I finished this book late last night and still unsure how to bring my feelings about this book.

Firstly, I am not usually a thriller or satire reader. But, with this being Kuang, I knew I had to give it a shot, and I do not regret any of it.

Yellowface is a book you need to read without knowing much, I went in knowing that one character died by a piece of pancake, and that the other was a white woman who was stealing the identity of that character who died, and thats all you need to know.

Go in with a curious mind, and enjoy yourself, because it is a totally enraging but truth of how publishing and authors can be, and how it should be better.

10000/5 stars. Highly recommend.

A disturbing and introspective look at the person who goes too far. Kuang, known for her brilliant series The Poppy War, tackles racism, privilege, social media, and the publishing industry in this novel about a woman whose casual racism will make your toes curl. Aspiring author June Hayward seizes a deal with the devil when her friend and much more successful writer Athena Liu dies in a grotesque and unexpected accident - she steals Athena's manuscript draft and claims it as her own. As Athena's work focuses heavily on her Chinese heritage June grapples with issues of identity and appropriation. The rest of the book is Hayward desperately trying to prove her talent as she deals with the consequences of her theft and her conscience. It's a satirical take on liberals being racist, a very stern look at the influence of social media with unlikeable characters, and a scathing critique of the publishing industry. I don't know how much of this work comes from Kuang's lived experiences - according to reviews on Goodreads apparently a lot of it - but you can definitely see the hand of experience in a lot of the prose.

This book is not always a comfortable read and those who like characters they can root for will be disappointed. There is little redeeming in the main character and there really aren't any other characters who are drawn out enough to get to know. However, this book is a strong and well-written look at how one ill-intentioned act leads to another, and how self-justification works even in people who believe they are good.

This was a wild ride. June is the most insufferable, whiney main character, which makes reading and hoping for her downfall so weirdly enjoyable. But it never seems to come. Which makes this a hard read at times. The way she wiggles out of every controversy is annoying. And yet, at times, you get this twinge of sympathy while she's having her panic attack and spiraling - but it quickly goes away once she thinks of and implements her next harmful idea.

Normally books about books and writing really lean into the idea of putting literature on a pedestal. As a book lover, these kinds of books speak to me. But this one...June is constantly talking about how important writing is to her, but the way she treats it and manipulates it, made me think that maybe it isn't that important. The things she does are not warranted just to produce a piece of writing that will at best entertain someone. So, that's a weird feeling to have with a book.

Overall, the emotions Kuang elicits out of the reader with this story makes it a good read. There is a lot to unpack here and would make for a great book group discussion.

Everyone in book world needs to read this! Whether you are a reader, reviewer, author, publisher, publicist or whatnot – Yellowface covers it with so much wit, brilliance and accuracy.

I was gripped from the start and flew through it all! It's such a highly riveting page-turner with not one dull moment. I loved June's voice and as intentionally tone-deaf as she appears to be, I feel that she makes some really valid points too. Like yeah, I love representation but why are ownvoices suddenly made out to be the 'in' thing?

Kuang does a fantastic job in exploring complex issues as well as seeing both sides of an argument with nuance and depth e.g. does an author have the right to write about experiences that they have not personally lived through? The underlying commentary is really quite something else.

I'm not quite eloquent enough to put across just how multi-layered, clever and sharp this novel is, but highly recommend it! This is my first RF Kuang book but certainly not my last. Just what have I been missing out on?

