puffy_'s review against another edition
emotional
slow-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
4.0
It is difficult for me to rate this book because I don't have any particular strong feelings about it. However, in comparison to how I rated other books, 4 stars seems fair enough.
Anything that explores the relationship between sisters is going to get points from me. I had some complaints about the writing style at the very start, but it either improved further into the book or I just got used to it. Choi did a great job in exploring characters journey in how they deal with their struggles and how they begin to grow closer together. There are many themes and topics discussed that are by no means easy to tackle and I would argue that the author did a fair enough job doing so.
Anything that explores the relationship between sisters is going to get points from me. I had some complaints about the writing style at the very start, but it either improved further into the book or I just got used to it. Choi did a great job in exploring characters journey in how they deal with their struggles and how they begin to grow closer together. There are many themes and topics discussed that are by no means easy to tackle and I would argue that the author did a fair enough job doing so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Eating disorder
Moderate: Child death and Vomit
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
makenziehyatt's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Eating disorder
Moderate: Blood, Self harm, Mental illness, and Vomit
brownsugar25's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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 have literally never heard of this book until this writer I follow on Instagram had this on her readying list. I purchased because the book cover looked cool and the plot seemed interesting- in the last 2 years I have read a lot of contemporary fiction and this seemed like the next book for me.
I'm an oldest of two sisters, and I felt so deeply relatable to June & Jayne because in personality wise, I'm June. But the relationship with my parents has been more like Jayne while my sister is more closer to my parents than I'll ever be. The relationship between both the sisters, and the way they became distanced from each other as they moved to NYC, and the family secrets within an Asian household is darker.
What's strange is my mother also had a miscarriage right after I was born, they were both hoping for a boy, but they got 2 daughters instead- making them shunned in the society since they don't have a son. Everything in this book was super relatable including the Eating Disorder that Jayne is going through but never accepted until the very end. The suspense coming since her roommates from College was not expected. I enjoyed this book overall & I would recommend.
I'm an oldest of two sisters, and I felt so deeply relatable to June & Jayne because in personality wise, I'm June. But the relationship with my parents has been more like Jayne while my sister is more closer to my parents than I'll ever be. The relationship between both the sisters, and the way they became distanced from each other as they moved to NYC, and the family secrets within an Asian household is darker.
What's strange is my mother also had a miscarriage right after I was born, they were both hoping for a boy, but they got 2 daughters instead- making them shunned in the society since they don't have a son. Everything in this book was super relatable including the Eating Disorder that Jayne is going through but never accepted until the very end. The suspense coming since her roommates from College was not expected. I enjoyed this book overall & I would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Cancer, Vomit, and Cultural appropriation
jdsquared's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Vomit
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Medical content, Eating disorder, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Addiction
bibliozeka's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit and Eating disorder
hskatie09's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
no spoilers: wow. this book is so achingly beautiful. there are so many ways this book made me feel, but i think it can be summed up as “wow”. this book will break your heart. i cried a lot (not a shocker for me, but still), and i felt so much hope too. read this book please.
spoilers:
spoilers:
Spoiler
“Humans need to share their darkest parts. Unburdening makes you closer to everyone.” this quote made me cry so hard, because it has always been so hard for me to open up to others. this book stripped me raw and forced me to look at the emotions and feelings i’ve buried deep down within me. and i cried. i really don’t know what else to say about this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Cancer, and Eating disorder
cerilouisereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Racism, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Cancer, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Gaslighting, and Drug use
jcstokes95's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Hi reader. This is an unkind review for unkind people. If you like this book, you should find a nice five star review. I will just make you upset, and I’m a nice dude, I don’t want to upset you! Go get a tea and relax somewhere else.
It took me 9 months to finish this book. And if you have talked to me in the last nine months about books, I have already mentioned it. One of the most disappointing parts about this book, is I can almost see the appeal of it. I see people have given it five stars and that almost makes sense. Except, that this book is terrible. It was the biggest waste of my reading time in 2022. It seemed to continue expanding and expanding. And the day I finished it I felt a surge of relief like nothing else in my life. After I write this review, I will at last be free of this. Out damned spot!
This book, follows two sisters, who are both insufferable, Jayne and June. Jayne, the younger sister, has frittered away her life as fashion school and continues to date manipulative dirtbags because she has no self-worth. She has a severe eating disorder which is both a big part of the book and not a part of the book at all. June, the eldest, is a tightass with a big shot job and has always been a bit of a mean, judgmental older sister. But I guess these two are supposed to be very close, even though they have no respect for one another throughout the whole text, because they grew up in a very stressful home with first-gen immigrant parents. Also, June has cancer and is stealing Jayne’s insurance.
That’s your plot wrap up.
Anyway, I have so many thoughts, I think we should really just bullet point this one.
-> This relationship between the sisters makes no sense to me. I see people saying it’s relatable but I don’t even get how they feel about each other. They spend most of the book punching down on each other, insulting each other and providing no support for each other. But we are supposed to believe they are deeply enmeshed with each other. I don’t buy it at all. Like, I have a complicated sibling relationship (understatement of century) but would not call my sibling “a spare” or say “you don’t count”.
-> The eating disorder. Jayne has an eating disorder which gets the screentime of a small dog in a romcom. But then, in the literal last 20 pages of the book goes into treatment with no reservations or argument. The two characters have had almost no previous conversations about it before this. Which, is a helluva thing considering that’s not really how eating disorders work. Also, it feels like the ending to an entirely different book? Like, weirdly, this section was very relatable and profound, but I have no clue how we ended up in this mini essay from the previous story.
-> These are the most unlikable characters of all time. I don’t usually enjoy an unlikable character, but I knew I was toast because at one point June became so horrendous to me, I almost felt okay with her dying.
-> Every man in this book is horrible. Including Patrick, who is supposed to be the “good guy”, who also briefly implies that Jayne is being very forward and slutty. But who also slept with her while he had a girlfriend and at no point relayed this info to her? Every man in this was vomit-inducing (she even vomits on him at one point, lol, good call girl, that’s the vibe.)
-> Did anyone make any sense of the dead baby shit? Or why the mom ran away for a month? I’m sure this would be disruptive but also idk, this whole emotional response from Jayne seems whack.
-> Next, we must talk about the writing. There is this trendy thing in the literary fiction world, where authors overwrite their stories to create an air of authenticity. And this is where I can most understand this books high ratings. Sometimes, Mary Choi writes a beautiful sentence. And often the emotion feels incredibly authentic; it hits bone. But then, I think about Jayne, who seems like a complete trainwreck with no emotional intelligence (or regular intelligence) and I realize there is no way a girl who speaks the dialogue she speaks would have these thoughts. It feels vastly unnatural. I respect that this is an attempt at a rich inner life, but this character felt so irredeemably foolish to me that this just seemed confusing. It's not that people with low self-esteem or mental illness can’t be witty or observant. It’s that every word she actually says, and every action tell me she is not witty or observant.
A girl like this would not refer to herself going to “a dear friend’s” house. I would argue that no one says that out loud, but okay. But I have to mention this quote, because it has been living in my mind rent-free since I read it last June:
“A tidal loathing rolls through me. She's so girlish, so delicate and quintessentially lovely that biological truths on her are blushingly seductive. Titillating and carnal. It's a subversion that requires nothing from you. Arousal that makes you feel like a feminist. Sometimes the female gaze is just as systematically toxic the way it postures provocation.” (p71)
I have had 6 months to think about this paragraph, and I still have no fucking idea what the fuck she is talking about. Dude, I paid so much many for an English degree. I read this paragraph and felt pure rage. IDK, I read if so many times and it broke my brain. Can you please tell me what this means? Like, I get that she’s jealous of the girl but also, I don’t understand any of these choices. I seriously think about this all the time, I’m so sorry to everyone I have called to ask what they think of this weird ass paragraph (Anna, Aunt Michelle, my mom, etc.). It’s possible I’m just dumb but I think it’s that the book is very overwritten.
Anyway, the takeaway here is that Mark H.K Choi’s books could probably be poetic, lovely pieces for me if a good editor could strip back some of the weird fluff. And I might like them considerably more if the characters were not so detestable. If I were a kinder person, rating on merit alone, this would actually be a 1.75 rounded up. But, this experience can only be described as one star for me. Please don’t take this personally. I really hope this author doesn’t read reviews. I’m sure she’s a nice lady.
(cover and end papers, 5 star, omg)
It took me 9 months to finish this book. And if you have talked to me in the last nine months about books, I have already mentioned it. One of the most disappointing parts about this book, is I can almost see the appeal of it. I see people have given it five stars and that almost makes sense. Except, that this book is terrible. It was the biggest waste of my reading time in 2022. It seemed to continue expanding and expanding. And the day I finished it I felt a surge of relief like nothing else in my life. After I write this review, I will at last be free of this. Out damned spot!
This book, follows two sisters, who are both insufferable, Jayne and June. Jayne, the younger sister, has frittered away her life as fashion school and continues to date manipulative dirtbags because she has no self-worth. She has a severe eating disorder which is both a big part of the book and not a part of the book at all. June, the eldest, is a tightass with a big shot job and has always been a bit of a mean, judgmental older sister. But I guess these two are supposed to be very close, even though they have no respect for one another throughout the whole text, because they grew up in a very stressful home with first-gen immigrant parents. Also, June has cancer and is stealing Jayne’s insurance.
That’s your plot wrap up.
Anyway, I have so many thoughts, I think we should really just bullet point this one.
-> This relationship between the sisters makes no sense to me. I see people saying it’s relatable but I don’t even get how they feel about each other. They spend most of the book punching down on each other, insulting each other and providing no support for each other. But we are supposed to believe they are deeply enmeshed with each other. I don’t buy it at all. Like, I have a complicated sibling relationship (understatement of century) but would not call my sibling “a spare” or say “you don’t count”.
-> The eating disorder. Jayne has an eating disorder which gets the screentime of a small dog in a romcom. But then, in the literal last 20 pages of the book goes into treatment with no reservations or argument. The two characters have had almost no previous conversations about it before this. Which, is a helluva thing considering that’s not really how eating disorders work. Also, it feels like the ending to an entirely different book? Like, weirdly, this section was very relatable and profound, but I have no clue how we ended up in this mini essay from the previous story.
-> These are the most unlikable characters of all time. I don’t usually enjoy an unlikable character, but I knew I was toast because at one point June became so horrendous to me, I almost felt okay with her dying.
-> Every man in this book is horrible. Including Patrick, who is supposed to be the “good guy”, who also briefly implies that Jayne is being very forward and slutty. But who also slept with her while he had a girlfriend and at no point relayed this info to her? Every man in this was vomit-inducing (she even vomits on him at one point, lol, good call girl, that’s the vibe.)
-> Did anyone make any sense of the dead baby shit? Or why the mom ran away for a month? I’m sure this would be disruptive but also idk, this whole emotional response from Jayne seems whack.
-> Next, we must talk about the writing. There is this trendy thing in the literary fiction world, where authors overwrite their stories to create an air of authenticity. And this is where I can most understand this books high ratings. Sometimes, Mary Choi writes a beautiful sentence. And often the emotion feels incredibly authentic; it hits bone. But then, I think about Jayne, who seems like a complete trainwreck with no emotional intelligence (or regular intelligence) and I realize there is no way a girl who speaks the dialogue she speaks would have these thoughts. It feels vastly unnatural. I respect that this is an attempt at a rich inner life, but this character felt so irredeemably foolish to me that this just seemed confusing. It's not that people with low self-esteem or mental illness can’t be witty or observant. It’s that every word she actually says, and every action tell me she is not witty or observant.
A girl like this would not refer to herself going to “a dear friend’s” house. I would argue that no one says that out loud, but okay. But I have to mention this quote, because it has been living in my mind rent-free since I read it last June:
“A tidal loathing rolls through me. She's so girlish, so delicate and quintessentially lovely that biological truths on her are blushingly seductive. Titillating and carnal. It's a subversion that requires nothing from you. Arousal that makes you feel like a feminist. Sometimes the female gaze is just as systematically toxic the way it postures provocation.” (p71)
I have had 6 months to think about this paragraph, and I still have no fucking idea what the fuck she is talking about. Dude, I paid so much many for an English degree. I read this paragraph and felt pure rage. IDK, I read if so many times and it broke my brain. Can you please tell me what this means? Like, I get that she’s jealous of the girl but also, I don’t understand any of these choices. I seriously think about this all the time, I’m so sorry to everyone I have called to ask what they think of this weird ass paragraph (Anna, Aunt Michelle, my mom, etc.). It’s possible I’m just dumb but I think it’s that the book is very overwritten.
Anyway, the takeaway here is that Mark H.K Choi’s books could probably be poetic, lovely pieces for me if a good editor could strip back some of the weird fluff. And I might like them considerably more if the characters were not so detestable. If I were a kinder person, rating on merit alone, this would actually be a 1.75 rounded up. But, this experience can only be described as one star for me. Please don’t take this personally. I really hope this author doesn’t read reviews. I’m sure she’s a nice lady.
(cover and end papers, 5 star, omg)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Eating disorder
Minor: Vomit
eligru's review against another edition
dark
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Mental illness, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Child death, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Medical content, Bullying, Cancer, Alcohol, and Fatphobia