I finally read Yellowface, the newest masterpiece by R.F. Kuang which will be released on May 25, 2023.

First of all, I have to thank Netgalley, HarperCollins UK and Rebecca Kuang for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review! I still can’t believe it! Thank you so much!
And now let's dive into the review!

Yellowface is a very darkly funny contemporary thriller focused on the events of June Hayward, a simple white writer who is literally nobody but who will soon become very popular! In fact, one evening her only "friend" from the university, the famous Chinese writer Athena Liu, will die and June, eager to become famous and full of envy towards her friend, will steal the manuscript of her brand new novel and begin to pass it off as her own also pretending to be Chinese. But the fame and the ghost of Athena will soon drive June crazy and she will do everything to keep this secret safe.

Yellowface is a huge criticism of publishing! I had never read anything like it in my entire life, but as you know, Rebecca Kuang always amazes us and this time she literally shocked me with this highly out of her comfort zone book!

This book is perfect if you love the publishing world and all its dramas! It is a phenomenal and very realistic caricature of what the publishing world is like today, of all the dramas on booktwitter, of everything behind the publication of a book and much more!

The writing is nothing complicated, but in its simplicity, it manages to capture the reader and also the first person makes you feel literally in June's mind, so much so that you cheer for her and hope that she can get away with it even if she is literally a racist who has her friend's manuscript stolen!

Furthermore, this book is highly self-reflective and while I was reading it was very difficult for me to distinguish the voice of the protagonist from that of R.F. Kuang; you understand that in Yellowface there is a lot of the writer and this on the one hand is a fantastic thing but on the other it bothered me a bit not being able to detach the characters from the writer ... I don't know if you understand... it was a very strange feeling!

Another thing I loved is how June's extremely toxic friendship/obsession for Athena was well represented, truly fascinating and disturbing!

In a Nutshell Yellowface is an extremely dark and ironic book, the kind of dark humor that I love; it is a truly complex and layered book! I'm sure not everyone will like it and it will surely divide the criticism as it is already happening! You can't miss it! Yellowface is out everywhere on May 25, 2023! Don't miss it!

This book made me uncomfortable, angry, and I loved it. The MC was both likeable and unlikeable, and my want to keep reading speaks volumes about Rebecca's talent. She is incisive, cutting and entertaining. Can't wait for the public to read.

Yellowface is so different from any book I’ve read, and speaking as an R.F. Kuang fan, anything she’s written before! Kuang has jumped from fantasy/ alternate history to a satirical suspenseful contemporary fiction, across her past works (The Poppy War trilogy and Babel) she leads us through plot-heavy books with intricate worlds woven with exciting themes, all viewed through the distanced lens of the third person perspective, allowing us readers to speculate on what really is going on in the heads of our protagonists. Yellowface has an entirely different feel, written in first person present tense, it presents us with an intimate character study of our protagonist June Hayward, an unsuccessful young white writer whose frustrations in life (the relatable and the downright outrageous), are front and centre in the whole narrative. She is lonely, haunted, anxiety-ridden, defeated, jealous, envious, hateful, destructive, delusional- racist? Lovers of ‘the unreliable -almost mad- narrator’ will have a field day with this book, June Hayward is complex, messy and often anger-inducing giving us that blunt dark humour that has you reminding yourself ‘this is satirical, this is satirical, omg how do I crawl into this book and beat this white girl’s ass!’.

Let’s talk about the characters. Insufferable the lot of them, everyone from our main stars Athena Liu and June Hayward (who later takes the ethnically ambiguous pen name Juniper Song) to almost every horrid side character they encounter, those we see working alongside our main character (MC) in the publishing industry, family, friends, exes, and omg the vicious and malicious Twitter accounts that make the exact nauseating comments that the website is now infamous for- every person in this novel is at best deeply flawed and at worst an alt-right internet troll from hell, if that is going to be a problem for you, this isn’t the book for you. However, if like me you can appreciate the interrogation that is delving into those dark sides of the human psyche, to look it in the eye, criticise and understand, then Yellowface ought to be on your TBR if it isn’t already.