If you like books featuring…
—the publishing industry
—satirical dark humor
—unreliable narrators

For fans of…
—The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
—I Hate Suzie (HBO)

This main character is one of the most reprehensible people that I have seen outside of a Disney villain. It’s not so much what she does, but the fact that she never recognizes that what she’s doing is wrong. She has pretty strong white privilege energy throughout. I also feel like this author is incredibly brave, taking on the mercurialness of the publishing industry and how best sellers are designed, not written. I also appreciate her, taking white people to task for thinking that they are the only people who can write history. I really like how she writes, how she keeps the plot moving forward lightning fast, and how Athena becomes such a strong character, even after dying in the first couple pages of the book. She may actually be the main character, because in some ways, it isn’t our protagonist (who proves that that word does NOT mean “hero”). June is the one who tells us the story, and she’s the main catalyst for the plot, but the character that has the most impact on what happens throughout is Athena. I’m looking forward to reading Babel because I really like Kuang‘s writing style, but I really hope that the hero in that does not make me want to punch them through the page. I took one star off because the villain was incredibly predictable and because I feel like there’s a few things that would’ve happened quite differently in the real world.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was fun behind-the-scenes look into the world of publishing. It was one of those stories where you should hope the protagonist gets caught but you're rooting for them to succeed in their crimes, kind of like Ocean's Eleven. I would definitely recommend this book!

A scathing look at the publishing industry and white privilege, Yellowface is the kind of book that makes you cringe, sometimes because of the terrible decisions the protagonist makes, and sometimes because the mirror might be a little to reflective. June Hayward is a writer who had little success with her debut novel, but classmate Athena Liu has taken the publishing world be storm. Their friendship is tainted by past decisions and current successes (or lack thereof), and when Athena dies suddenly, June takes the opportunity to pilfer an unfinished manuscript. As June hides the true story behind her breakout novel, her editor suggests changing her name to June Song (her ambiguous middle name), and a debate starts on social media about how stories about marginalized identities should be told. A quick literary thriller that will keep you turning the page.

Somehow my first RF Kuang book, but definitely not my last. I loved the writing style and how the main character, June, has such a distinct voice. The topic was also so interesting and topical, especially if you are in the book industry at all. Just a really great read with a really horrible main character.

I'm not sure how to review this book... I really wanted it to turn into a ghost story. I thought the writing was really engaging, but it also felt less like I was reading a book and more like I was reading a really impressive writing exercise. And even while the book was very readable, there was a distance in the writing. It never quite felt like I was immersed in the story. It always felt like I was being told what was happening. That said, I did enjoy the way the publishing industry was described here. I've read a few books about the world of publishing, and it felt really believable here. I also loved how gross it felt to be inside June's mind as she rationalized her behavior. She was the worst, and Kuang did a great job at humanizing her without excusing any of her bad choices. The concepts of cultural appropriation and who is "allowed" to tell what stories is really complicated, and I don't trust anyone who tries to be too clever about it, but I do think what Kuang has done here with her white MC is interesting and certain to lead to lots of heated conversation.

This was such a fantastic version of "rooting for an unlikeable character!" June/Juniper is horrendous and also relatable, and I couldn't' wait to see what happened with her in this novel. So very different from Babel but also fantastic.

reading this felt like coming upon a car crash you can’t look away from — v entertaining and harrowing all at the same time

This was such an absorbing, fascinating, frustrating read. Overall I really enjoyed the insider look into the world of writing and publishing, and obviously R.F. Kuang is a fantastic writer. For the most part, I couldn’t put this down, but there is a section in the middle of the book that focuses on Twitter and that really dragged on for me. But I think this is one of the standout books I’ve read so far this year!

RF Kuang does it again, and in a whole new genre! Yellowface was utterly devourable. Once I picked it up, I was hardly able to put it down, having to keep turning the pages to see what would happen next. It's a searing satire of the publishing industry while also being a fascinating character study. I would recommend this book to all kinds of readers, because I feel like it is fast-paced and captivating while also having so much going on beneath the surface.

This book has been everywhere lately, and it's not hard to see why people want to talk about it. June and Athena would not have been friends, if not for their shared university and profession. Athena's career has taken off and she's on the precipice of a big break when she dies, right in front of June. June is in a panic and calls the cops, but not before she steals her unfinished manuscript. The rest of the story explores what happens when June decides to take Athena's work and pass it off as her own. There's themes of cultural appropriation, diversity in the publishing industry, and friendship. I thought the story waned a bit toward the end but I did enjoy reading it. Kuang is a very talented writer and I love that she took this on.

