Review: Yolk

 

To be honest, I actually thought this would be something cooking related when I saw the title. Like a family restaurant like the one on "Recipe for Disaster" (that was quite a wholesome movie which I love a lot). And if I am gonna be honest, it wasn't what I expected, and I am not saying that in a bad way.

Yolk by Mary H. K. Choi is the story of two sisters, Jayne and June who couldn't be more different from one another. Jayne struggles with finances, has a fucktard of a boyfriend, little to no social life, and almost on the verge of dropping out of school. June is well established, a stable job and lives in a penthouse in Brooklyn.  The two sisters have never been able to coexist peacefully with one another. But when June contracts cancer, things might change for them.

QUICK THOUGHTS AND REVIEW: 4.4/5, I'd never quite read something like this before, so it's kind of a new perspective.

PROS:

1. Plot: I don't think there was a particular plot other than the two sisters finding one another. And there wasn't a subplot either, which, as I've repeated myself many more times, is different from other books, and yet it falls under a spectacular work of fiction. I enjoyed the way it lacks the normal elements of a usual fiction and yet it surpasses it in so many ways.

2. Characterization: Top notch. And if I am going to be honest, the hatred that has been there between June and Jayne is way more justified and explained than others. Jayne is a fuckup, she does drugs and is struggling to hold her life together. Yet, she tries to put her foot down and get a hold on the things that surround her. She maybe has a sense of self dignity and respect. that highlights during her flashbacks. June, the older one, seems to have her life together and has a nice apartment. But then again, she's desperate for help from her sister and has struggles in holding her emotions together. Somehow, even though these sisters are far apart from one another, they complete each other all the time- like yin and yang, fitting into the whole.

3. Settings: The setting is modern day New York, which is the most stereotypical this book can get. But Jayne and June aren't some white kids who have it hard and yet continue on their so called American values. They're women in a place mostly dominated by men and I think that hits. 

4. Theme: It's heart touching to say the least. The Baek sisters are stubborn and they refuse to ask the other for help until they're at rock bottom. And yet, they crave the care of the other siblings and it's really adorable as to how far these two would go. Even though the book is written in Jayne's POV, I think one can see June's perspective through the stories that were dictated as well. And June does wear her heart on her sleeve sometimes.

CONS:

1. Drag: there's a lot of drag in the book. Like a LOT, which is really irritating when you're enjoying a book. So yeah, there were times when I wanted to stop reading because of the drag, but I was loving the book so much I couldn't do it. I've always been a very nice person.

2. Flashback dump: Everyone knows about info dump. Flashback dump is similar to that thing, except it's flashbacks. I get that the flashbacks are important for the story to move forward, but it's kind of excessive at some points and it becomes boring for a reader to keep on reading. And I couldn't help but go at times "That wasn't something I needed to know" and I think there were a lot of things that felt missed out, so yeah it wasn't that good.

3. Sister bonding: I felt a huge lack of it. Or maybe I expected the two of them to sit down and start crying and spend the whole night watching movies, eating ice cream and bitching about men, which in my opinion is top tier.

OVERALL, A GREAT READ, I'd definitely recommend it if you're wanting a break from the normal varieties of novels.