June Hayward is the average liberal white woman, she is that white woman who votes for all the ‘right’ people and would be publicly horrified by the use of a racial slur, all whilst holding the same unconscious bias’ that comes with living, benefiting from and upholding white supremacy -, particularly in publishing. She believes that her whiteness disadvantages her, ‘nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks,’ and as you watch her ignorantly waddle her way through the publishing industry, eyes selectively closed to her privileges and the roadblocks that everyone else has to endure, it becomes clearer and clearer that June Hayward is exactly who this system is built for. Athena Liu, the literary darling of Yellowface whose complex relationship with the publishing industry and internal ethical struggle with retelling the stories passed down to her from her family, will be very relatable to many diaspora writers, but she is no angel. Athena Liu also ‘steals’ June claims, she has used the experiences of others as writing fodder without consent, without (from what we can see) any sense of guilt or shame, carrying her Moleskin notebooks around museums and friends to mercilessly jot down the pain of others; so when June Hayward stands by her plagiarism as ‘karmic revenge’, I as a reader was left clutching my kindle with a head full of questions till the early hours of the morning. You want complex, downright cruel female characters? Here they are.

I had a lot of fun with Yellowface. It was dark, thrilling, outrageous, and as I’ve come to appreciate with Kuang’s work, points a finger at those things you notice in society, those things that make you uncomfortable, upset and angry but haven't the right words to articulate with the blunt confrontation (and mocking) they deserve.

Holy hell this book is incredible

It’s incredible in a violent way. It is a masterclass in microagressions and full out aggressions. It makes your heart fold in two but you won’t stop reading

The writing itself makes you slowly clench and hunch forwards. Closer and closer to the screen as this slow train wreck plays out. My anxiety experienced the equivalent of being jangled around in a jar of nails

A fever dream spiral into a disasters, there is something about this book that taunts you through the pages. It’s something so gory in an un bloody way, that you really don’t want to look away from, and the book knows that. It explains this human phenomenon - this attraction to the mentally macabre. This book is hugely meta in the current world, it contains snippets of things, phrases you will have heard. Whether through a racist old man at the train station or that annoying guy in uni lectures who loves the sound of his voice a little too much. It takes all this bedrock of your current world and spins this masterpiece of social satire, while also creating the most compelling characters. Morally grey doesn’t cover it. It’s a spectrum of people that are acting out an utter disaster before your eyes - like that stupid girl in the horror films who always thinks it a good idea to check that weird nose outside alone, and you are not mad about it.

And Kuang pulls it off. She creates possibly a new genre - pouring out this disaster of publishing and humanity and in doing so creating an incredibly entertaining ,almost Shakespearean, read.
More thoughts to come

ARC provided by the publisher Borrough Press, HarperCollins UK through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Yellowface is a fearless and unhinged exposé of the publishing industry through the lens of a controversial character that fails to conceal R. F. Kuang's inner voice that holds readers in a chokehold with no room for nuance.

R. F. Kuang is one of the most celebrated authors ever since the release of their award winning adult fantasy trilogy, The Poppy War, that weaves history into fantasy that isn't shy in showing the horrible crimes of war, politics, sacrifice for the greater good of freedom and revolution. In August of 2022 R. F. Kuang is set to release a dark academia adult fantasy standalone titled Babel that have received raving reviews before its release and multiple limited editions of the book. This is proof of RFK's hype and brightest example in their ability to write books that can sell, high quality backed up with amazing research, and favoured by the general public not only in the fantasy sphere.

Personally, I have read the first two books in The Poppy War trilogy and I have to admit the second made me turn my back on the series as a whole. I haven't read Babel just yet (which I am planning on reading in October) hence I haven't seen RFK's growth in writing fantasy. Instead I decided to pick up Yellowface since it is available for me to access and because I have heard enough opinion from fellow reviewers that have loved Babel reading this book then hating it. I would like to make it clear before I go into my review that I am wary of RFK's writing in general because there are certain aspects in their story telling that does not align with my taste of reading. These aspects usually has something to do with the characters and writing style.

