Reviews

My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse

sjzuhlsallyn's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

intorilex's review against another edition

2.0

DNF at 24%

I really liked the premise and themes, but ultimately the writing was not compelling enough to keep me interested. As other reviewers have said I think a short story or different medium could have addressed these ideas more effectively.

shorereader's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

thekaylie's review

0.5

did not enjoy. i AM hispanic, child of immigrants, and i love a slight dystopia, so you would think this would just butter my muffin perfectly. i TOO have felt divided between american and hispanic and the difficulty of being both. i even have changed my name to kate for a year because i didn’t wanna correct my teacher. but dear fucking god this gave me a headache. firstly, the chapters have no structure to them and the writing jumps from topic to topic back to topic number 1 to topic x to topic 17, it feels like i’m playing leapfrog against my will. no character is likeable, not even mel (im biased idgaf), but especially the main character. i genuinely would bitch slap her across the face. her viewpoint was so frustrating THE WHOLE TIME. a fucking nimby and i wanted to tear my eyelashes off with every opinion she had! she is so unbelievably racist from start to finish and it’s not even. like. discussed well. i did skip about the entire midsection of this book and guess what i don’t care i read enough to know i didn’t like it. i can read spanish but fuck you if you don’t ig. you wanted to read a book about another ethnicity to gain some knowledge and empathy? NOPE! 

not my cup of tea. 

debldroege's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

amator_librorum's review

medium-paced

3.25

nekreader's review

2.0

I was happy to win this in a Goodreads giveaway and am glad I read it. There are several good ideas here, but they felt largely unexplored. I would have appreciated more focus on fewer story threads. Also, as many have noted, it's tough going in parts if you don't speak/read Spanish. You can get the gist of the situation for the most part, and in a way that struggle makes a point about belonging.

vi0letskies's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

brendatucci's review

medium-paced

3.5

the_midwest_library's review

challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I'm a bit conflicted on this. Part of me really loved this. The entire book is a fantastic exploration of an alternative reality US where citizen children of undocumented parents are facing a very targeted social stigmatization. This story of first generation children was turned on its head in a very "MAGA" toned way. It was a really compelling story. 

My biggest problem is with the MC. She is simultaneously likeable and sympathetic and exceptionally unlikeable, and weirdly hostile yet contrite. I found her voice to be really complex but almost predictably vexing. She wasn't unlikeable enough, nor did her story arc provide enough growth and resolution for me to understand the unlikeability. 

I do think this was a powerful story. The blending of speculative elements was well done. This was pitched to fans of Exit West. I would 100% agree with that.