satisfying.
I didn't like Kate's romance at all. Her doormat of a boyfriend Simon was a sad fellow who probably should've taken a hint long before he proposed that she wasn't as into him as he thought. Alex was an ambitious ass who screamed creeper to me. I cast him as this hot preacher dude that a girl could fantasize about and go to hell for but he was unacceptable to my eyes for her thank god Kate came to the same conclusion
Mary on the other hand had a sweet growing up arc that made me smile. And Marcos was such a cutie pie I wanted to squish them together and throw paper heart confetti in the air
Great story for the family aspect but don't hold your breath for an epic romance. ( )