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 darknesses 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 Francisco X. Stork's most provocative and courageous novel yet. Praise for Marcelo in the Real World:Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for TeensAn ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults"Brisk, brilliant, unsentimental." -- Robert Lipsyte, The New York Times Book Review"Stork delivers a powerful tale populated by appealing (and decidedly unappealing) characters and rich in emotional nuance." -- Kirkus, starred review"Shot with spirtualism, laced with love, and fraught with conundrums, this book, like Marcelo himself, surprises." -- Booklist, starred reviewPraise for The Last Summer of the Death Warriors:"[An] openhearted, sapient novel about finding authentic faith and choosing higher love."--Publishers Weekly, starred review"Stork's latest marks him as one of the most promising young adult authors of the new decade." -- The Horn Book, starred review"Complicated yet ultimately endearing characters are a Francisco Stork standard. His latest novel doesn't disappoint." -- Chicago Sun-Times"An intricate, engaging story, with the occasional parallel to Don Quixote." -- The Denver Post Francisco X. Stork is the author of Marcelo in the Real World, winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for Teens and the Once Upon a World Award; The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, which was named to the YALSA Best Fiction for Teens list and won the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award; Irises; The Memory of Light, which received four starred reviews; and Disappeared, which also received four starred reviews and was named a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. He lives near Boston with his wife. You can find him on the web at franciscostork.com and @StorkFrancisco. From Irises "Hello? Hello?" Kate hesitated. She could hang up now and go back home. Home. Home was a mother who was dying but never died, a sister who couldn't live alone. Home was the place that gripped you by the ankles whenever you tried to make something of yourself. "Hello," she said tentatively. There was something about taking that first step that gave her strength. "Kate?" "Yes." "Is everything okay?" "Remember when you told me I could call you day or night?" "You sound like you're in trouble. Where are you?" She took a deep breath. She knew what she was doing and had no doubts. She wanted to make sure she didn't sound as if she did. "Did you mean it?" Praise for Marcelo in the Real World:Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for TeensAn ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults"Brisk, brilliant, unsentimental." -- Robert Lipsyte, The New York Times Book Review"Stork delivers a powerful tale populated by appealing (and decidedly unappealing) characters and rich in emotional nuance." -- Kirkus, starred review"Shot with spirtualism, laced with love, and fraught with conundrums, this book, like Marcelo himself, surprises." -- Booklist, starred reviewPraise for The Last Summer of

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