Yellowface is a literary fiction mystery thriller about a mid tier white author, June Hayward, that steals the manuscript of a best selling Chinese-American author, Athena Liu, that died. This is not a spoiler because it is in the synopsis and it is established in the first chapter. June and Athena knew each other from their university days and throughout their life they are parallels of each other.
Both are from the same major and both have dreams of becoming an author. While June's path is full of trial and tribulations while Athena's path is the epitome of success from the very first book she published. Jealousy and envy is has always sinked it's teeth into June's life seeing how Athena harvests all the Ws while she just keeps getting Ls. When the opportunity presents itself in the most outrageous way June does the unthinkable and down right malicious. Taking Athena's manuscripts rewriting it then publishing it as hers.

Starting with the positive RFK isn't afraid to lay out the cold hard truth of the publishing industry that she first handedly experienced being an author herself. RFK knows the dirty laundry when it comes to publishing a book as an author, especially an author of colour. This unflinching raw writing style is distinct to what I deem as RFK's style. It is addictive, fast paced, and hard to put down. Readers can immediately get pulled into the story and immersed fully. The depth of the story is also due to RFK's ability to present her research packaging it in an entertaining narrative. I want to applaud RFK for writing a book that is readable, accessible, and without the pretentious notes of a literary fiction novel.

Sadly, that is the only positive I got for this book. A fast paced and easily accessible doesn't mean it is a good book for me. These are the kinds of books I would feel wary about rating it after. I had to reflect for a couple of days to finally realize that this book is shocking but not the good kind of shocking due to a few factors. In my lifetime I haven't read a lot of literary fiction books but I recently have picked up more books in this genre.

June Hayward is the main character of this story and any reader will hate June from start to end (at least I did). June as a character goes through many mental gymnastics to justify the horrible decisions throughout the book. She digs the hole deeper and deeper as the story progresses up until the climax that pushes her even further into gaslight, gatekeep, and girlboss-sociopath area. As a reader, I don't mind a character that is unlikeable through and through but the intent needs to be clear all the while complex. June seems to check all the boxes for a unlikeable character, the blue print is there and RFK made June's change a gradual ascent to crazy. Yet that is all there is to it for June.

This might be a bit abstract and quite reaching, throughout my reading experience it felt as though there is immense pressure to crucify June. It is a though RFK keeps on presenting proof or campaigning for readers to hate on June. As a reader I had zero chance to process and judge for myself the character because of how heavy handed RFK went for June. So, the conclusion is pretty fixed, "We hate June" or "We hate people like June". Which makes it hard for me to discern is this my own thoughts or is it RFK's? Is this what is to be expected from reading this book? A straight to the point delivery of facts with no nuance nor a chance to discuss anything about the story. I feel like it's no difference from delivering a clear cut news flash. There is no court of public opinion, it's just is from a story stand point.

Reading Yellowface from start to end June's situation is an extreme example of certain real life cases in publishing. The lengths she took can be said shocking and unhinged that gradually worsens the deeper she buries herself into her lies. Separating June from the story helped me to understand the story fully to find the essence of Yellowface such as themes and discussions that RFK wants to convey into this book. Which are racism within the publishing industry, white privilege, white women tears, and so on. It is clear that RFK features racism into all of her books and isn't shy about it either. Props to her for that but in this book I'm not sure that it was presented well enough to fit the literary fiction angle. There was no finesse or nuance in the writing and delivery at all.

Final thoughts, Yellowface is probably RFK's worst book for me. It lacked many things that I look for in literary fiction such as nuance, finesse, and complexities in the characters. When I read The Poppy War I admire RFK's guts as a writer, her raw unflinching prose, and overall incorporation of history into the story. Yellowface had none of the things I admired in RFK. For fans of RFK that likes her fantasy books I would advise you to proceed with absolute caution and be ready to be disappointed. I would like to remind anyone reading this review that this is my opinion and I am just one of thousands of reviewers on this planet. I'm sure once this book is published many readers will like it or some may agree with me, who knows? Reading is subjective from person to person.

