I really enjoyed this book. It was very different to what I'd usually read and I found it very different from Rebecca's usual fantasy worlds that being said I think she pulled it off perfectly. I found myself enraptured by the story and also June is my new favourite love to hate character!

I probably inhaled this book quicker than I did any other this year.

Yellowface is an addictive and clever thriller set in Washington D.C. about a literary heist and the most brazen of protagonists. June Hayward was in the same Yale graduating class as Athena Liu, but while Athena has flourished into a literary darling with three novels and a Netflix deal to her name, June's first novel never made it to paperback publication owing to poor sales.

Athena has a freak accident one evening and June is unable to intervene to save her. Before leaving Athena's apartment on the evening in question, June grabs the recently finished manuscript of her dead frenemy's new novel, a story about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I. And what starts as an exercise in proofreading and editing soon becomes a completion of the novel-in-progress, with June's name attached as author. The publishing industry have their part here too: They play up June’s nomadic childhood and publish the novel under the quirky and ethnically ambiguous birth name given to her by her hippie mother: Juniper Song.

Despite the growing controversary that surrounds the release, June basks in the glow of success, making excuses within herself to justify her actions, and always seeing herself as the victim in this scandal. But external forces continue to lay on the pressure, and the internet has its field day.

I found Yellowface to be an utterly gripping social commentary that is both zeitgeisty and very meta. It is essentially a book by a Chinese American author taking on the persona of a white American author who is pretending to be Chinese American, and in doing so tackles topics such as diversity, racism, cultural appropriation and the erasure of Asian-American or own voices by Western white society. It provides a fascinating look at authorship and cancel culture, and also offers quite the critique of the publishing machine! And it says a lot about art and the creative process: Is art authentic? Or is it all just an act in pilfering.

With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface will appeal to anyone who loves a riveting, tense story. It will also appeal to those interested in the book industry or those fascinated by literary controversies and social media spats.

I LOVED this book! And kudos to the author for THAT scene on the Exorcists Steps in Georgetown. It was the perfect setting given the tension, and it gave me chills. Just brilliant.
Edit Review

This is a novel that has many layers! It tackles multiple complex issues with race, professional accomplishments, loneliness, and online trolling, whilst providing a satirical and uncensored view into the professional publishing world.

First, the writing style. I feel like this is very different to RF Kuang’s usually complex and long descriptive writing style. It reads as a 350-page long monologue of the protagonists’ inner musings to herself and her subsequent state of mind. At first, this was hard to get into and I did find the first 30ish per cent tedious until I realised the reason why Kuang has opted to have such a morally corrupt, bitter, and jealous protagonist positioned as a very unreliable narrator. It makes you wonder what is actually fact, and what is fiction. What is real and what June thinks through her white privileged rose-tinted glasses?

Every single character, yes, everyone, is truly detestable. Not one character is redeemable by the end of the novel. June positions herself as a martyr like it’s her duty to release the work under her own name so it doesn’t go to waste, and gaslights herself into believing her own lies. It’s truly amazing to see her character slowly dissent further into her own lies, guilt and self-pride and ego.

That being said, Athena (whilst for 90% of the novel is dead and is only described in flashbacks), is also portrayed as problematic and a less-than-stellar person. However, we see many of these character traits through the eyes of a jealous June.

The ending is left intentionally ambiguous as to what happens to June and her life/ career but I like that, as it is never clear whether a fallen “star” will ever publicly recover, strive for further limelight, or completely lurk in the shadows for the rest of their life after a public scandal. I like how Kuang left it purposefully open to interpretation.

Overall, the pace of the book was good. Even with long passages of text and no dialogue I still felt like the words flowed easily and kept me gripped. It raises the question “who has the right to write certain stories?”

I have SO MANY quotes highlighted I don’t even know which one to highlight here, but one stands out above the rest - “Reputations in publishing are built and destroyed, constantly, online.”

Thank you to Harper Collins UK for an e-ARC of Yellowface in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing to say about Yellowface is that it is an absolute pageturner. I was hooked from the first chapter and finished it in a day. It's fundamentally a great story with an unreliable narrator that keeps the reader interested and guessing.

