What could I possibly say about Yellowface that hasn't already been shared on every review platform? June and Athena were rising stars in their schooling, however, Athena was quickly picked up by publishers. Following a string of hit novels, June can't help but be jealous of Athena's success. When Athena dies in front of her, June does what any sane person would do, and steals Athena's new manuscript. Passing it off as her own, June then changes her name and takes new author photos crafting a more ethnically ambiguous persona. However, not everyone believes her lies.
Yellowface is so well written I simply could not put it down, I wanted to find out what idiotic decision June made next. Full of racism and microaggressions, Yellowface is a scathing thriller about the publishing industry from an insider.

Yellowface is an enthralling thriller that explores online culture, the publishing world and the modern landscape of cultural debates about racism, privilege and appropriation.

June Hayward is a mediocre US white writer who has struggled to get any marketing heft behind her recent debut novel. Her friend Athena Liu, who is of East Asian heritage, is in contrast seen as something of a literary darling. We will discover that the two women have history - through the book there's a progressive unveiling of their lives, their histories, their rivalry and most of all, the hidden places of their "friendship". For Athena, it is thought too late as the event that sets everything moving is her sudden and tragic death. This is witnessed by June - who takes the opportunity to steal the first draft of Athena's next book, a harrowing story of Chinese labourers working on the Western Front in the First World War.

June feels she's owed something (exactly why, is one of those discoveries) but she also thinks she can improve the draft and she gradually persuades herself as she does so that it's a joint project, that she's honouring Athena by bringing her last novel to the world as it really should be. First, though, a few things need to change. There's an, actually quite funny, sequence where we begin to see the seeds of June's later downfall as she makes those "improvements" - for example, replacing Chinese names heedless of the cultural context or introducing incongruous elements to the story (and that's even before the publishers get their hands on it).

"June's book" is at first a great success, selling by the cartload and earning her unimagined wealth, but it can only be a matter of time before questions are asked, especially since she's been ambiguously repackaged as "Juniper Song". When it becomes clear that she's white, critiques begin to appear - followed by rumours about who really wrote the novel. The resulting online controversy is of course painfully redolent of several recent literary scandals - you can supply the names and details if you've spent any time hanging around book Twitter - and the moves and countermoves, the attempts at justification and positioning, the consequences, will be very familiar too.
As things got worse and worse, I did have some sympathy for June. What she's done is of course indefensible, but it is also clear that she is very vulnerable - rather alone in the world, and suffering from poor mental health that leaves her ill equipped to cope with her situation: rather she retreats to bed and scrolls in horror through the online rage, unable to turn away. Through all of this, she does though come across as very naive. It's not only that she should have realised that what she was doing was wrong, and how things were likely to go, but she has a complete inability to read the room, as it were. For example, pressed by her publisher for a further work to publish, to demonstrate that she can write for herself and so underpin her credibility as the author of The Last Front, she's out of ideas. Despite the obvious pitfalls, she treks off to Washington's Chinatown and plops herself down in a Chinese restaurant to interrogate the staff about their ideas (after all she's already accumulated so much background on China and Chinese people, she might as well put it to good use, right?)

It's as though June is incapable of learning from what has happened - and indeed she compounds the situation, leading to situations which were actually quite painful to read: relationships destroyed, reputations ruined. But through all this, it's not, in the end, those aspects which get through to June. No, what begins to nag at her is the sense that Athena isn't gone, that she might be trying to get in touch... and of course she's not happy. This is where June really begins to go off the rails, and where the thriller element of the book comes to the fore...

Yellowface is an engaging, entertaining book that dramatises the kind of notorious public debate that seems to be occurring more and more often. In portraying things from the inside, there's room for a degree of nuance - for example Kuang is able to show how despite her celebrity, things were far from rosy for Athena, her heritage pigeonholing her in the eyes of her publishers and dictating her material even when she might want to write about something else. (They're more able to accommodate June, as a white woman, writing about Chinese themes than they do Athena wanting to broaden her range).

If you were thinking that, as there's almost a script for this sort of controversy the book might seem too predictable, then be reassured, Kuang keeps the surprises coming, both rooting what happens in June's, and Athena's, earlier relationship and also in June's current, rather scatty, network of family and friends. The fact that June is rather a heedless person, acting without thinking, produces some positively toe-curling situations (as when she takes it upon herself to mentor an upcoming American-Asian writer), the more so because at times she seems utterly unaware of herself and of how she might be seen by others. (At others, though, she certainly does know what she's about - I think there might be a touch of unreliable narrator in places with the text we read reflecting her self-justications and rationalisations).

