Irises

Irises by Francisco X. Stork

When their father dies, teenage sisters Kate and Mary face challenges beyond their imaginations. Eighteen-year-old Kate is excited about the prospect of attending Stanford and becoming a doctor. Mary, her younger sister, dreams of a life filled with painting. Their father’s death leaves them as the caretakers of their mother, who has been in a persistent vegetative state since a car accident several years prior. With the only family member living too far away to really help and their money quickly running out, the girls are faced with life’s toughest decisions.

Likes

The family is Hispanic, but that doesn’t really play a major role in the book, making the story even more relatable to a wider audience.

Dislikes

I felt that the author was not able to convincingly write from a teenage girl’s point of view. The character’s voices didn’t feel authentic. While I try to not compare this to Marcello in the Real World, the other book I’ve read by Stork, I can’t help but notice that the quality of writing found in Marcello is lacking from Irises.

Other

ARC that i picked up at ALA Midwinter Meeting last month.