On top of that, it's a gossipy feast for anyone remotely interesting in the writing and publishing world. It's witty, insightful and satirical and does not flinch from uncomfortable and challenging subject matter.

Still more, the book is such a self-referential and thought-provoking look at wider issues of ethics, authorship, ownership, cultural appropriation and lots besides. It's not remotely like the author's prior work Babel in terms of the fantastical world building she achieved in that novel, but it explores similar issues from a totally different angle, which makes it a fascinating companion.

I suspect this book would reward multiple re-reads (not something I do very often), which is why I bought myself a hardback copy. I honestly loved it THAT much!

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for a free advance copy of Yellowface in exchange for an honest review.

R.F. Kuang’s litfic debut certainly packs a punch and is as compulsively readable as I’ve come to expect from her. Being in the head of our narrator June was uncomfortable as she was such an unlikeable character, but that made it all the more compelling. I really don’t want to say too much and get spoilery, but that woman is batsh*t crazy and you’re there for every second of her thought processes.

I can tell that I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time and pre-ordering everything RFK writes!

R.F. Kuang is back so soon after Babel with another absolute masterpiece.
Juniper Hayward was a terrible terrible character from beginning to end and it was absolutely captivating just how low and horrible she could go. When you thought she'd hit her lowest point, she'd find a way to surprise you and just go lower.
Honestly, I'm at a loss for words this was incredible and uncomfortable and so necessary. The caucacity was out of this world. I applaud RF Kuang for writing this book, it cannot have been easy, especially since it truly talks about the underside of publishing we, readers and reviewers, don't know much about.
This book was just amazing from beginning to end.
RF Kuang is really a writer like no other and I cannot wait to read all she writes and to throw her books at everyone I know.

WHAT DE EF LITERALLY WHAT DE EF

I HAVEN'T FELT SO PARANOID READING A BOOK SINCE HAUNTING ADELINE

R.F. Kuang wrote another amazing, thrilling and chilling story that I'm sure will stay with me long after finishing it.

I was feeling all the feels, all the emotions, it was so wild ride, couldn't stop reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the early access to this book.

I enjoyed the first half of this book, but after that it became slow, predictable and boring.

I know it’s supposed to be a satire, but I didn’t care about any of the characters, and found that I had to push really hard to actually finish the book.

I really wanted to like this book, but it ended up being just okay.

I received an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins, and the author Rebecca F Kuang.
I really enjoyed this novel, a vivid and engaging depiction of the publishing world and the intricacies of female friendship, diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, told through an immersive first-person perspective.
The author sums it up perfectly, Yellowface is, in large part, a horror story about loneliness in a fiercely competitive industry. It completely sweeps you up in its conversational cadence. I was hooked and couldn't put it down. 4 stars.

Honestly this was glorious. I read it at breakneck speed and I was absolutely gripped. For anyone interested in the world of publishing, cut-throat competitiveness and the pressure to succeed doing the one thing you love most of all, this is a must.
The characters were so tangible and the plot was incredibly well-paced. I'm just bereft it's over.

I loved Yellowface, and devoured it from beginning to end! It's a brilliant insight and satire of the publishing industry, and I found myself laughing out loud several times, while also gritting my teeth! Highly recommended, especially for those working in publishing or aspiring to be writers.

This is a very new story, not something I've read before and I found it refreshingly interesting and thought provoking. It also gave me an insight into publishing processes.

It also detailed the rabbit hole that social media can become, this element was very real and a stark reminder to beware!

Thought provoking read. Exceptional writing by this author!

I loved this book so thank you #netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy.

Absolutely brilliant. Razor sharp, humorous, insightful and clever. Best book I've read this year. I will be recommending it to every author - and non author - I know.

