This really tickled my shadenfreude gland. Utterly compelling I read this in one session. Thank you Netgalley.

Yellowface is such a frustrating but fun read. It is that kind of mess that you like, whilst I like. This is just one of those books that you can’t put down, even if the main character is annoying.

Absolutely fantastic! I want to know what else was left out when exposing the publishing world heh because surely they didnt tell us everything

I seem to be the only person who struggled to engage with this book. I have it five (I believe valiant) efforts but could not engage with the main character or the scenarios.

I’m glad to see I’m a minority though, and will love trying future books from Kuang.

This was a fun read that gives insight into the world of publishing from a writers point of view. I kinda believe its true. The story and plot itself are fast paced. The writer in rhe story us not very likeable and I found myself feeling cheated with the ending. I loved the idea of what if you took someone's manuscript and edited it who's words are then. It may have been truthful and the issuses it took on board are both controversial and complex. Told on such a fun way it's a must for anyone who wants to teu something different.
Thanks to netgallery and publisher and author

After watching friend (and I use the term loosely) Athena Liu choke to death on a pandan pancake, June Hayward - having envied Athena for years for her literary success - appropriates the manuscript of Athena's next novel and publishes it as her own under the moniker Juniper Song, to great success and scrutiny.

As 2023/4 went on to show us with it's multiple racefishing scandals: discussions of diversity and race in publishing, asking whose stories belong to who, and addressing white womens' woes and the role of social media and social justice in the publishing industry were all much needed discussions. In many ways, Yellowface became such a powerful novel because of it's prescient imaginings of June Hayward; of her entitlement to the success of an author of colour, of her entitlement to the stories of Asian people.

However, I couldn't help but fixate on what Yellowface lacked. Firstly, it didn't thrill enough to be a literary thriller, in my opinion - though it's plot (once again, using the term loosely) was visionary in it's discussions of publishing, it was more a literary drama, or contemporary fiction, than it was a thriller. Additionally, in comparison to Kuang's much beloved fantasy endeavours (The Poppy War trilogy, and Babel), Yellowface fell flat in terms of writing - though, it was punchy and easy-to-read, it lacked the dynamism of her previous works. Kuang is capable of much more in terms of writing quality.

Overall, though, I would definitely still recommend Yellowface, especially to those interested in the publishing industry and social justice as a whole.

Many thanks to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK and the author for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I believe the way I read this book will have to be described as 'RAGE READING' and nothing else. I have never ever been this mad at a protagonist and that too by design. I felt like I needed a cleanse once I finished. Which is all to say Miss Kuang!! Wow!! You just delivered a banger that deals with a lot of different heavy topics like Racism, plagiarism in publishing, bullying, conning, POC fishing etc. subtly yet very very dramatically. (so much so that we had certain groups of people getting uncomfortable - aka perfect representation).

The book follows the story of June who 'believes' she has lived one step behind and in the shadow of Athena Liu. Athena is a proclaimed writer with a list of best sellers in her arsenal and who (according to June) has no tact in the way she shows off her success. June also is sure if Athena was not ' a certain group' of preferred author she would have been in her place. (spell June = D.E.L.U.L.U). So when Athena dies and June gets access to her manuscript, she decides to work her magic and create a real masterpiece. But when the truth comes out, how will she hold her ground?

So we get the story of the protagonist who is truly the definition of villain or an anti-hero if you will. We are meant to hate her while understanding where she come from, especially as it doesn't change how we feel about her. I love how ending was literally like watching a tower of cards crashing down!! very very satisfying.

Yellowface is a story about June, a writer who steals another authors work and takes all the rewards with it. It touches on subjects such as racism, plagiarism and cancel culture.

I enjoyed this book as I enjoy the way Rebecca Kuang writes her stories, and Yellowface is just another notch in her belt. She is an automatic buy author for me at this point, and I look forward to more.

𝙔𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 it's the first book by R. F. Kuang that I've read and I was pleasantly surprised by her writing style.

The story is provocative, at times satirical, with crude and disturbing undertones.
The author brings out the worst part of publishing without mincing words, letting the reader know the other side.

⚠️ It deals with heavy topics such as racism, media bullying and plagiarism.

June has always lived in the shadow of her friend Athena Liu, a formidable writer who churns out best sellers.
Upon the latter's death, June stole her manuscript and published it under the name Juniper Song, achieving enormous success. From the moment the truth begins to leak, June's life spirals towards ruin. What will she be willing to do to avoid losing face?

I hated the protagonist from the beginning but at the same time it was easy to understand the motivations behind her actions, driven mainly by jealousy.
Ok, life is unfair, but did you really need to do everything you did?

Juniper (or June) is the classic character who represents the antihero and who made this book so special.
If you decide to read it, you will be immersed in the mind of a cynical and selfish author, but trust me, it's worth it!

Loved this multi layered take on diversity and cultural appropriation in the publishing world. Nuanced, clever and funny. Satire at its best.

Wow wow wow! What a ride.

An incredible page turner we had me gripped from start to finish. R F Kuang is fast becoming one of my favourite authors of all time.

Yellowface is a clever book and I was excited to read it but I won’t lie to you at a certain point in the story I kind of struggled. As someone who dips in and out of Twitter, because of how negative it can be, it was at times quite difficult reading. I have to admit though, that the author has done a bloody brilliant job of capturing that uneasy negative feeling accurately.