I enjoyed the premise of this book. The way the author writes, made me want to keep turning the pages. The main character just kept making bad decisions which kept the story very interesting and twisty

First, a huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

R.F. Kuang does a deep dive into the toxicity of the publishing industry and poses the important question: who should or shouldn't be allowed to tell a story? Yellowface centers on June Hayward, a white woman who has secretly stolen the draft of her now deceased Chinese-American friend Athena Liu's novel and published it as her own. Throughout the novel June struggles to justify her inherently selfish choices and deludes herself into believing that passing a work built upon Chinese culture and history under the rebranded name Juniper Song, with an ethnically ambiguous author photo to match, does not harm the community in Athena's book. Yellowface follows the conversation on authenticity, racism, xenophobia, and plagiarism in the publishing industry with Kuang providing a timely commentary on racism and cultural appropriation that will keep readers hooked.

YELLOWFACE by R.F. KUANG
Published 5/16/2023 by William Morrow / Harper Collins Publishing
Page Count: 336 pages


Analogous to “Blackface” the appropriation of the Asian culture by a White is just as
offensive, disrespectful and racist. In the highly touted and acclaimed Chinese-American author’s fifth novel, diverging from her past success in the fantasy genre, she turns her pen onto a satire of multiple dimensions. She not only satirizes the publishing industry, but also
casts aspersions on social media, especially twitter, as well as the cancel culture, racism, and sometimes toxic nature of female friendship.
Our two main protagonists are June Hayward and Athena Liu. Both are graduates of Yale, and aspiring writers. June has published her debut novel to little fanfare, and is essentially floundering and in a writer’s block and unable to release a successful follow-up. Meanwhile, her “friend” Athena, a beautiful Asian-American is the darling of the publishing industry, with a mega-successful debut novel and has garnered a multi book deal straight out of college. To say the least, June is extremely jealous of Athena, and is somewhat dubious of the validity of their so-called friendship, and at times has fantasized even about being Athena.
The novel opens with the two writer’s toasting to Athena’s amazing lucrative new Netflix deal. In celebration Athena after champaign toasts ops to make her special pancakes for them. In a freak accident Athena chokes on the pancakes , as June stands by helplessly and witnesses her freakish death. June notices an unpublished first working draft manuscript on Athena’s desk and takes it home. She assumes that no-one is aware of its existence. Titled: The Last Front, she is impressed with this war epic, extolling the unsung contributions of the Chines Labour Corps….the Chinese workers who were recruited by the British Army and sent to the front during World War I. June decides to edit and fill in gaps in the manuscript and make it “her own.” She adds a romantic angle and attempts to make some of the white characters more sympathetic, June finds justification and remembers how Athena appropriated a traumatic sexual event in June’s life as related to Athena in confidence … only to note its appearance in an award-winning short story by Athena. Athena has appropriated others personal pain and suffering and turned into award winning fiction. Just how common is literary theft? Many white authors wonder and accuse ethnic writers of their success based upon diversity, rather than merit.
She presents the finished product to the publishing house, who anticipate it’s worth and importance, and offer to publish “The Last Front” as written by, “Jennifer Song”, with somewhat indistinct picture of June, The novel is a huge success, but after publication cracks in the veneer occur with questions arising in the media regarding its authenticity, and possible culture appropriation.
Kuang once again proves to be a masterful storyteller and spins a marvelous satirical mystery that escalates into a page turner as it criticizes not only the publishing industry but also social media and the cancel culture, and racism, and the insanity of it all. It is not an accident that such a fine Asian-American writer pens a yarn about the tokenization of Asian American authors.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow Publications for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. There is no telling where Kuang will set her sights on next … but I certainly will gobble it up.

Really sharp and smart. Loved the commentary on whitewashing, racism, microaggressions, and the publishing industry in general. What a great critique on where we are as a society.

Not my favorite, but I'm sure this will continue to be a popular pick in our collection. An easy page-turning type of book.