What I Liked
The characters in this book are strong and realistic. Jane is a quirky and powerful female protagonist, and Akiko is equally compelling. I loved how their stories intertwined across the pages, even as they lived thousands of miles apart.

What I Didn't Like
I'm not a big fan of "preachy" fiction, and this book preached its message. The anti-meat message was pounded into the reader again and again. I read a quote once that said, "Readers won’t tolerate a writer on a crusade to tell the world the real meaning of life. What we will tolerate, however, is your sincere attempt to present a character struggling through the difficulties of life." There was way too much blatant "moral of the story" in My Year of Meats for it to be fully enjoyable. There were so many long lists of facts and tangents about anti-meat and DES poisoning that I found myself skimming through several pages, bored by a message repeated over and over and over.

The sexual explicitness of the novel was too much for my taste. In my opinion, it distracted from the characterization and artistry of the book.