This is a story that is in some respects timeless, as I was reading it I stumbled across a situation on Twitter that echoes what happens in the book. I feel that the author has picked up on and explored a topic that will continue to be meaningful for as long as we have social media, but again has managed to do so in a very engaging way.

What I find interesting is the critique of people but also the publishing industry as a whole, yeah it is a fictional story and therefore exaggerated but I don’t doubt some practices in publishing are close to crossing the lines that are portrayed in this story. I quite enjoyed wondering which parts may be more accurate than others and what was likely satire.

I think it’s fairly obvious that none of the characters are particularly likeable but they are irresistible. June’s journey from a little-known writer, to a successful and award-winning, to polarising personality, is fascinating especially as she starts to grapple with what is right and wrong in the aftermath of success and with Athena’s ghost ever-present. It definitely makes for an interesting character, someone who is almost always on the precipice of being discovered and it was intriguing that I found myself hoping that she wouldn’t get caught one moment and then hoping she would the next, it made for some excellent tension in the story.

I also really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the situation feeling like everything to June but it hardly being a blip on the radar for her family outwith the book world, I thought that was such an apt observation of the world today. Which is another thing I like about this book, you can read it and take it at its entertaining face value or you can read it and delve a little deeper.

This is the first R.F. Kuang book that I have read but I will certainly be looking forward to starting the others that are on my shelf.

One of the best books I've read in a LONG time. Rebecca Huang is a hugely talented author, and I'm convinced she cannot write a bad book. I adored the messages about the publishing industry, and the addictive quality of the writing. It was impossible to put down!

wow, why didn’t I read this sooner!! I really enjoyed Kuang’s writing in The Poppy War and love how Yellowface shows how diverse her writing can be. I felt so conflicted throughout as I couldn’t comprehend June’s justifications but then at times I also felt sorry for her, which went completely against my morals and is a credit to Kuang’s writing.

I didn’t want to put this down and read it so quickly. The themes included are so thought provoking particularly the questions about race and telling stories based on different cultures to the authors. I don’t often read literary fiction but this is a new favourite. I enjoyed seeing the consequences of characters actions and even though the ending was open ended, it really packed a punch!

A huge thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for a review copy of this book!

A hilarious (in the way that June Hayward’s utter commitment to being delulu was unhinged) and often times frustrating insight into the publishing industry. Kuang excels at writing absolutely cutting satire and was able to seamless weave in commentary on racism, microagressions and prejudices faced within the industry. Utterly compelling read.

I enjoyed this book. A realistic and at times, frightening take on publishing. The characters were engaging.
I would recommend to others.

Perfect for bookclub discussions. A book that explores various themes : From the publishing industry, book communtiy, to the exploration of social issues especially the deep rooted seeds of racism - this story covers a lot of ground. A character that transforms the story into a highly satirical, sometimes displaying thrilleresque elements.

Well, I don't know what I was expecting from this book. I always loved the concept, but wondered how Kuang would be able to pull off such a topic in a believable way. And she does it almost flawlessly.

Yellowface explores a few things. Authenticity in writing, racism in the publishing industry, publishing as a whole, plagiarism, online bullying, the twitter author community, and more. If you are at all into books about authors and writers, this book will be right up your alley.

I loved how this book portrayed the current state of publishing in such an honest light. I could tell some of these came from personal experience and recent events that have happened in publishing, and that made this book feel so authentic and real.

June is a white author and when tragedy strikes and her successful writer friend Athena dies she takes Athena's unpublished manuscript as her own. Not only is this stealing, but it opens a whole other can of worms. Because Athena is Chinese, and her book is about the forgotten Chinese soldiers who fought alongside allied armies and were badly mistreated by them.

The book becomes a huge success and garners a lot of praise, but also criticism. People start questioning whether June, as a white woman, has the right to tell this story. She's always quick to defend herself, but any defence is almost laughable to the reader because we know that, in fact, a white writer could not have written this book and done it justice.

I went into this book expecting to outright hate June. What she does is terrible and unforgivable, right? Well, what Kuang does so cleverly is have June absolutely convinced that she did a good thing. She took a rough first draft of a book her friend wrote before she died before anyone could see it. She edited it, rewrote parts, made it a completed novel and turned it into a book that thousands would read.

In her mind, she's done Athena a good service. And because this book is told from June's perspective, her delusion and audacity seeps through the writing, to the point where I was at times convinced I should be feeling sympathy for her.

Yellowface was so nearly perfect for me, but I found I didn't like how Athena's mother was written. I felt she was a little too passive, especially when she was holding the ammunition that could have blown June's cover to smithereens.

Other than that, this book is expertly written from beginning to end. Kaung absolutely hit the nail on the head with this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang was an interesting read. It is a book about female friendships and rivalry with a look into writing, producing and putting your writing out into the world plus the good and bad that comes with this.

The characters are not particularly likeable, however, that makes the book enjoyable. There’s a degree of wanting the main character to work everything out and get away with things whilst also being like JUST WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK.

This is a story of identity, rivalry, writing and it has a real breaking the fourth wall feel to it — telling us everything about the industry that makes the lucky individuals the rich ones.

I really liked the book, I have never read something alike!
A book between the genres with tension, insights into the book industry and its chances and problems and the struggles and problems authors may to face.