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

A new direction for Rebecca F. Kuang but, as ever, she hits it out of the park again. Sharp, biting, brutally accurate, YELLOWFACE is a timely analysis of how we find inspiration, what it means to be a bestseller, and the very real problems of the modern publishing industry. A perfect read for authors and publishing professionals alike who will cringe in recognition at June's rollercoaster journey. Without a doubt this will be one of the best books of 2023.

Important, thought-provoking read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this title in exchange for my feedback.

Yellowface by RF Kuang* is an interesting foray into litfic for the fantasy writer. Juniper Song is a struggling writer, living in the shadow of her infinitely more successful friend Athena Liu. When Athena dies tragically, Juniper seizes her moment and steals the manuscript for Athena's next book. We spend the whole book waiting for Juniper to be rumbled and it's truly impressive how incredibly unlikeable she is - we never want her to get away with it. Loved the chaos and the insight into the publishing world.

She’s done it again. What feels like a whole new genre for R.F Kuang, bur just as beautifully written as her other books. Its funny, it’s dark, its relevant. A nuanced discussion on social media and the publishing world today. I don’t think it’ll be for everyone, but if you’re in the world of publishing, book writing or a frequent book reviewer and social media goer. This could be for you. Its exciting, fun and a little entertaining. Make no mistake when you enter, this is a social commentary, and it reads as such, almost like I’m reading from R. F Kuang’s own personal notes app, but I like that. It had me questioning my own thoughts and may even force you to confront some long held beliefs. A lighter read overall than some of her others, I’d say a simple, yet very clever premise. I wouldn’t say this is action packed, it moves at a more repetitive pace, and the narrator’s viewpoint can be difficult, but that’s all part of the effect, that’s what makes it an intelligent read.

Yellowface is an interesting insight into diversity in the publishing industry told from the point of view of a very white gaze.

Due to be published in June 2023, I was granted the opportunity to read this e-ARC through NetGalley and Harper Collins UK. This was a gripping and darkly funny read - the main characters were unlikeable and hard to trust but I loved reading about them. The inner dialogue of the narrator was cleverly done. I would definitely read more from this author in future.

Funny, sharp, informative, caustic book about identity and own voices. I admit it caused the occasional full-body cringe as I recognised my industry and myself and not always at our best moments (fyi I'm a white female author). Absolutely would recommend to anyone but especially anyone who works in publishing.

I read this within a month of reading Babel and Babel this is not, however this does not mean it's not brilliant!

Is there nothing that RF Kuang can't write?

This is a perfect thriller it grips you from the start and I couldn't put it down which meant it was a really fast read! It's so clever and littered with dark humour.

Once again we are challenged to confront our own prejudices and it is once again a lesson in how to write fiction with social commentary! As with all RF Kuang's work it's not subtle in it's challenge and as a white person reading it's uncomfortable, as it should be!

This is also at times a scathing attack on the publishing world and all that it involves, from token-istic attempts at diversity to the industries total lack of self awareness all seen through the first person POV of June!

Aside from all that you may be thinking should I read this- Yes, Yes you should it's wildly entertaining and while I am still not 100% on the ending I think RF Kuang has yet again written a very important book that I will personally be pushing on everyone!

5 stars

Wow that book is brilliant, cutting, sarcastic and so revealing of today’s behavior on social media!
Once again, RF Kuang is so smart that I was left baffled and dazed more than once when she crammed many truths about today’s society in just a few passages!
Rebecca Kuang also writes the best morally grey characters! Juniper should be the villain but you can’t help understand why she stole that work and empathize with her!

From the first sentences, you dive right into the story and live Juniper and Athena’s complicated friendship. Juniper is green with envy at Athena’s success and Athena is vampirising everyone’s feelings to make them masterpieces in her books.