A thought provoking and, to me, often eye-opening book with I'd strongly recommend.

honestly i’m really sad this turned out to be my least favorite rf kuang book :( i liked the prose and the writing as always but i just could not connect with any of the characters and the story dragged a lot in my opinion. i got very bored halfway through i had to force myself to finish it.

An amazingly satirical book on the unglamorous and harsh realities of the publishing industry. June was a fabulously chaotic character who made bad choices and had to deal with the consequences but never really learnt her lesson.

Some plot points were predictable and it was slightly difficult to distinguish where the book ended and the author's personal experiences began but other than that, this was a highly recommended book.

This book was genius!
The main character is extremely unlikable but that is what makes this a fun read. June is prejudice, racist and entitled but continuously paints herself out to be the victim.

It’s definitely a character based book with not much going on in terms of plot but it was still enjoyable to watch someone be so delusional.

The trick with this book is that at some points you might find yourself agreeing with June and have to check your own biases. It was also genius of Kuang to not make the Asian main character Athena a saint, she too has problematic behaviours but it was hilarious to watch June try to claim she was not really a minority because she essentially “made it”

Overall I definitely recommend this if you know how to read between the lines and have done the work to fix your own biases otherwise it might go over your head

Book - Yellowface

Author - @kuangrf

My rating - 5/5 #udishasaysread

Suggested reading age according to me - 16+

Book review - Yellowface is unlike anything I've ever read. 2023 has been a great year in terms of book and i can confidently say that this will be the greatest literary fiction more like genre defying and winning book of atleast the coming decade. Every book blogger works differently, every human does but the fork in the noodle twisting way the nature of human complexity was captured in this book. My my my, Goodness.

The fact that the same publisher, published it whose employee were on strike in the US. YIKES...

Kuang, spares no one. Every single, even micro-related publishing employee/human is held accountable.

This book is more than just about Athena and June. Dear reader human, I leave that to you to discover and take that satisfactory burp after the last line. I trust in you, to go dive in this and discover the yellowface characters yourself.

This is a story that moves, breaks and re-builds industries.

She’s done it again!!!

Queue - RF Kuang could write a grocery list and I would read it - comment

Oooo I just adore a scathing satire, and this does it so so well. I’ve seen a lot of reviews saying it was too on the nose and honestly I think she could’ve been much more brutal???

If you’re interested in publishing, the processes, insider knowledge, and the discrimination that runs in it, please please give this a read.

I literally could not put this down and read it in one sitting. I have never enjoyed hating a protagonist quite this much. June’s head is a messy place to be!!!!

When does inspiration become stealing? And who has the right to tell certain stories in the first place?

These are some of the questions at the heart of Yellowface, @kuangrf’s satirical deep dive into the publishing industry. It centres around the death of Athena, a successful young author, and what happens when her ‘friend’ and fellow author June Hayward steals Athena’s manuscript, edits it, and publishes it as her original work.

The plot that ensues explores cultural appropriation in the context of Chinese histories, as well as the way ‘diversity’ is seen in the publishing industry from various perspectives, how the industry works to create bestsellers, and what happens when your reputation comes into question.

The book is told from the unreliable perspective of June, and I love that this POV added an extra layer to June co-opting Athena’s story and telling it herself. June is a villain in this story — but I loved the complexity that other characters weren’t necessarily complete heroes either. But then again, see: June’s unreliable narration.

I actually read this book twice on Netgalley, and I just love how RF Kuang has crafted what on the surface is a quite simple plot with clear moral positioning — but underneath, the reader’s emotions, perspectives and opinions are played with in ways I still feel like I haven’t fully unpacked.

More than anything, I’m looking forward to hearing other people’s thoughts on the book (especially once it’s out in May). It feels like a book that comes even more alive in the reviews, when real-world readers add their opinions to the thoughts of the fictional readers within the book and almost become part of the narrative ourselves.

This was one where i wasn't sure if i was the right audience for this genre.
However, i'm so glad i gave it a chance. This is like nothing i have ever read before, or will probably ever read again.

I'm so glad this book exists! Hopefully it will change the publishing industry for the better. I also didn't expect it to be so thrilling and suspenseful

I think the premise of this book was extremely smart. A meta story about publishing, including conversations on topics like racism, identity, plagiarism, and so on. It was expertly executed, as expected from Kuang, who is an incredible storyteller. I felt that the pacing was a bit off in some places, and the different parts seemed to flow differently at times. Overall a very enjoyable, yet haunting read that will stay with me for a long time.

I really liked this, but didn't love it as much as I hoped. (I hoped it would be in my top 20 of the year and I don't think it quite will be, so you can see it's not a bad review at all!) I think, for me, it suffered from being over-hyped and I would have liked it even more if I had read it before all of the reviews came out.

I did read it in two sittings so was completely drawn in by it, but it just felt a bit lighter than I expected. I could see the satire, but perhaps even more bite would have been good. I'm not a prolific social media user so I think that's maybe where it fell down for me; I just don't 'get' that obsession with likes, and I don't understand the keyboard warriors who are so keen to take other people down.

4.5 stars

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

Yellowface tells the story of a very insecure white woman who takes the opportunity to steal her non-white friend's unfinished manuscript after watching her die right in front of her. If you think this is a story about her guilt, think again.

For as long as they've known each other, June Hayward has compared herself to Athena Liu: while June's debut novel flops, Athena is the new literary darling on the scene; June is deemed a 'basic white girl' while Athena is 'interesting' and 'exotic.' But as the story unfolds, June's insecurity turns unhinged as she builds her career on a foundation of deceit, and she'll do anything to keep her reputation upheld. [Mild spoilers ahead]. She's the female lead you aren't rooting for, and you'll enjoy every moment of her downfall. This is exactly the kind of book I mean when I say I love a book with an unlikeable main character. Would I want to be June Hayward's friend? Absolutely not. Do I wish her success? Only to see her fall harder. I almost wanted June to get away with it for a little bit longer, only to see her life get progressively even worse and end in an even greater downfall.

This book is a searing examination of the publishing industry and white privilege, but in a way that reminds me of children using magnifying glasses to set ants on fire. Kuang pulls no punches when highlighting serious racism and sexism within the industry, but June's absurd denial of her racism and justification of her own actions—she's a perfect example of an unreliable narrator—makes the story darkly funny. It's easily my favourite satirical novel of the year.

Yellowface has you sitting at the edge of your seat right from the start (and this book could easily be read in a single sitting, despite it being over 300 pages long), so it's no surprise that this book is as popular as it is. It's a must-read and I couldn't recommend it more.

It was definitely not Rebecca's best work, for I enjoyed Babel far more than this. However, I do recognise the importance of this novel and I hope everyone does give this a chance!

oh my god.
This book was everything the publishing industry (and booktwittera like) needs to get a hold of and address, especially the point of using diversity as a token by making sure to include enough to not seem racist but never actually doing anything to make a difference.

RF Kuang wrote an amazing piece and I will forever recommend this book to everyone I know.

The first 25% of this book are VERY good and really got me hooked. However, the middle part was dragging a bit in my opinion and only got interesting again at the last 50-ish pages. Overall a great story and the writing is phenomenal!

I had high hopes for this book because of the hype I’d seen online but I didn’t know what the story would entail. I liked it - especially the author’s style of writing which was chatty and clever. The story was interesting and I liked the way feelings of guilt and bitterness were described so intensely.

White fragility meets cultural appropriation meets outright intellectual robbery. Could have been a rivetting book, but for the bland storytelling. The writing seemed more like notes—what an acquaintance of mine used to call "having a write-fit", when you just vomit out your idea in a stream of consciousness, to flesh out earlier. I'm also not sure I liked the ending. It's almost like a "and then nothing else happened".

(Review copy from NetGalley)

I really enjoyed Rebecca Kuang’s The Poppy War and have been very intrigued by Babel, but haven’t yet had the chance to pick it up. Her newest release Yellowface is completely different, this story follows June Hayward, a struggling author who witnesses the death of her friend and literary star Athena Liu, June decides to steal the manuscript of her latest novel – a story about Chinese labourers in World War I. June passes the novel off as her own and her publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song and she becomes an instant bestseller. As June begins to think she’s in the clear evidence begins to surface that will bring everything crashing down, but how far will June go to protect her secret and the stardom she feels she was destined for.

Yellowface is completely unlike anything I’ve read before. I read this book practically in one sitting. It’s such a compelling read. You know from the outset that things are going to go badly for June, but you cannot look away. Kuang’s prose is sharp and the plot is well executed and I loved the way the story got more tense and horrifying as it drew to its conclusion. I did a Master’s degree in Publishing Studies so I was completely fascinated by the way Kuang has depicted the publishing industry in this book. Yellowface really highlights how brutal the industry can be.

June is a really interesting protagonist. She is very unlikeable but has a very strong narrative voice and her ability to justify her actions is so fascinating to watch. The story focuses on themes of racism and cultural appropriation, not just in publishing but in everyday life. Yellowface is a well crafted, gripping story that will stick with you long after you’ve finished reading. Yellowface is absolutely a book you do not want to miss.