The Young Soul Readers met in June to discuss Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi.
Jayne is in fashion school in New York City. Well, she's enrolled. It's debatable how often she actually attends. June has a fancy job in finance, or that's what everyone thinks. But when June gets cancer, the estranged sisters are pulled together because June needs Jayne's identity to get treatment. By pretending to be her sister to get the life-saving procedure, June is forced to come clean and pull Jayne back into her orbit. Though their relationship stays rocky, they're suddenly glued together, forced to admit that their respective glamorous lives are actually filled with roaches and trauma and missteps.
The discussion group had mixed feelings on this book. The writing style, which was told from Jayne’s perspective in first person, was not favorable. The characters were not very likable, making it hard to keep the readers intrigued. Some of the characters' relationships with each other seemed unrealistic. The ending wasn’t how everyone hoped, as the author left it open, leaving the readers with unanswered questions.
There were several disorders brought up throughout the book, but while detailed, the author didn't write about them in an informative way.
Trigger warnings for the reader include disordered eating (bulimia and binge eating), dysmorphia, mental illness, cancer, racism, sexual assault, parental abandonment, and mentions of abuse.
Overall, the book received 2.6 out of 5 stars from the group.
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