Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi follows the main character Jayne Beak, a college student living in New York who discovers that living in the big city wasn’t as glamorous as she had imagined growing up. I chose this book because of a recommendation from a friend, and knowing nothing about the plot and just liking the cover art, I had little expectations. As I progressed through the story, my minimal expectations were met and exceeded. Throughout the story, I was sent on a roller coaster of emotions and it left me wanting a second book.

Throughout the novel, symptoms of mental illnesses appear through the characters’ actions. This shows how the characters are affected by the physical illnesses they face in many ways. Along with many flashbacks to Jaynes’ childhood in Texas, her mental illnesses aren’t directly discussed until the end. This creates much tension between Jayne and her sister; while both are trying to be there for each other, they don’t focus on themselves.

The plot also addresses what life is like growing up as an Asian immigrant in America. This really shows how the author implemented her life experiences into her book. Choi directly addresses the hardships of many immigrant children, like facing racism and culture shock.

After following her sister, June, to the other side of the country, Jayne cut all contact with her family back in Texas, including her sister. Two years after she moved, the story starts with her in an illegal, run-down apartment with her ex-boyfriend, Jeremy. One day while Jayne is out, she’s confronted by June and the harsh reality of June’s sickness — uterine cancer. After getting in a fight with Jeremy, Jayne asks to stay at June’s extravagant apartment. Jayne is forced to face the jealousy she has been plagued with since childhood. The story continues as the sisters try to brush off their problems. They go back to Texas, and Jayne faces her estranged mother. Here is where we discover Jayne’s eating disorder in full force with harsh detail. The book ends with June going into surgery and Jayne staying in the waiting room.

Although Yolk’s themes of mental health and relationships with family and friends really stuck with me and kept me reading, the start is very slow. This made it hard to keep reading at the beginning of the book, and felt like many of the plot points served as filler before we reach the main details of what happened. Many of these filler points get dropped after a couple of chapters. This makes the first half of the book confusing and made it feel meaningless.

Even with these few holes, the ultimate storyline makes up for them. The heartfelt story of two sisters regaining the relationship they lost because of a problematic childhood kept me hooked.

This realistic fiction perspective shows what many people face, and I would recommend it to everyone who wouldn’t typically experience it. In the end, I would give this book four stars