The way RF Kuang described Athena’s success early on made me inevitably think of her!
“Off the bat, for this story to make sense, you should know two things about Athena: First, she has everything: a multi-book deal straight out of college at a major publishing house, an MFA from the one writing workshop everyone’s heard of, a resume of prestigious artist residencies, and a history of award nominations longer than my grocery list. At twenty-seven, she’s published three novels, each one a successively bigger hit. For Athena, the Netflix deal was not a life-changing event, just another feather in her cap; one of the side perks of the road to literary stardom she’s been hurtling down since graduation.”
I think RF Kuang had a field day caricaturing herself and probably some other authors or an idea of what less successful authors think and feel.
She probably mixed real life comments with an exaggeration of what the publishing industry is like.

When Athena dies under Juniper’s eyes, June will steal Athena’s draft, rework it and will send it to an agent like her own. And that’s when fame but also threats happen.


I know for a fact that I took a lot of notes and was recognizing some of my nemesis like cancel culture and trolls.
These last years we got a lot of witch hunts on social media. White authors can’t write about people of color without being accused of either misrepresenting some race or culture or profiting from it. And if you are white and don’t have people of color as the main characters, or are straight and don’t write about LGBTQ heroes, then you are not diverse enough and you are racist or homophobic…
That really, really makes me mad!
That’s why I was delighted to realize that Rebecca Kuang wrote a masterpiece about all the complicated world authors are living in right now!
“That reverse racism is okay. That they can bully, harass, and humiliate people like me, just because I’m white, just because that counts as punching up, because in this day and age, women like me are the last acceptable target. Racism is bad, but you can still send death threats to Karens.”
Honestly authors are walking a minefield these days, even with sensitivity readers!

Also, all these observations about writing were fascinating! And felt like déjà vu. Maybe remarks from professors or editors to Rebecca's previous work? Or something she heard about her colleagues?

I could write pages after pages of all the thoughts I had on the publishing industry, on authors trying to get a big deal and go into the spotlight, on the many trolls organizing witch hunts without being informed “Though it doesn’t matter what the truth is. No one spreading these rumors cares about fact checking or due diligence.”

And right alongside these hot and engrossing topics was Juniper’s story and guilt. What she did was wrong but she was convinced it was right in her own twisted way. Soon enough the story will dive into thriller territory with someone targeting Juniper as a thief, pushing her to go further into terror and near psychosis.
Who was behind the threats?
Would Juniper be unmasked? What would happen?
These were the questions constantly crowding my mind and keeping me riveted to the story.

And that ending! Just… perfect for the book and for RF Kuang.

I will never be able to do justice to that story! I adored the Poppy War, Babel left me disappointed but Yellowface reconciled me with RF Kuang’s work!

I loved this clever, darkly comic thriller, due out in May 2023. Kuang challenges us as readers to explore our own prejudices through the character of June, a young writer whose career has not gone to plan. Her love-hate relationship with her peer, Athena Liu, who has been a spectacular publishing success, comes to an interesting climax with the death of Athena, and the story takes off from there as June commandeers Athena's latest manuscript and passes it off as her own.
In this first-person narrative, we are sucked into June's perspective as she justifies her actions and reminds herself constantly that she is not a racist, and while her lack of self-awareness is very funny and at times shocking, I was often uncomfortable as a white reader as I had to question my own reactions to June (aka Juniper Song) and her situation. This is a really effective approach and will keep me thinking for a long time.
The novel also cleverly comments on the systematic racism of the publishing world and its token attempts to promote diversity. There's nothing subtle here, as is evident even from the title, but neither is it preachy in any way. Certainly, if you are a white reader, you will be forced to confront yourself, but it's also a really entertaining read.
I did find the final action scene (I don't want to give too much away!) a little less than convincing - I find it hard to believe that June wouldn't have spotted something amiss - but maybe that's all part of the author's intention.
Overall, I'd highly recommend this - put it on your list!
With thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

This book has it all. It’s a ballsy, original, fresh, sharp, witty, scathing and downright entertaining satire; a fascinating but brutal take on the publishing industry. Easy to read but difficult to put down. I am already recommending it to friends and will definitely be reading more from this brilliant author. Loved it!

wow oh wow, so this is very different to rebbecas other writing and noveks but yet i find myself loving it just as much , the characters are unlikable but excellently written the story is parts amusing shocking and tearworthy at times and really shows how diverse if a wrotter rebbeca is its a must read and a real eye opener about publishing

Yellowface is the first thriller novel by R F Kuang, and it's about a young struggling female white author Juniper who hangs out with a more successful Asian author. Not necessarily because she likes Athena Liu but because she harbours feelings of jealousy. However, one night she is invited back to Athena's place, and Athena suddenly dies in an accident. As a key witness, Juniper was thrust into media attention. In addition, she also kept a copy of Athena's unseen and unfinished manuscript. Can she take Athena's work, edit it and send it to publishers as her own?

