"Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang is an incredible read that I highly recommend.

RF Kuang's proves again that she is an excellent writer and has written several different genres, each of which has been an excellent read.
As always her writing style is engaging and thought-provoking, and she skillfully tackles issues of race, identity, and belonging in a way that is both entertaining and enlightening.

The main characters in "Yellowface" are complex and multifaceted, with each character bringing their own unique perspective and experiences to the story. Kuang expertly weaves together their stories, creating a rich tapestry of cultural experiences that is both enlightening and deeply moving.

The story is both captivating and thought-provoking, weaving together issues of race, identity, and belonging in a way that is both entertaining and enlightening. Kuang's masterful storytelling takes us on a rollercoaster of emotions, from heartbreak and sorrow to joy and triumph. The plot is full of twists and turns, and the pacing is excellent, ensuring that the reader is always engaged and invested in the story.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the complexities of multiculturalism and the Asian-American experience but set within a literary thriller.

"Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang is a tale of rivalry, deception, guilt and entitlement like none I've ever read before.

"I'm just brown-eyed, brown-haired June Hayward, from Philly - and no matter how hard I work, or how well I write, I'll never be Athena Liu."

Athena Liu is the new darling of the publishing world, and everything fellow author June wants to be. When tragedy strikes, so does June - she steals an unfinished manuscript belonging to Athena, makes some edits, and submits it to her publisher as her own work. June Hayward is no more - she's now Juniper Song, ready to take Athena's place on the bestseller lists and finally start living the life she deserves. Easy, right?

June breaks the fourth wall repeatedly throughout, and she's so horrible (a scene featuring a discussion about Chinese names made me cringe myself inside out) - she's an incredibly unlikeable protagonist and I was hoping that she'd get her comeuppance. I could sum up the entire book with the words "THE NECK" - because the audacity freely flows from the very first page to the last.

It's definitely a page turner, and I found it very hard to put down once I got into it. It's also a very clever look at diversity in the publishing industry, and how much of it is box ticking as opposed to making any real commitment to change.

A cracking read, definitely one for your Summer reading list!

I really enjoyed this searing depiction of the world of publishing and the very modern ways of social media and cancel culture.

It reminded me in some ways of Florence Given's 'Girl Crush' when it came to very quick online success and the spiralling sense of a loss of control and self identity, but whereas the FMC of Girl Crush frustrated me, I found myself feeling for Junie. Her actions were abhorrent and not at all sympathetic, but I could see how easy it would be to make those stupid mistakes in the wake of a traumatic incident and how difficult it would be to escape from those mistakes in any way that wouldn't leave her destroyed.

I thought it raised interesting questions about originality in any kind of art form - surely most literature takes from others and their experiences - just as Athena took from people's personal stories to complete her masterpieces and Junie took the skeleton of an idea and made it her own. Is anything truly original? One of my favourite current genres is the new feminist retellings of Greek myths or fairy stories - stories which themselves have travelled verbally through generations. Is any life experience truly unique, or are we simply repeating the experiences of others through centuries of living? and if we are just repeating history, can anyone be criticised for using other's works as their inspiration?

I felt uncomfortable with the racial element of the book, which I presume we are meant to. I don't doubt for a moment that women from minority cultures struggle in business such as publishing, but the book almost felt like it was promoting the opposite for large parts of the book, emphasising how easy it was for Athena to make it big and be successful while Junie struggled as she didn't have a unique identity or 'hook' to promote. It scared me how quickly everyone within the book seemed to turn on each other at any given opportunity, but I am aware that this is reflective of current society, especially how the internet polarises opinions and gives voices to each camp whereas those in the middle are often scared to speak their (balanced) minds for fear of coming under fire from the two opposite sides (I have just finished listening to the podcast 'The Witch Trials of JK Rowling' which also covered this in depth).

This wasn't a comfortable read with a happy ending, but it felt like an important read and was extremely engaging.

Absolutely loved every second of reading this and it hasn't left my mind since. RF Kuang has that something special that gets you hooked. This one was addictive and repulsive in equal measure, bringing us inside the pov of a narrator with a skewed perspective, An author who thinks she deserves the world and decides to take it for herself. It's deeply uncomfortable and biting - filled with scathing commentary on identity, racisim and self interest in the publishing industry.

I'll need to sit with this one for a bit, definitely not surprised it's proved to be another hit for this author.