This is an intelligent thriller about the publishing industry, own voices, and the loneliness which can often accompany success. I could admire this for the discussion it contains and Kuang's sharp writing. It raises interesting questions such as who has the right to tell a story from history, what makes you own a story, where writers get their inspiration from and much more. But ultimately I'm afraid this wasn't really my cup of tea. I didn't like any of the characters and found the plot difficult to connect to.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

I found this book very compelling and it drew me in but it's also one I personally found tricky to review.

June Hayward, a white woman, is a writer. As is her friend Athena Liu, a Chinese American. However while Athena's books have been bestsellers, June's book has struggled. But then Athena dies and June finds her latest unfinished books. June then inexplicably decides to steal it, finish it and publish it under the name Juniper Song. Her own full first and middle name that conveniently make her appear more ethnically ambiguous.

The book when released is an instant hit and the popularity inevitably leads to criticisms about the validity of a white woman writing about Chinese soldiers in the war. Subsequently the internet takes offence and tries to cancel her.

June wasn't particularly likeable but I guess she wasn't supposed to be. She tried to make too many excuses for her actions and as if once wasn't bad enough she then stole and took over a second piece of Athena's work!

I did enjoy reading this book and it made me think but I'm not sure of the overall point. Stealing is bad? Duh. Don't talk over the people that experienced something? Also seems clear, but neither of those feel like the whole story. *Shrug* Maybe I'm just being dense?

Wow - an uncomfortable and awkward book, but I LOVED it. Darkly hilarious and honest, and a plot that kept me gripped. I loved how meta it was, and I feel like June would be reading her Netgalley reviews obsessively - and judging every single one of us for misunderstanding her. Fantastic book, really unique.

Incredibly engaging, I flew through the book in one sitting. The plot itself is an incredibly interesting one, and acts as the perfect framework for showcasing racism on a minor and major scale, from both individuals and institutions, and deliberate and ingrained.

However, While an exciting read, I felt the book as a whole lacked dimension.

The characters didn't feel well-rounded enough, especially from a writer who is incredible at making characters come to life. Instead it felt as though one character was a poster-child caricature, whilst all others fell into the background. This was not helped by the fact the main character seemed to only have one true motivation - her character wasn't complex enough to be believable.

The moral narrative of the book is delivered very clearly. Though perhaps too directly - it leaves little room for the reader to form their own interpretations of characters and motives. While this makes the book very easy to follow and accessible to a wide audience, it reads as though the reader isn't trusted to understand that the novel is a work of satire.

An overall entertaining book that I would recommend to those new to satire, but not to individuals looking for a complex developed narrative.

Could not put this down. As brilliant as everything else I've read by R.F. Kuang. At this point I'll read anything else she comes out with. As someone working within the book industry it had an extra layer of enjoyment, can't wait to talk about this with EVERYONE.

Athena Liu is a successful published novelist, a literary darling. She doesn’t have many friends except June Hayward, whose publishing journey has been lacklustre and hasn’t reached the paperback stage. It’s fair to say that June is jealous of Athena’s success and wishes to be a big household name herself.

One night, June and Athena are celebrating Athena signing a Netflix deal. They return to Athena’s apartment, where she dies in a freak accident. However, before her sudden demise, she showed June a copy of her latest, unpublished manuscript, a WWI novel following the Chinese Labour Corps.

June steals the novel and passes it as her own. She gets a huge publishing deal and The Last Front is published under an ambiguous name, Juniper Song. A name suggesting that June is an Asian American, which she isn’t in the slightest.

The book becomes a huge success, however, the ghost of Athena Liu won’t let June be…

I really enjoyed this book. It digs deeper into the nitty-gritty of the publishing world and how some books receive more hype and advertising than the others (it’s fair to say that Yellowface has received quite a bit of advertising and hype that Kuang criticises in her own story!).

The book raises the issue of plagiarism and taking stories from other people. Did I have any sympathy for June, or Athena, on the matter? No. As the book progressed, it became clear that Athena was entitled and looked down on people. June just took what she wanted and blatantly lied to others about it.

It was my first book by this author, but it won’t be my last.

Many thanks to The Borough Press for approving my NetGalley request to read and review this title.