Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi

21 reviews

classicpseudonym's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

this book depicts a raw, human experience so damn well. given i haven’t been through a fraction of what the protagonist - jayne - has, but i felt so much emotion reading choi’s narration of her thought processes alone. i especially related to jayne’s constant need for distractions - thus her relationship with the city - and her inherent belief that new environments and her appearance will give her a fresh start and make people treat her a certain way. and overall the untethered nature of jayne’s actions due to her never feeling grounded, in control, or present in her body is subtly expressed but adds tremendously to the scattered feeling readers get thanks to choi’s well written narration. it’s worth noting that i’m lucky to have never experienced mental illness to the extent to which jayne does, but this book truly made me realize the extent to which illness - both mental and physical - consumes the conscience of so many. choi perfectly encapsulates that feeling of having no control of what’s happening around you or your reaction - or lack thereof, and the overall numbness jayne experiences at points throughout the book. in combination with her vivid flashbacks to a slew of childhood memories and strained familial relationships as well as disturbing and heartwarming encounters, so many moments in this book were so palpable that they left me numb with emotion. and don’t get me started on jayne’s interactions and dynamics with other people because the push/pull there is so well done i could go on for days. basically, hats off to choi!!! i will say this book is pretty triggering and i did have to put it down at some points because of that, but it does a really good job representing a tumultuous yet heartwarming narrative. so if you want to feel big feelings, give it a read :))

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Cursing

lunep's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Cursing, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infertility, Medical content, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Dysphoria, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Pregnancy, and Vomit

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content

m4rtt4's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

So so good!!! It was really hard to put this book down once I had started reading it; I probably would have read it in one sitting had the non-book-related circumstances allowed me to do so. This one really read like a 5-star book, but I had to deduce the 0.25 stars for the communication issues. Even though pretty much all the conversations and relationships felt very realistic, down to the point of how stubborn the human nature is, it still didn't change the fact that for the reader it can be very frustrating to only read about conflicts that could have easily been resolved with some words — emotions, even. All in all, the aforementioned didn't really matter that much — in all its rawness and painfulness the story was also very beautiful, and most importantly, IT MADE ME CRY!! (which for some self-masochistic reason I consider a success.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Medical content, Vomit, Body shaming, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Dysphoria, Terminal illness, Racism, and Infertility

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Medical content, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Cancer

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Drug use, Vomit, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Sexism, Racism, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Infertility, Child death, Excrement, Ableism, Pedophilia, Death, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Child abuse, and Racial slurs

yoliesbookdates's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Medical content, Dysphoria, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Grief, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Self harm

tarynsbooks's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

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

1.75

This book was cringey to me, the writing style was inconsistent. The story telling was just, off. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Mental illness, and Infidelity

elsreadingarc's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Eating disorder, and Dysphoria

cady_sass's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

“This story might be emotionally expensive for you” 

That kinda says it all, doesn’t it? What a beautiful, honest piece of writing. There is a delicate balance between loving these character and hating them, and we walk it closely, but that is what makes them come alive. The realities of family and childhood trauma and what we become, and how we carry it with us even when we run far away. The reality of living in world (country) where treating illness is a luxury. It takes a bit to get into it and, admittedly, I put it down for a few days at one point but I’m so glad I picked it back up. I love this with my whole heart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Chronic illness, Excrement, Self harm, Sexual content, Cancer, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, and Grief

leannanecdote's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Grief, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Classism, Cursing, Abandonment, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Medical content, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Racism, Vomit, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Sexual content

kat_withthebooks09's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Grief, and Mental illness