Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi

23 reviews

lostpaperbacks's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Alcohol, Chronic illness, and Eating disorder

jparmley's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

4.75

Ok this book is truly so good!!! The story follows two second-gen Korean-American sisters with a love-hate (but mostly loving) relationship, melting into each other while navigating their own independent identities. Despite YA not always being the easiest genre for me to get into, I fell in love with this book, and saw myself in both sisters (dating white men with unaddressed Asian fetishes? feeling out of place in high school??? men without Asian fetishes (probably) who only quietly text you in high school so their friends don't find out????  ED problems making everything worse????? ugh). Some of the millennial language and Asian-American identity passages felt heavy-handed and awkwardly placed, but I'm so glad that this book exists.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Chronic illness

radiocryptid's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

God this book. Stab in the heart much. It’s somewhere between 4 and 5 stars because I found the ending a bit rushed but I feel like it needed to be. Like we’re not allowed to see much of the true open love between the June and Jayne and their mum. Like it has to be this I love you/I hate you, I’m going to help you but I’m going to hold it against you but we both know that I’m only doing that because I don’t want to be vulnerable. It’s very good and hurts and the most true portrayal of family I’ve ever read. This is what family really looks like.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Cancer, Self harm, Racial slurs, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

madalynsbooks's review against another edition

emotional

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Chronic illness, Cancer, and Eating disorder

hels_archive's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Review Summary : In terms of pacing, I'd likely have finished this book in a day if it didn't elicit so many emotions. As the reader, you shadow Jayne through the thick of it all: her environment, her relationships, her memories, and her self destructive choices. While the most remarkable facet of the story lies in the character development, the plot pulse is strong to carry the narrative to the end. And speaking of the ending, hands down one of my favorite book endings to date. It's a book of complicated love, for self and others, a book about growth and healing for the self, and a book of fernweh... of longing to longing for places you've never been and connections you crave.

Rating: 5/5 . Jayne's gonna stick with me for a long time and if you're young, questionably dumb, and carrying unresolved hurts I think you should give it a read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical content, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cancer, and Chronic illness

Minor: Blood, Bullying, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse

finn_nn's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Vomit

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Infertility, Sexual violence, Drug use, Grief, and Child death

wildflowerragdoll's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-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

I love all of her books. She has such a way of depicting sadness and loneliness and the stresses of family in simple terms that feel like they can fully explain the enormousness of that emotion. I made a spotify playlist for elder daughters after reading this. It's definitely triggering but my God is is worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Chronic illness, and Eating disorder

internationalreads'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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Cancer, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Infertility, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Vomit

teo_rodas's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Cancer, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Infertility, Self harm, and Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault

brittstagram's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Medical content, and Vomit