Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi

24 reviews

leortal's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Eating disorder, Addiction, Infertility, Self harm, and Vomit

lauren_mansfield0201's review

emotional funny hopeful sad tense slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Eating disorder, Infertility, Medical content, Racism, Self harm, Cancer, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Vomit, Blood, and Panic attacks/disorders

motz_stick's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Perfectly Mundane

I was hesitant to continue this book after some mental health struggles caused me to read at such a slow pace, but I’m forever grateful I did. This book was so beautifully written that I feel like I lived another life. It’s pacing and content felt so realistic. It’s the perfect slice of life book because it’s messy and has ups and downs. I also found comfort in the writing, the descriptions of mental illness made me feel understood and less alone. Although this book may not be for everyone I adored it and would love to read more of Choi’s writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Grief, Self harm, Addiction, Alcohol, Vomit, Body shaming, Medical content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Medical content, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Death, Infertility, and Sexual assault

camillesim's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

4.5

I loved this book. Choi takes such care in writing about the very sensitive topics covered in this book, even including a content warning at the beginning. 

The characters felt so real and multidimensional. I feel like they’ll stick with me for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Eating disorder, and Self harm

Moderate: Blood, Infertility, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Mental illness

dyeganian's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Cancer, Self harm, Medical content, and Terminal illness

ladygetslit's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Yolk was such a difficult read. Jayne’s perspective is so raw and broken, and as a broken person, I honestly struggled to sit with the parts of me that relate to her. This story brought me back to the darkest parts of my time living in New York, the way I wanted it so badly and never felt like I belonged all at the same time. Yet there are moments of hope in this book as well: the healing in Jayne’s relationship with her sister, her connection with Patrick, and her decision to get help for her eating disorder. As much as I struggled to get through the dark parts, this story was so beautifully written in its raw exploration of what it is to be a flawed human being. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Medical content, Eating disorder, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Addiction

allisonparkss's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Chronic illness, Medical content, Addiction, Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, and Grief

kellyofcali's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

A book about family, and love, and self-love, I think - I really enjoyed the way Choi writes, and quickly become invested in June and Jayne, two different sisters who share a lot (as sisters do). I found the ending a little weak, but endings are tough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Eating disorder, Medical content, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, Grief, Mental illness, Abandonment, Addiction, and Chronic illness

michaelion's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Fuck I wish I wasn't an only child.

I hate contemporary references in books with a passion but this one isn't that bad.

My only issue is Jayne is constantly said to be an emotional character but reading through I can barely get a sense of her thought process. She does things / takes actions at random,

for example: kicking out jeremy, going with june to the doctor,

and there was no build up or explanation as to why she decided to do those things. Actually it didn't have to be explained, but those moments felt random from a character whose thoughts we're exclusively able to read. Makes the character feel plot-driven as opposed to character-driven, but the story as a whole doesn't feel the same.

I guess my other issue is misused AAVE. But also... Asian American? From Texas? New York transplants? Color me shocked.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Self harm, Vomit, Abandonment, Blood, Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Classism, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Medical content, Fatphobia, Infertility, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Racial slurs and Stalking

seoulatte's review

emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Dysphoria, and Vomit

Moderate: Grief, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Sexual harassment, Death, Child death, Blood, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Bullying, and Alcoholism