Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - Yolk

𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘨𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳.

Jayne and June are sisters, and have moved from Seoul to San Antonio to New York together. They used to be thick as thieves, but haven't spoken in years. Until June gets cancer, and Jayne is the only person who can help her.

I love this book with my whole heart. I was so attached to these sisters, that at 1am last night when I finished it, I just sat on my sofa crying for 20+ minutes. I just couldn't believe that I wouldn't be with Jayne and June again 😭

YA contemporary is not a genre I ever read or gravitate towards, but I knew I needed this book as soon as I saw it. Not only is it a beautiful book, the writing is incredible. Choi writes such realistic characters, full of so much depth and inner conflict.

The main protagonist Jayne, struggles with an eating disorder, which makes the book really hard to read at times. Choi writes a note to the reader at the beginning of the book, that she herself has struggled with disordered eating in the past, warning the reader that it could be an emotionally expensive story for some, and for people to be gentle with themselves. This translates in her writing, and even before having read her other two books, she is a new favourite author for me. That is how much I adored this story.

I loved how the book touched on the girl's parents, and how much they sacrificed immigrating so that their daughters could have better lives. I even enjoyed the romantic arc of the book, I know right, who even am I? Jayne spends most of her life thinking she doesn't deserve love, and when she finds it, I was pumping my fist in the air like John Bender in The Breakfast Club. Get it girl 👏

I am so thankful to Rosie @bristolianbooks for sending me a surprise copy of Yolk, you made my week. I've realised since that books about sisters reconnecting might be my new favourite trope. This is a tough read, but a super important one too🧡

Content Warnings

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-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

An absolute powerhouse of a novel. One to read, especially for any others who are also at the life stage of "figuring things out." I loved it.

Content Warnings

emma103's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

pricelizzi's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful 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

Content Warnings

erinsbookshelves's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny 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

Content Warnings

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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

4.0

This is one of those books that borderline between young adult and new adult, and I definitely think it skews toward the older side. It's also a very heavy book, that deals with a lot of difficult topics, like cancer, eating disorders, anxiety, and immigration/racism. However, Choi is an extremely talented writer, hitting these issues on the head while centered around a lot of family drama.

Overall, the voice was really strong and while Jayne can be frustrating at times, it makes sense for what she's going through. Her relationship with June might be dysfunctional at times, but in the end, they really have each other's backs. Another strong showing from Mary H.K. Choi.

Content Warnings

laranda's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

Such a lovely story of hurt, sadness, grief, strength, and love! I love Jayne and June both so much, what badass women they are. This touched so many big topics in a really well done manner that you felt the danger in them but still enjoyed their part to bring this story together.

Content Warnings

readwithkim's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

4.25

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

I read this book in a span of three days, which is pretty quick to me. However, I will say that this book has sensitive content like eating disorder, which was also mentioned in the preface of this book.

This book focuses on the perspective of Jayne and how she is navigating her life from her internal struggles to living in one of the busiest cities in the world, while coming to terms with her older sister, June. The character development was phenomenal, as it felt real and honest to what Jayne was going through. I will say Jayne is not a likeable character, but she is portrayed as someone who feels skeptical about her life and those around her, which can feel relatable to those who are figuring out their life.

Every sibling dynamic is different and the way the sibling dynamic was written felt honest for me. This book explored an imperfect sibling relationship who can’t stand each other and what happens when they need each other, despite the challenges they face. The author did not shy away from writing about the hatred the Baek sisters had for each other. Jayne and June have their flaws and appeal to different types of siblings. I relate to Jayne and June in different ways and I think that’s what made the book more intriguing to me because there were moments where I related to June (as an older sibling) and moments where I related to Jayne (as someone who is not sure what to do with their life).

Overall, it was a great book to read for the weekend and would recommend to everyone who is interested in reading about imperfect sibling dynamics and life from someone in their early 20s (but please read the content warnings before reading this book).

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for sending me this e-arc, in exchange for an honest review.

Cw: cancer, eating disorder, body dysmorphia, parental abandonment, drug-use, miscarriage, mental illness (anxiety, depression).

Content Warnings

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