Yellowface is a propulsive, insightful look at the world of publishing. June Hayward and Athena Liu were college classmates and friendly with each other. Both become published authors, but Athena is much more successful than June. When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her manuscript and passes it off as her own. The novel examines racism in the publishing industry, what it means to be a successful writer, and plagiarism and theft of intellectual property, and the whole novel is very meta. I couldn't put it down!

Okay, this book made me angry. But like, wasn't that the point?
Yellowface is RF Kuang's debut literary fiction (but her writing transcends genres, truly. Even though this is not a fantasy book by any means, it was so well written.) about a white author who steals her dead friend's manuscript and publishes it as her own. It further goes on to discuss major themes such as racism in publishing, accountability, and white privilege. As an Asian reader, this book captivated me. Again, it made me HATE the main character and the things that they said, but it invoked some emotion in me that honestly, will have me thinking about this book for a long time. Absolutely banging job by RF Kuang and now I need to delve back into her backlist!

R. F Kuang has managed to craft a story that highlights the publishing industry's shortcomings, cancel culture, microaggressions against POC, internalized racism/prejudice and the entitlement of white people All of it told in the first person voice of a self-absorbed pusedo-liberal/feminist white woman, who has the audacity to frame her theft in a white saviour light.
This read had me cursing up a storm with the audacity of our FMC, although at certain points I did feel for her because of her fear of not succeeding and your ideas being dismissed when you have worked very hard on them.
Then ending I wished was different, it didn't satisfy my petty heart, but it was realistic and spoke to our society's short attention span and how we move on from controversial subjects quickly.

Overall, I think Kuang did an amazing job with this book! I did have high expectations for it, and while I don't know if I could say it surpassed those expectations, I do think it is a great novel and absolutely worth the read.

The most noteworthy element of this story is June's absolutely unwavering hypocrisy. She lacks such a ridiculous amount of insight into her thoughts, values, ideas, but Kuang managed to write her in a way that isn't cartoonish or caricatural. There are definitely people in the world who have said the exact same things that June does in this book, which made her that much more infuriating of a character.

There are so many instances in which she directly contradicts herself, and yet consistently convinces herself that she is right. At times she criticizes a woman for being misogynistic towards her, but then proceeds to be just as, if not more misogynistic towards other women, specifically Asian women who do not agree with her. She claims that some authors are cancelled for the "right reasons" such as using racial slurs, but cannot in any way shape or form recognize that her actions were so much worse. Her story flips flops non stop between "I never stole from Athena" to "This was a collaboration" to "It's okay if I took her work, so that it could get published and seen by the world" to "Yes I did steal her story, but it's fine because Athena stole from everyone too, myself included". And not once does she recognize how contradictory and hypocritical she is being all throughout the story. It was extremely effective and evocative as a novel.

I will say, although it is hard to compare books throughout different genres, I did miss Kuang's usual prose. This is a contemporary novel, and doesn't have quite as lyrical of a narrative voice. And while I understand that stylistic choice, one of the reasons The Poppy War is one of my favourite novels is specifically for the writing and how much it made me feel. I didn't have quite that same experience with Yellowface, and I don't think it necessarily set out to give me that, but I did feel like the story was dragging on and getting a little redundant at times.

Nonetheless, I absolutely, 100% do recommend this novel!

This was a fantastic fast read. I know Kuang from their other books, and this was a refreshing change of pace from their fantasy. It was an excellent book all about delusions and who has ownership and just amazing. Chef's kiss.

I was incredibly excited for Kuang's latest effort. Unfortunately, I feel the execution really fell flat here. I found this novel heavy-handed and lacking nuance, which would've made the critique stronger.

What a wild ride this was! Yellowface is such an incredible story and it kept me hooked from the very start until the last page. R.F. Kuang managed to write the main character June in such a way that I hated her, but still wanted to root for her deep down - she was absolutely insane, in such a good way. The way she rationalizes things is intense and it's so fun to see the thought process as things go through her head and she comes up with her crazy schemes and rationalizations. This books has so many layers - it feels like a fast paced thriller and contemporary book all in one go. I breezed through this book in one day and could NOT put it down. This is such a fun book but will exceptionally fun for those involved in the book review industry.

