Irises

Gr 9 Up—Kate, 18, and Mary, 16, are sisters woven from the same cloth, but as different as plaid and paisley in Francisco X. Stork's engaging novel (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Bks., 2012). Kate dreams of attending Stanford and becoming a doctor. Mary, a talented artist, wants to capture the world's beauty on canvas. Unfortunately, their dreams begin to fade after an accident leaves their mother in a permanent vegetative state. Their father, a Texas pastor, is loving, kind, and extremely repressive. After his unexpected death, their differences threaten to pull them apart—Kate struggles with faith, Mary rests in its peace; Kate wants to remove her mother's feeding tube, Mary does not. Complications continue when two men vie for Kate's affection: sensitive, dependable Simon and the ambitious Reverend Soto. And the never-been-kissed Mary falls for bad-boy Marcos. An epilogue neatly wraps up the story lines and Mary discovers that Van Gogh's "Irises," which she has been struggling to replicate, hold similarities to her and Kate: they are similar, yet their beauty lies in the subtle and unique differences. Narrator Carrington MacDuffie provides small, yet distinct character transitions; her voicing of Aunt Julia is superb. This tender, coming-of-age story proclaims the resiliency of love and its ability to mend, bind, and strengthen the human spirit. A great choice!—Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH