A review by sweetearlgrey
Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi

emotional

• 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? It's complicated

3.75

Yolk touches on some heavy themes for a young adult novel - ED, cancer, family trauma - but the approach is a careful one. I am appreciative of the fact that there wasn't much heavy-handedness or romanticization (as is often the case with the young adult genre), with somewhat realistic depictions of these issues being presented instead. That said, I found myself feeling frustrated when reading this book, mostly due to the constant poor communication between June and Jayne that resulted in a never-ending back and forth. At some point the bickering starts to get old. Simultaneously I understand that this is a fairly realistic portrayal of many existing sibling relationships, and perhaps as an only child I just lack that perspective. I couldn't truly relate to the relationship dynamics, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a well-written book doing the heavy-lifting of bringing taboo issues to the forefront, particularly for younger audiences.