Yellowface is the first novel that I've read by author R. F. Kuang. Juniper and Athena are friendly from their college days. They still stay in touch intermittently and keep tabs on each other as they are both writers. So far, Athena is having more success than Juniper. That all changes one night when a sudden accident leaves Juniper with Athena's manuscript. From thereon out, decisions are made that will have life-changing ramifications. Read and enjoy!

Athena and June are both Yalie writers who attended college together but aren’t close per se. June has always been jealous of Athena’s natural effortless success in life, especially in the cutthroat writing industry when June’s debut novel was a massive flop. June resents Athena. One night when Athena and June are hanging out in Athena’s posh D.C. apartment, Athena chokes to death on a pancake and leaves behind a typewritten draft manuscript for her next book two years in the making. June takes the manuscript. Could this be June’s big break or the beginning of June’s downfall? What ensues is a high-speed rollercoaster of the highs and lows of the publishing industry in modern society.

Y’ALL I FLEW THROUGH THIS! I’ve NEVER binged a book in 24 hours because I’m just simply way too busy. If I had the time to have finished this in one sitting, I totally would have. It was so addictive and a page-turner for sure. I could not put it down. Such an interesting and creative con woman plot within the publishing industry.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you SOSO much to William Morrow, R.F. Kuang and NetGalley for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review!

Yikes! What a story! The narrator did a bad thing and keeping it a secret gave her panic attacks. Well, I experienced a virtual panic attack merely reading about the sordid “crime”. This was a nail biter for me. I just had to keep reading to find out what happened to the narrator so I could relax. Whew!

If you read one book this summer it should be this book! The depth and layers this book presented was just completely mind-blowing.

An honest and fair depiction of the publishing industry through the eyes of an author. This book is hilariously satirical due to Kuang's astute observations and her unwillingness to hold back criticisms of her own industry.

Everything I want to laud about this book is in the vein of spoilers and I honestly think it best to go into this knowing as little as possible about how the story unfolds. Just know that my first review was "Well shit this was amazing".

This was a wild ride of a book. You find yourself not wanting June to get caught, but also wanting her to get caught. I would start finding myself falling for June's justifications, but then you remember that she saw her "friend" die and stole her work. And every time she gets caught out there is another justification, well Athena stole her story, so isn't this fair?

I’ve given myself a couple days to fully digest 𝗬𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘 by R.F. Kuang, but I’m still having trouble putting my thoughts into words. Let’s start with the fact that I really liked it and quite literally had a difficult time putting it down. The book centers on June Hayward, a struggling writer who steals the newly finished manuscript of her sometimes friend, Athena Liu, just after Athena dies at June’s feet. Now June has no guilt in Athena’s death, but her glee in making Athena’s manuscript her own leads to nothing but angst and rightfully so.⁣
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This is a book that has a lot to say about a lot of things. There’s a huge focus on the publishing industry and the ways it pushes authors, plus many the limits it places on authors of color. It touches on who can write what and how much background does one need to write a story outside of their own. Themes around racism, both overt and disguised, run throughout. Obviously, plagiarism and theft of intellectual property play a big role and it all comes together through June, her guilt, and her constant stream of excuses. ⁣
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While I truly enjoyed 𝘠𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, there were times when I grew weary of June and her constant whining. Like in 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭, at times I felt Kuang was just a bit long winded and a bit repetitive. Otherwise, I thought it was a fun way to stir the pot on some important topics the publishing world continues to grapple with. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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Thanks to @williammorrowbooks for an electronic copy of #Yellowface.

