Scan barcode
robbynjreeve's review
3.0
FRANCISCO X. STORK
Kate is headed for Stanford to become a doctor. Mary just wants to learn how to paint like she used to before her mothers accident. Then their father dies. Now Kate doesn't know how she can afford to live her dream, and how she can leave Mary and their mother (who's in a coma) behind. Then comes the new pastor to replace their father. Andy recognizes Kate's ambition to become a doctor, it's the same way he feels about preaching. Meanwhile, Mary meets Marcos. Mary who's rejected every boy before now finds herself falling for this one, with a dangerous past.
The story is deeper than this. It explores all the areas of gray. Should Kate live her dream to become a doctor, even if it means leaving her sister behind? Should Mary let Marcos into her life and give him a chance, despite his violent past? Should they finally pull the plug on their mother? Stork's novel dives into these hard questions, and makes them be answered. Whether they are the right choices is not for the readers to decide, but the sisters.
Kate is headed for Stanford to become a doctor. Mary just wants to learn how to paint like she used to before her mothers accident. Then their father dies. Now Kate doesn't know how she can afford to live her dream, and how she can leave Mary and their mother (who's in a coma) behind. Then comes the new pastor to replace their father. Andy recognizes Kate's ambition to become a doctor, it's the same way he feels about preaching. Meanwhile, Mary meets Marcos. Mary who's rejected every boy before now finds herself falling for this one, with a dangerous past.
The story is deeper than this. It explores all the areas of gray. Should Kate live her dream to become a doctor, even if it means leaving her sister behind? Should Mary let Marcos into her life and give him a chance, despite his violent past? Should they finally pull the plug on their mother? Stork's novel dives into these hard questions, and makes them be answered. Whether they are the right choices is not for the readers to decide, but the sisters.
captkaty's review against another edition
3.0
I admire Francisco X. Stork, but I didn't love this book. More of the type of book that critics and librarians admire rather than one that really resonates with readers. I felt that it would have been better to focus on the experience of just one of the sisters rather than both, as each of them had a supporting cast of friends, romantic interests, and general teen problems that were really tangential to the core of the story: the family.
readwithpassion's review against another edition
3.0
Two sisters--one whose dream is to get into Stanford and the other whose dream is to be a famous artist. Neither of their dreams seem possible because they must devote their time to the care of their mother who is in a vegetative state after a devastating car accident. After further tragedy strikes, the sisters are forced to make a decision that will change their lives.
readerpants's review
3.0
I liked:
- the character growth
- the very real and difficult question at the heart of the story, about end-of-life care and their mom.
Not so much:
- the writing style just felt flat, to the extent that it was hard for me to enter into the story in any significant way. I don't remember his other books feeling so stilted and clunky -- and I would have noticed -- so I would guess that it was either an attempt to write younger or a conscious stylistic choice that may have backfired somewhat. I'm tempted to say that it's the very formal dialogue at fault, but E.L. Konigsburg is another whose characters practically never use contractions, and her stories don't feel didactically flat in the same way. (Though her books *are* often didactic, so hm.)
I liked the shape of this book, the ideas, the characters, all the ingredients -- just not the final dish. However, I think what bothers me isn't as likely to bother young readers, esp 7th-9th grade (cf [b:Out of My Mind|6609765|Out of My Mind|Sharon M. Draper|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1347602096s/6609765.jpg|6803732]). In fact, I would have pegged this for a solidly middle-grade book if it wasn't for a paragraph or two involving ejaculation. (Also totally innocent, relevant, and younger! I'm thinking more of problems with assignments and sensitive parents rather than recreational reading - it's a funny little disconnect of tone.)
- the character growth
- the very real and difficult question at the heart of the story, about end-of-life care and their mom.
Not so much:
- the writing style just felt flat, to the extent that it was hard for me to enter into the story in any significant way. I don't remember his other books feeling so stilted and clunky -- and I would have noticed -- so I would guess that it was either an attempt to write younger or a conscious stylistic choice that may have backfired somewhat. I'm tempted to say that it's the very formal dialogue at fault, but E.L. Konigsburg is another whose characters practically never use contractions, and her stories don't feel didactically flat in the same way. (Though her books *are* often didactic, so hm.)
I liked the shape of this book, the ideas, the characters, all the ingredients -- just not the final dish. However, I think what bothers me isn't as likely to bother young readers, esp 7th-9th grade (cf [b:Out of My Mind|6609765|Out of My Mind|Sharon M. Draper|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1347602096s/6609765.jpg|6803732]). In fact, I would have pegged this for a solidly middle-grade book if it wasn't for a paragraph or two involving ejaculation. (Also totally innocent, relevant, and younger! I'm thinking more of problems with assignments and sensitive parents rather than recreational reading - it's a funny little disconnect of tone.)
shelfaddiction's review
3.0
Technically this is a YA fiction book, but probably should be classify as a Young Adult Christian fiction book. I was not expecting that because neither the book description nor any of the genres that this book was placed on goodreads.com gave any indication. I don't have an issue reading religious books, but I like to know what I'm getting into before I begin. I listed to this on audio over several days. It was entertaining and the story was light enough that I could listen and do other tasks. I picked up a free audio download courtesy of Sync (http://www.audiobooksync.com/) via Overdrive.
