This was a ride. R.F. Kuang can apparently write everything and I am here for it!
I hated June with my whole heart, but it was still such a good decision to make her the main protagonist (or antagonist) because it created a literary and satirical masterpiece.

Very different from Kuang's dark academia fantasy work, Yellowface is humorous, but not funny, eerie, but not scary. It was a quick read that made me cringe, but also made me think.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. R.F. Kuang is a popular name in the book reading community for a reason. She is so talented in creating a story and weaving in many incredible details and imagery

A million times yes, for this crazy story. Thank you for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I am working through my backlog, and will be momentarily posting reviews for the stories I have yet to get posted but have finished reading.

Yellowface is not my normal genre, and even though the main character was extremely unlikable, I found that I could not put this book down. Unfortunately, I feel this paints a very real picture of the treatment of POC and minority authors in the publishing world, and I am glad this book shed some light on this.
I found this narrative to be extremely realistic. The inclusion of social media (ghost accounts, tweets, online feuds) made this story believable. It was almost as if I were reading this online debate in real time.
By the end of the book, I could not stand any of the characters, even the deceased one. However, I did find myself wanting a happy ending for the MC. While I don't know if I would say this book ended on a happy note (it was sort of abrupt), I can see the silver lining of hope that the author fed the reader that all will be well in the end.
I highly recommend this book. If anything (even if it is not your typical genre), it may help to broaden your perspective. I think the underlying message of this book will stick with me for a long time.

I wanted to love this book, and I did end up enjoying it, but not as much as I would have liked. R.F. Kuang is an excellent writer and Yellowface is so drastically different from the high fantasy world she usually writes. The writing was good, the story and commentary fell a little flat to me and left me wanting more.

If you are looking for a book where the main character is just awful, this is for you. June Hayward is a struggling writer who is jealous of her classmate/"friend" who has literary success. When they are hanging out, her friend chokes on her pancake and dies. June decides to wander around and steal her finished manuscript and notes, clean it up and make it her own.

And she finds nothing wrong with this! Over and over again, she just justifies her actions. She says that she put work into the writing so it is hers. Well, yeah, but it wasn't yours.

When people challenge her, she feels bad, hides, blackmails, you name it... to make sure she can keep being a lying, manipulative character. And that's the book in a nutshell.

I just didn’t like that book at all. I didn’t like the main character.

I know some would love the.book but I can not recommend.

Yellowface follows Juniper Hayward, an author who is doing okay-not great in the publishing industry. When Juniper's friend Athena Liu dies tragically in front of her, this changes. Athena is a big name in the publishing industry. Juniper uses Athena's death to her advantage by stealing Athena's magnum opus and passing it off as her own. This catapults Juniper into literary darling status, but her deceit and guilt soon catch up with her.

Yellowface is a meta exploration of being an author, the publishing industry and how diverse authors and their stories are treated. Juniper fully believes that her identity, being a white woman, is the reason she is unsuccessful, and believes that Athena's Chinese identity is why she is successful. This book also explores how identity is used by the publishing industry in general to tell and sell stories, be they own voices or not. Yellowface explores the popular question of who can tell stories about race and culture, especially when it is different from the author's own.

Yellowface is a satire, but also a thriller that explores the book industry today. Anyone in this space will likely get something from this read. Kuang's writing is so clever. So many aspects of this story point to real life events that have happened in the industry. Instead of being preachy or telling you what you should think, this story really just points out the absurdity of the industry and some people's thought processes when it comes to diversity.

It took me too long to get to this but I am glad I finally read it. I know this book is a bit divisive, but I really enjoyed it. It is so clever and so needed in today's climate.

Easily one of my favorite reads of the year—five stars, no question. Yellowface is sharp, unrelenting, and absolutely unputdownable. R.F. Kuang nails the satire, the tension, and the sheer audacity of it all. My mouth was wide open the entire time. It’s a wild, uncomfortable, and deeply compelling look at privilege, cultural appropriation, and the publishing industry, and I loved every second of it. If you haven’t read this yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up immediately.

this book gave me so much anxiety. i was surprised this is popular because it's so much about publishing and book twitter that i wonder how it appears to people who aren't book obsessed or don't have jobs which revolve around books?

What a fun and infuriating book. As someone who works in the book world, the whiteness of its spaces has always really frustrated me, and this book was a great way to explore a lot of the types of conversations we're having these days and reflects this moment in time so well. The pacing was incredibly addictive, and the ways that we are emotionally turned over and over is a great testament to this great writer.

Creative premise and a well told story, I found myself interested in how it would play out. Kuang creates a sympathetic character in June Hayward - despite her flaws and questionable judgement. The plagiarism story has an added element of interest because of the racial aspect. I thought this was a clever idea and was well implemented. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

When aspiring hit novelist June watches her successful author friend Athena die, she makes a spur of the moment decision that snowballs into an avalanche of theft and plagiarism.

This novel holds up a mirror to the entire seedy underbelly of the publishing world. And not just the publishing world, but the roles that authors and readers play within that mess as well. Honestly, after reading Kuang's <u>Yellowface</u>, I feel somewhat dirty leaving a review at all! But Kuang judiciously holds up a mirror to every single one of her audience members. Those that cannot stomach this novel simply don't have the gall for tough and eye-opening conversations about sexism, racism, or privilege. Or maybe it's the fact that they simply cannot handle the face in the mirror and take the self-critique on the chin? Because at the end of the day this novel forces everyone to self-examine, and that can sometimes prove a daunting task. Though if you put in the effort and stick with this novel to the end, I think you'll find the story quite rewarding indeed.

Kuang's voice is so strong. The whole story is carefully structured and Lasser did an incredible job voicing an unlikable character. Listening to it increased the cringe factor to a 100%.

What happens when you steal a manuscript from a dead author? Who's going to know? This is the tale of Juniper and her rise to stardom in the publishing world...even though she didn't really write the book she's gaining fame for. I ended up listening to this one and am glad I did. While June is completely unlikeable, you end up feeling bad for her and the series of horrible decisions she makes. Lots of commentary on who gets to tell who's stories, it was an eye-opening read. Late to the party on this one, but glad I caught up.

Such a fascinating read that we have here. I thought it was thought provoking to have a white main character do all those terrible actions. I also enjoyed how both characters were completely flawed and realistic. I think it’s amazing that RF Kuang was able to write about this controversial topic with a brilliant narrative and compelling story.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Yellowface tackles some big issues, without feeling overblown or heavy handed. Juniper Song was friends/frenemies with Athena Liu and was there the night Athena passed away. June/Juniper takes a previously unknown work in progress of Athena's, finishes it and promotes it as her own. Other than the act of stealing anther person's intellectual property, major issues arise with this action. The book is about Chinese laborers in World War 1. Juniper is white. Questions arise about cultural appropriation, whether authors can write about other lived experiences, since that is their job, racism, online bullying and the consequences of actions. It was immensely readable with characters that are unlikable, turning to likable, making relatable decisions.

I read this in one sitting. A scathing portrayal of the publishing world and their quest to highlight minority authors… but not too many ,the authors trying desperately to stay relevant , and the impact social media has on the publishing industry as well as the world in general. This book was quite the departure from Kuang’s historical fantasy books and shows the amazing breadth of her talent. I love all her work and if as June does she reads Goodreads reviews- you are brilliant!
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC - my opinions are my own.

RF Kuang never misses and this expose on modern publishing is haunting. It makes you think. It makes you cry. It makes you wonder.