I find it very difficult to translate all my feelings for this book into words as it's linked to my personal experiences and opinions as a reader from the Chinese diaspora. But here are all the things I really enjoyed about Yellowface:
1. This book asks and explores some important questions about who has the right to tell stories about others. Can an Asian author correctly represent a white woman being trolled without leaning into stereotypes? What are the consequences of a cishet white woman writing about a group of Chinese characters? Is there such a thing as writing out our experiences without perpetuating harmful stereotypes?
2. Pacing. Yellowface jumped straight into the plot and the first part of the book went by at a breakneck speed.
3. Variety in a diaspora. It's easier to project a homogenous community voice for simplicity and to drive a story. However, Rebecca demonstrated throughout Yellowface that a community comprises of various voices and viewpoints.
4. Juniper spends much of her time on social media as her book is launched, and the Twitter comments and memes are far too realistic. It's weird that you literally can't make it up. There is an exploration of the impact of receiving both viral praise and trolls from social media can feel for a person and its impact on their mental health. You live through the highs and lows of Juniper's mental state and its impact on her creative process.
5. This book has one of the best and most vivid portrayals of a person experiencing a panic attack and spiralling mental health. If you are sensitive to this, please be careful with reading those scenes.
6. This book is critical of the publishing industry, and the cut-throat treatment of aspiring and successful authors. Yellowface also paints book reviews and book influencers as a community of perpetually hungry devourers of the written word. We, as book reviewers, are a part of the industry and not separable, where our love or hate for a book can lift or fail a person's career.

Here's what I didn't like in Yellowface, some of these are more positive than others.
1. The protagonist, Juniper, is very unlikeable, and it would concern me if I actually liked her. She's a racist white feminist and it's not a bad thing to dislike Juniper so much.
2. I hated every significant side character in this book, including Athena Liu. Athena is portrayed as the golden girl of publishing. The Asian woman defied the odds to be wildly successful. Yet her portrayal is through Juniper's perspective, a jealous and also white lens. So there are a lot of instances where Juniper recalls memories of Athena that justify her racist attitude because of Athena's internalised racism.
3. The pacing of the book was uneven throughout the story, it slowed down in the middle of the plot, where we spent a lot of time waiting around between the successful launch of Juniper's stolen manuscript and its finally speeding towards the climax. I hesitate to say I was satisfied with the ending, as it left me feeling disorientated and frustrated. I spent the entire time really looking forward to Juniper's demise but it didn't quite happen in the way I wanted it to. So a little disappointed, to say the least.

If you like tragic protagonists who get their comeuppance and are intrigued by publishing drama, a fascination with the notion of cancel culture - this would be the right book for you to read.

Content warnings: Racism, Misogyny, Plagiarism, Death of a character on the page, trolling, death threats, anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, depression, physical assault

Full review here:

https://youtu.be/locux25F7L4

Tldr - I thought the discussion around plagiarism and racism and how those two things could be related was very intelligent, great characters, and overall a wonderful novel 4.5/5

This was a brilliant read - clever and gripping with an absolutely infuriating main character in June. I read it right after R. F. Kuang's current bestseller Babel, and while this is totally different it was interesting to see that some of the criticisms I've read of Babel in reviews are the exact same things June decides to change about Athena's manuscript. It's also a fascinating insight into publishing, particularly racism/tokenism in publishing, and how online literary controversies play out. Its appeal is wider, of course, but any author who spends far too much of their time on Twitter will relate a lot! Thanks to the Borough Press and Netgalley for the ARC.