In El Paso Texas two sisters Kate & Mary Romero, 18 and 16 respectively, lives change drastically after this Pastor father dies. After their father passes they really only have each other. Thier mother has been in a persistant vegetative state for some years and requires a nurse to help care for her.
Both sisters are extremely sheltered. They don't know how to drive, don't have cell phones, have old clothes. I'm was shocked that Kate even was allowed to have a job! They were raised very different than the average child. Even their father didn't drive. In a lot of ways the girls are naive and ill prepared for the road that lies ahead. It was sad to learn that they were taught that having ambition is bad and one should basically be a martyr. It's very unfortunate for girls to be taught this.
Yes, Mary has her faith which helps her keep a level head, but Kate struggles with her faith. There were lessons they needed to be learned and some hard decisions that needed to be made. All the situations were discussed with grace and without being overly preachy. They had to deal with the state of their mother, being forced out of their home owned by the church, issues with insurance money, an seemingly despondent aunt, Kate's college situation and Mary's guardianship. On top of all those external situations, they had to come to terms with their own personal issues and growth.
With their friends and some advice from sounds sources, Kate and Mary navigate their way through becoming independent young women and learning how to communicate and trust each other. In the end, all worked out of course, but it was a rocky road getting there. I was happy to hear that both Kate and Mary got not only what they needed but what they wanted also. All in all, the book was good. I'd give it a chance if you're looking for something quick and easy.
Because this was audio, I must speak on the narrator's voice. I personally think they could have selected a better reader, her voice is so child like. At first I thought I was listening to a MD (Middle Grade) book, I almost cut it off after 15 minutes. But then I realized the story was a little bit older, so I hung in there. Listening to the narrators voice improved, but maybe that is only because I got used to it. It would have been nice to have a more mature sounding reader or to possibly have two different readers. One for Mary and one for Kate.
In El Paso Texas two sisters Kate & Mary Romero, 18 and 16 respectively, lives change drastically after this Pastor father dies. After their father passes they really only have each other. Thier mother has been in a persistant vegetative state for some years and requires a nurse to help care for her.
Both sisters are extremely sheltered. They don't know how to drive, don't have cell phones, have old clothes. I'm was shocked that Kate even was allowed to have a job! They were raised very different than the average child. Even their father didn't drive. In a lot of ways the girls are naive and ill prepared for the road that lies ahead. It was sad to learn that they were taught that having ambition is bad and one should basically be a martyr. It's very unfortunate for girls to be taught this.
Yes, Mary has her faith which helps her keep a level head, but Kate struggles with her faith. There were lessons they needed to be learned and some hard decisions that needed to be made. All the situations were discussed with grace and without being overly preachy. They had to deal with the state of their mother, being forced out of their home owned by the church, issues with insurance money, an seemingly despondent aunt, Kate's college situation and Mary's guardianship. On top of all those external situations, they had to come to terms with their own personal issues and growth.
With their friends and some advice from sounds sources, Kate and Mary navigate their way through becoming independent young women and learning how to communicate and trust each other. In the end, all worked out of course, but it was a rocky road getting there. I was happy to hear that both Kate and Mary got not only what they needed but what they wanted also. All in all, the book was good. I'd give it a chance if you're looking for something quick and easy.
Because this was audio, I must speak on the narrator's voice. I personally think they could have selected a better reader, her voice is so child like. At first I thought I was listening to a MD (Middle Grade) book, I almost cut it off after 15 minutes. But then I realized the story was a little bit older, so I hung in there. Listening to the narrators voice improved, but maybe that is only because I got used to it. It would have been nice to have a more mature sounding reader or to possibly have two different readers. One for Mary and one for Kate.
lawbooks600's review against another edition
2.0
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.
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.
itsmekaitebee's review against another edition
5.0
Is there a second book? I would like to know what happens...
losetimereading's review against another edition
I am not fond of this narrator. I'm not sure if that is the exact reason I'm dropping it or because the storyline is just not interesting. Either way I won't be attempting to finish this for awhile.
choosejoytoday's review against another edition
3.0
Focused on the story of two sisters after the death of their father. Their mom is in a vegetative state and living at their home, a parsonage. Turns out dad wasn't so forthcoming with his preexisting medical conditions, so after the life insurance claim is denied, the girls must make some tough decisions about their futures and their mom. I enjoyed the underlying theme? message? discussion? about ambition and dreams vs. responsibility and love.