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toomanybeas's review against another edition
5.0
Jayne is a university student barely scraping by in New York. Her older sister June however, seems to be doing quite well for herself. Until she reveals her diagnosis to Jayne, and we slowly realize that’s not all she was hiding. ‘Yolk’ is a story that moves at the pace of a real person’s life.
We follow Jayne through her day to day routines, and we become intimately close with her habits, her perspectives, and her inner dialogue. Things happen in this book, but not in the typical in-your-face, need-to-keep-the-story-rolling kind of way. Unexpectedly, June’s cancer isn’t at the forefront of this story. Instead we see it through Jayne’s eyes, who is written so humanly that her own inner drama gets just as much focus, if not more, as the plot unfolds.
Jayne struggles with her mental health. We see subtle clues of it that get more blatant as we read on. It quickly becomes clear that she suffers from an eating disorder. Unlike other stories that approach that topic, Jayne’s story doesn’t revolve around it. It’s constantly there, we’re aware of it, but it never gets so much focus that it feels forced. The same can be said for her other mental health struggles. We read about her therapy sessions, but she never opens up completely to her therapist. Instead she treats her therapist almost like a motherly figure that she wants to impress, or a role model she aspires to be like. She expects her therapist to know the solution for dealing with her sister’s cancer, and the image she had built up for this woman shatters when she doesn’t know the answer. This realization that her therapist was just another person is similar to the realization most people have as they grow up; their parents are not all knowing, they are human too. When thinking of this idea in relation to Jayne’s relationship with her own parents (bare minimum contact for two years), it makes sense that Jayne, being in her early 20s, would seek out parental guidance in the only other older adult in her life.
Throughout the book there is a love interest for Jayne (Patrick) however, just like in real life, he isn’t always the central focus of Jayne’s story. It builds slowly, and in the background. It doesn’t become a full on epic romance by the end of the novel, but the beginning of the relationship and Patrick’s stability leave the reader feeling hopeful for the two of them.
The relationship between June and Jayne is another aspect of the book that I thought was well done. Even though the two of them had barely talked in two years, Jayne still tries her best to support her sister and June allows Jayne to move into her apartment to escape her own crappy apartment and ex boyfriend. Like the rest of the story, the moments between the two sisters never feel forced and they feel surprisingly realistic. Their relationship is never pure sibling rivalry or pure friendship, instead it has moments of both that overlap and coexist with each other. Just as a real sister relationship is. We see this in June and Jayne through their complete knowledge of each other's personalities, their fights that turn into laughter, and their acceptance of each other no matter how much they dislike the other in that moment.
We follow Jayne through her day to day routines, and we become intimately close with her habits, her perspectives, and her inner dialogue. Things happen in this book, but not in the typical in-your-face, need-to-keep-the-story-rolling kind of way. Unexpectedly, June’s cancer isn’t at the forefront of this story. Instead we see it through Jayne’s eyes, who is written so humanly that her own inner drama gets just as much focus, if not more, as the plot unfolds.
Jayne struggles with her mental health. We see subtle clues of it that get more blatant as we read on. It quickly becomes clear that she suffers from an eating disorder. Unlike other stories that approach that topic, Jayne’s story doesn’t revolve around it. It’s constantly there, we’re aware of it, but it never gets so much focus that it feels forced. The same can be said for her other mental health struggles. We read about her therapy sessions, but she never opens up completely to her therapist. Instead she treats her therapist almost like a motherly figure that she wants to impress, or a role model she aspires to be like. She expects her therapist to know the solution for dealing with her sister’s cancer, and the image she had built up for this woman shatters when she doesn’t know the answer. This realization that her therapist was just another person is similar to the realization most people have as they grow up; their parents are not all knowing, they are human too. When thinking of this idea in relation to Jayne’s relationship with her own parents (bare minimum contact for two years), it makes sense that Jayne, being in her early 20s, would seek out parental guidance in the only other older adult in her life.
Throughout the book there is a love interest for Jayne (Patrick) however, just like in real life, he isn’t always the central focus of Jayne’s story. It builds slowly, and in the background. It doesn’t become a full on epic romance by the end of the novel, but the beginning of the relationship and Patrick’s stability leave the reader feeling hopeful for the two of them.
The relationship between June and Jayne is another aspect of the book that I thought was well done. Even though the two of them had barely talked in two years, Jayne still tries her best to support her sister and June allows Jayne to move into her apartment to escape her own crappy apartment and ex boyfriend. Like the rest of the story, the moments between the two sisters never feel forced and they feel surprisingly realistic. Their relationship is never pure sibling rivalry or pure friendship, instead it has moments of both that overlap and coexist with each other. Just as a real sister relationship is. We see this in June and Jayne through their complete knowledge of each other's personalities, their fights that turn into laughter, and their acceptance of each other no matter how much they dislike the other in that moment.
will_herondale's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
it shattered my soul, crushed my heart, made me hard cry and sob, would recommend to everyone 🎀
tostitos's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i loved the complexity of the relationship between jayne and june and the way they were written. my feelings about this book fluctuated sm throughout - i felt like the chapters on jayne’s ed were a bit corny (though i understand the messaging); on the other hand, i rly liked the ending. i also thought the identity switch felt sidelined & wish that had been explored more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Eating disorder
elizabethob's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Sexual assault
rebonky's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
emmaaazing's review against another edition
5.0
ok I'm obsessed with this book!! It's a sort of raw stream of consciousness type of writing that makes you cringe at how delulu Jayne is when she thinks about Patrick, makes you hurt when you realize how small and childlike she is when she thinks of June and her family. The way Choi wrote about how Jayne reflected on her family relationships was so real, things are so different when you're 13 vs 23. Some things change, some things don't, and a lot of things are painful.
cwalsh's review against another edition
5.0
5
What an incredible book about familial and romantic relationships, dealing with trauma, and mental health.
I have to say while a lot of Young Adult books cover similar subjects, this one feels a lot heavier, emotional, and authentic. I wouldn't necessarily categorize this as a YA - I'd probably mark it as a New Adult - but assume it's marketed that way because of the age of the characters, not the content.
What an incredible book about familial and romantic relationships, dealing with trauma, and mental health.
I have to say while a lot of Young Adult books cover similar subjects, this one feels a lot heavier, emotional, and authentic. I wouldn't necessarily categorize this as a YA - I'd probably mark it as a New Adult - but assume it's marketed that way because of the age of the characters, not the content.
lostcupofstars's review against another edition
2.75
This was an interesting exploration of sister dynamics but I found the timelines too sporadic and it dragged quite a bit.