Thanks to Harper Collins UK for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Yellowface follows June, an aspiring author whose career hasn’t gone exactly as planned. June happens to be best friends with Athena Liu, whose career has skyrocketed. Then, Athena dies. And June is with her when this happens. This means that June has the chance to grab Athena’s unpublished manuscript and publish it under her own name. Sure, the book deals with Chinese labourers during World War 1, and June isn’t Chinese. Sure, she changes her name to June Song and chooses an author picture where her skin makes her look . . . well, not white. But according to June, none of that matters. She just wants her one chance at fame.

I knew what this book would be about going into it, but I certainly didn’t expect it to be such a page-turner. There was an element of suspense throughout this whole book – I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the moment when June gets called out, and seeing how it all plays out.

For those in the bookish sphere – publishers, authors, bookstagrammers, etc. – I think this book will speak to something in you. You will feel included in the inside jokes, think ‘hm, that’s happened to me’, and just be able to look at the literary community from a different perspective. But even if you don’t consider yourself a book nerd, I think you’ll get something valuable from this book.

This book comments on the bigotry, corruption, and racism found within the publishing industry, but it also makes a broader comment on the effect of these things in the greater world. Kuang made a smart decision by having the story told by June, who is essentially the antagonist of the book. I despised her and hated being in her head, but it was fascinating to see how she tries to justify her actions, even to herself. It made my blood boil to see how she got away with things time and time again.

I wish I had the words to go into a long analysis of this book and what it sets out to achieve, but for now, all I will say is that this book is unlike anything I’ve ever read. The subject matter, the way it was executed, the writing, the characters . . . these things all haunted me when I wasn’t reading the book, and I know this story will stay with me for a long time.

Complex, layered, and at times brutal, and definitely timely. It's not an easy read however. There are moments that feel as many readers are excluded from knowing what the jokes are. Which is possibly a deliberate choice by Kuang? Her wonderful success with Babel and it's awards will bring readers flocking to Yellowface, but I feel as though it may be even more divisive that the poppy War books. In your face, semi-meta, examinations of race politics and performativity are needed, but not easy.

This is a boom I was sceptical to read as it is far from my usual reads buy I was pleasantly surprised. R.f kuang is an amazing author and so smart, I can't comprehend how someone could write such amazing books time and time again

I moved this one up the tbr because everyone seemed to be reading it and I didn’t want to be left out. And, like pretty much everyone else, I was gripped.

It’s such an easy read, a page-turner, but also has so much to say about publishing, monetising identity, racism, cancel culture, entitlement, loneliness and more.

I was slightly disappointed by the melodramatic ending, but that’s a minor complaint because I really couldn’t put it down.

Utterly delicious. A book that will appeal to many people but is likely to delight writers most of all.

"The truth is fluid."

An interesting and fun read following a main character who goes beyond the morally grey and unreliable.

The story plays with the reader's anxious and nervous energy, waiting for the story to further evolve and more details to come to light.

I did find that the pacing of the third act was more enjoyable than the earlier sections. I found that, personally, some of the heavier sections involving Twitter and other social media platforms sometimes interrupted the pacing of the overall story.

Overall the story remained interesting throughout, with a good characterisation showing the varying levels of human flaws and the overwhelming pressure of desire to succeed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the eARC, I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I'd heard so much hype about this book I was extremely intrigue to see if it lived up to it!! I'm a bit 50/50 with it though. It was amazingly written & I got the dark satire side to the book but apart from growing to detest June Haywards character due to her lack of morals & the lengths she was willing to go to - to become famous- I can't say that the book held much more of a story for me. I was hoping for more of a twist from the character of Athena's mother maybe rather than a publisher's grudge! The book seemed to finish suddenly, although this could have been written that way in purpose, making me want to read how June's life continued. All in all an interesting read.

This is the second book I've read from R.F. Kuang and it did not disappoint at all. A satire on the publishing industry that focuses on the lack of diversity, rampant racism and cultural appropriation, all told from the POV of a white woman who has stolen her Asian friend's manuscript.

This was a very believable story and Kuang expertly balanced exposing facets of the publishing industry in a serious way but with a bit of humour. June was an extremely unlikeable character and I wanted to keep reading just to see what ridiculous thing she would say or do next.

The conversations June had with her peers were so eye-opening and though they may have seemed exaggerated it's not hard to believe that those conversations actually take place in the real world.

I also really enjoyed the thriller/suspense aspect of this book with Athena continuing to haunt June and make her think more about her actions - even if she still continued to make bad choices.

Overall, this was an instant 5 stars and I admire how Kuang is able to write so eloquently on so many different topics and in so many different genres.

What a great book!

In insight to the publishing world as it exposes that it is fifty shades of f**cked up.

It's probably not fair to put it all on the publishers, because social media and how we now have a sort of access to authors via social media is to also blame.

There was a time before twitter and Instagram and Facebook where we didn't have an insight to authors daily lives and beliefs and this book gave me anxiety reading about how quickly things on social media can get out of hand with no evidence.

I loved to hate June and it's always a special kind of writer that can make you enjoy reading about such a terrible character.

Definitely recommend!

“The best way to hide a lie is in plain sight.”
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This book is SO GOOD! I was completely hooked from the beginning and I binged it all in one sitting!
This story is equal parts addictive and infuriating. It’s like watching a train wreck happen in slow motion but being unable to look away.
Rebecca does not hold back in discussing the many issues in the publishing industry and book world and it was beautiful to behold.
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We follow June who watches her friend, Athena, die and then steals her manuscript, edits it and passes it off as her own. Getting a huge deal with so much publicity and is rebranded to look and sound ethnically ambiguous. She goes from June to Juniper Song and sees absolutely nothing wrong with any of what she does.
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June is an unreliable narrator who jumps through all the hoops to justify what she is doing and that she deserves all of it but when things go wrong for her, she does not take a step back to reflect. She digs her hole deeper and doesn’t think about the consequences of her actions.
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There are discussions around who gets to write which stories. How publishing fails BIPOC authors and so much more.
There are parts where June gets defensive when asked why she thinks it’s okay to profit off the trauma of Chinese labourers in WW1. She says she did research and she’s doing this FOR the BIPOC community because someone has to share these stories.
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It reminded me of so many instances that have happened over the last few years in the book community from an author saying they can write about Japanese inspired fantasy because they drank sake and watched anime to barbed wire cages as decor for a launch party for a book about a mexican mother & son migrating to the US. And just so many more!
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This book is a witty, satirical look into the publishing world and book industry with discussions on white privilege, racism, tokanism, cancel culture and more and I highly recommend you all read it!

🌟🌟🌟🌟 / 5

📖 Athena Liu is a literary superstar. June Hayward is a failed writer and Athena’s “best friend”. When Athena dies (no spoilers, happens in the first sentence), June decides to steal Athena’s new manuscript and publish it as her own, under the racially ambiguous name of Juniper Song. As evidence threatens Juniper’s newfound success, how far will she go to cover her tracks?

💭 OK first off, I loved this book and think it will be in my top 10 of 2023. The writing is so razor sharp and I sped through it. Secondly, there are SO many things to talk about that it’s hard to contain them all within a caption, but I think this would make a fab book club read 🙌🏼

Essentially, this book is a scathing satire of the publishing industry. We have an unreliable, unlikeable, fame-hungry protagonist - and we’re stuck in her head. June manipulatively paints herself as a victim, believing that publishers are only interested in diverse writers and that she’s discriminated against as a white woman. We know she’s wrong, but her excuses seem so reasonable inside her own head, that you almost can’t help falling for them!

This book centres around the idea of cultural appropriation and who has the right to tell a story, particularly if it’s a story outside your own culture or heritage. It’s genius that Kuang wrote this through the “white gaze” of June, as it truly exposes how white privilege is so engrained within society.

Kuang also provides darkly compelling insights into the publishing industry, detailing both its racial bias and also how certain books are chosen to be bestsellers before they’re even released. I thought this provided interesting food for thought, and made me think about all those lesser-known books that don’t have a big marketing budget (shout out to Booksta for showcasing debut authors!).

I also loved the “meta” nature of this story, as June becomes obsessed with Bookstagram, Goodreads and Reddit. It felt like I could log into my phone at any time to check how the drama was unfolding ☕️

It was like a car crash - I knew it was all going to come crashing down for June, but it was fascinating and I couldn’t peel my eyes away.

Yellowface is R. F. Kuang's first venture into literary fiction and I really hope that she writes more novels in this genre. It is addictive, thrilling and sharp. The premise is really fun and excellently executed. Cleverly written, I would highly recommend this!

I really enjoyed this book. It was very different to what I'd usually read and I found it very different from Rebecca's usual fantasy worlds that being said I think she pulled it off perfectly. I found myself enraptured by the story and also June is my new favourite love to hate character!

I probably inhaled this book quicker than I did any other this year.

Yellowface is an addictive and clever thriller set in Washington D.C. about a literary heist and the most brazen of protagonists. June Hayward was in the same Yale graduating class as Athena Liu, but while Athena has flourished into a literary darling with three novels and a Netflix deal to her name, June's first novel never made it to paperback publication owing to poor sales.

Athena has a freak accident one evening and June is unable to intervene to save her. Before leaving Athena's apartment on the evening in question, June grabs the recently finished manuscript of her dead frenemy's new novel, a story about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I. And what starts as an exercise in proofreading and editing soon becomes a completion of the novel-in-progress, with June's name attached as author. The publishing industry have their part here too: They play up June’s nomadic childhood and publish the novel under the quirky and ethnically ambiguous birth name given to her by her hippie mother: Juniper Song.

Despite the growing controversary that surrounds the release, June basks in the glow of success, making excuses within herself to justify her actions, and always seeing herself as the victim in this scandal. But external forces continue to lay on the pressure, and the internet has its field day.

I found Yellowface to be an utterly gripping social commentary that is both zeitgeisty and very meta. It is essentially a book by a Chinese American author taking on the persona of a white American author who is pretending to be Chinese American, and in doing so tackles topics such as diversity, racism, cultural appropriation and the erasure of Asian-American or own voices by Western white society. It provides a fascinating look at authorship and cancel culture, and also offers quite the critique of the publishing machine! And it says a lot about art and the creative process: Is art authentic? Or is it all just an act in pilfering.

With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface will appeal to anyone who loves a riveting, tense story. It will also appeal to those interested in the book industry or those fascinated by literary controversies and social media spats.

I LOVED this book! And kudos to the author for THAT scene on the Exorcists Steps in Georgetown. It was the perfect setting given the tension, and it gave me chills. Just brilliant.
Edit Review

This is a novel that has many layers! It tackles multiple complex issues with race, professional accomplishments, loneliness, and online trolling, whilst providing a satirical and uncensored view into the professional publishing world.

First, the writing style. I feel like this is very different to RF Kuang’s usually complex and long descriptive writing style. It reads as a 350-page long monologue of the protagonists’ inner musings to herself and her subsequent state of mind. At first, this was hard to get into and I did find the first 30ish per cent tedious until I realised the reason why Kuang has opted to have such a morally corrupt, bitter, and jealous protagonist positioned as a very unreliable narrator. It makes you wonder what is actually fact, and what is fiction. What is real and what June thinks through her white privileged rose-tinted glasses?

Every single character, yes, everyone, is truly detestable. Not one character is redeemable by the end of the novel. June positions herself as a martyr like it’s her duty to release the work under her own name so it doesn’t go to waste, and gaslights herself into believing her own lies. It’s truly amazing to see her character slowly dissent further into her own lies, guilt and self-pride and ego.

That being said, Athena (whilst for 90% of the novel is dead and is only described in flashbacks), is also portrayed as problematic and a less-than-stellar person. However, we see many of these character traits through the eyes of a jealous June.

The ending is left intentionally ambiguous as to what happens to June and her life/ career but I like that, as it is never clear whether a fallen “star” will ever publicly recover, strive for further limelight, or completely lurk in the shadows for the rest of their life after a public scandal. I like how Kuang left it purposefully open to interpretation.

Overall, the pace of the book was good. Even with long passages of text and no dialogue I still felt like the words flowed easily and kept me gripped. It raises the question “who has the right to write certain stories?”

I have SO MANY quotes highlighted I don’t even know which one to highlight here, but one stands out above the rest - “Reputations in publishing are built and destroyed, constantly, online.”

Thank you to Harper Collins UK for an e-ARC of Yellowface in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing to say about Yellowface is that it is an absolute pageturner. I was hooked from the first chapter and finished it in a day. It's fundamentally a great story with an unreliable narrator that keeps the reader interested and guessing.

On top of that, it's a gossipy feast for anyone remotely interesting in the writing and publishing world. It's witty, insightful and satirical and does not flinch from uncomfortable and challenging subject matter.

Still more, the book is such a self-referential and thought-provoking look at wider issues of ethics, authorship, ownership, cultural appropriation and lots besides. It's not remotely like the author's prior work Babel in terms of the fantastical world building she achieved in that novel, but it explores similar issues from a totally different angle, which makes it a fascinating companion.

I suspect this book would reward multiple re-reads (not something I do very often), which is why I bought myself a hardback copy. I honestly loved it THAT much!

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for a free advance copy of Yellowface in exchange for an honest review.