Yellowface is a book unlike any other I've read before. This book deals with racism, cultural appropriation, the publishing industry, and the fetishization of Asian women.
Athena Liu is Aidan, beautiful, and successful. June Hayward has yet to really have success as a writer. She thinks about Athena a lot. It borders on the obsessive. One day, June witnesses Athena die and she steals her manuscript and published it herself. But, the manuscript deals with Chinese labor workers. So, she makes her photo more "ethnically ambiguous" and uses the name Juniper
Song.
She plays in the fact that she never outright says she Asian just leads people to think that she is. Through this we see the ramifications of what it really means when someone's culture is stolen.
This book was thrilling, suspenseful, hilarious, and utterly brilliant. The way R.F. Kuang deals with these topics and makes them come alive and pushes you to think. She really shows through the story and actions and words of these characters the messed things in publishing and in the debate of cultural appropriation. The writing is so clever, and so witty. I was gripped the entire time. I also felt really seen. The way Asian women are talked about, fetishized, made to be others is really shown. At my university I experienced a lot of racism and it was from places that you wouldn't expect.
This is an easy 5 star book. It's booth eye opening for a lot of people, plus is so freaking entertaining with so many twists you won't want to put it down. You'll also want to immediately binge all of her books!

Thank you to William Morrow Books for this advanced copy

Wow, what a story. This satirical piece of contemporary lit fic was genius. But it's also like a trainwreck - so painful to read but you can't look away. Is fantastically cringe a descriptor? Because this book was so cringey but in the best sardonically bitter way.

Author R.F. Kuang does a masterful job of creating this incredibly relevant and incredibly now narrative about an author who steals an unfinished book from her dead best friend. The kicker? Juniper Song is white, and purposefully makes herself appear racially ambiguous so she can pass her Asian friend's book off as her own.

Juniper herself is a character you love to hate- she always has a good justification for what she has done and constantly frames herself as the victim. There are so many tongue-in-cheek references to whiteness in the publishing industry - I appreciated the jabs at things such as celebrity book clubs and book boxes and the book buying industry.

This book is incredibly bingeable and well written book will MAKE YOU THINK. An especially relevant read for AAPI Heritage Month. Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for an advanced ecopy in exchange for my honest review. I give this one a 4..5 stars rated down to a 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hooooo boy was this book a trip. There will definitely be some people out there who will not be fans of the ending, but I loved it, because it was just so true to the character (can’t say more than that because spoilers, obviously, but… you’ll see.)

It would be so easy to hate the main character, June, and, don’t get me wrong, she is a terrible person, but Kuang writes her in such a way that she’s still compelling and I still want to follow her process… mainly to see if she ever learns and owns up to what she’s done.

The writer friend June steals from, Athena, while initially portrayed as some literary goddess, you soon see had her own flaws (flaws which do not, of course, excuse what June does).

I really wish I had the words to write a review that would do this book justice, but in lieu of those, let me just say, you should read this book. Especially if you’ve lived Kuang’s previous works. Or maybe if you eagerly followed the unfolding American Dirt discourse and want to peek behind the curtains of the publishing industry and a fictionalized version of what that might have looked like from the inside. Or if you just really like reading stories about misguided, terrible people behaving badly.

This was a fantastic read! Kuang really let her feelings out about the publishing industry in a way that was hard to read but captivating at the same time. You finish the book with so many thoughts and feelings about it all. I hope that this is widely read and appreciated.

4.5 stars
"I'm a Serious Young Author. I'm a Literary Star."
Thank you to Harper Collins Canada and Netgalley for my eARC of Yellowface for review!
Meet author Juniper Song, aka June Hayward. She wrote the bestselling Chinese WWI historical fiction sensation, The Last Front. Or did the recently-deceased Athena Liu?
It's the first-person narrative from June/Juniper that I found fascinating - she's not generally likeable, but she is infinitely interesting.
Yellowface delves into issues of race and cultural appropriation, friendship vs rivalry, the representation of marginalized voices.
What does an author have the right to write? And what happens when the winds of online discourse shift against a literary darling?
Is June a "plagiarizing, racist thief"?
We as readers are given a look into not only the writing process, but the publishing world.
Author R.F. Kuang has absolutely nailed this smart and quirky new release - absolutely recommended!
Released on May 16.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I think Kuang did a really smart move with the unreliable POV style throughout the book. The narrator normalizes her behavior, and her terrible actions seem more morally gray to the reader because of her justifications, making the reader question themselves multiple times. I also like how the author tackles the idea of diversity in publishing. However, there were multiple times throughout the book where I thought the book could have ended, but it just kept going. It just felt like it dragged a bit, and Kuang just kept adding more and more. Other than that, I enjoyed the story. I liked the audio book a lot as well. The narrator was great.