I was drawn to Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang by the cover of the early copy - eye-catching and tantalising. After requesting an arc on @netgalley, I began to see this book mentioned on a lot of hype lists for 2023. Happily, the publisher @harpercollinsire also sent me a print proof copy. I devoured it in a couple of days over Christmas - it’s absolutely worth the hype. .

Yellowface is an immensely enjoyable and hard-to-categorise book. Written in the first person present tense, it’s billed as a thriller but it’s mostly not. It’s contemporary literary fiction, an addictive pageturner and a gripping story of plagiarism, jealousy, diversity in publishing, cultural appropriation and paranoia.

June Hayward reinvents herself as Juniper Song after she witnesses her successful novelist friend Athena Liu’s death. In a rash moment in the immediate aftermath, Juniper steals Athena’s very rough manuscript, refines and perfects it, and turns it into a bestseller, claiming it as her own work. Will Juniper get away with it or is she destined to be haunted by the spectre of Athena forever?

The book is very meta and clever. There are sections that make the reader feel like you’re reading your Twitter feed (probably my least favourite part of the book) and there are plot points that reference one star Goodreads reviews - I mean, this is a book that is made for avid readers!

The fact that Yellowface is written by an Asian American author using the voice of a white American woman pretending to be an Asian American woman leaves you with the impression that the author is poking fun at her audience, challenging assumptions and prejudices.

The novel offers interesting insights into the publishing industry and gives you pause for thought on issues such as diversity and representation in publishing. Above everything though, you will love to hate Juniper, she’s really irredeemably awful. A rollicking read.

Thanks so much to @harpercollinsire and @netgalley for the proof copy and the e-arc. Yellowface will be published in May 2023 and is destined to be a much-talked about book next year.

4/5 stars! I feel a little odd writing this review because I feel like the author put so much of herself into this story that any critique is a critique of her, rather than her work. What I will say is that this book will tear the rose-colored glasses from every person of privilege that is willing to read it. I adored the dark satirical tone of the story and feel like I learned so much throughout this story. My only critique would be that because it was so personal to the author, I felt like I was in her diary sometimes, which made me a bit uncomfortable. Overall, I think this is going to be another amazing hit for author Rebecca F. Kuang.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Promising concept, average execution. I've seen so many people rave about Kuang's other novels (Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution and The Poppy War series) so I had high expectations going in, but something about the overly negative and unbelievable plot - think lots of people saying vile stuff about each other online - just didn't sit well with me. Not for me.

Well, I finished the book in one day. RF Kuang managed to basically satire herself, expose the entire publishing industry and all the inner workings, showcase the toxicity of the online book community in its extremes (esp booktwitter) that is horrifyingly accurate. All the while delivering a very competitive story narrated from the perspective of the villain of the story.

It’s brilliant. It’s genius. RF Kuang managed to make you sympathize with the white narrator who stole her Asian friend’s manuscript and go through all the mental gymnastics of the ups and downs of success and eventually exposure. Everyone is an objectively morally corrupt human being in this book, even the victim who died at the beginning, but I’m not surprised, RF Kuang is brilliant at writing morally complex characters who are different shades of grey. Seeing that her contemporary thriller characters have the same complexity as her fantasy ones is expected but nonetheless breathtaking.

RF Kuang continues to deliver. What can I say. This is just that good.

This is the first book I have ever read by Rebecca Kuang. Babel and The Poppy War have been on my TBR for the longest time and if they are as good as this... then i am VERY excited. You best believe that I will be RUNNING to my nearest bookstore to get this as soon as it publishes.

I feel as though this premise is something that would be very difficult to write and i honestly believe that R.F. Kuang has completely nailed it. I love how morally grey June is throughout the whole book and love how we can see inside of the publishing world indirectly. It was chaotic from being to end and the stress i got from this book was insane!

I believe that this book will become the new Booktok/Bookstagram book for a lot of people mainly because of how smart R.F. Kuang is in her writing. The fact that the narrator (which is done through first-person) is a plagiariser is a stroke of genius! June is such a narcissistic manipulator who truly begins to believe her own lies.

This book is one hell of a ride and I enjoyed every moment of this story. The morally grey characters Juniper Hayward and Athena Liu were privilege and entitled human beings, but R.F. Kuang made me feel as though I should be supporting them despite their flaws because of the first-person narrative (just for the record, I do not support them ahaha).

I absolutely adored this book and I cannot thank Netgalley and Harper Collins enough for letting me read this ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK, HarperFiction and Borough Press for this ACE.

What drew me to this book was the cover (which appears to have now been changed). It suggested a touch of satire or the ability for the main protagonist to have a laugh at herself. I can now understand why the cover has been changed as this was not the case at all.

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book at all. With hindsight, I suspect I'm not the target reader. I found the storyline drawn out and rather dull. The story was very involved with the writing, publishing, marketing processes that go into getting a book out there. Fine if you can relate I'm sure, but I cannot. It felt like reading a parenting handbook when you're not a parent.

The main protagonist was unlikeable and narcissistic and I found myself skimming quite a bit of the narrative at times as I felt it was overly descriptive.

“What more can we want as writers, but such immortality? Don’t ghosts just want to be remembered?”

3.75 stars

Yellowface is a significant departure from R.F. Kuang’s previous works; this time around she takes the focus to marginalisation, identity politics, and the minutia of the modern author experience. The book follows June Hayward, a bitter underperforming author full of micro-aggressions as well as full-on outward agressions, who steals the manuscript of her deceased ‘friend’ and publishes it as her own.

Throughout the book you have no choice but to become very well-acquainted with June’s self-righteousness, which informs her deluded world-view in so many subtle as well as obvious ways. (Case in point, normally copious Harry Potter references in modern media would leave a sour taste in my mouth, but June’s blind idolisation of both HP and Kanye is so very on brand for the kind of person she is.)

There is some perverse sort of satisfaction to be gained from bearing witness to June’s narration become more frantic and defensive as she only digs herself into a deeper hole, time and time again. Yellowface delivers exactly what it promises: conversations about race, diversity, and Twitter cancellations, all told through a character so real and insufferable you can’t help but root for her failure.

It is, however, not without its faults. At one point near the end comes the sentence ‘The first two thirds of the book were a breeze to compose, but what do I do with the ending? Where do I leave my protagonist, now that there’s a hungry ghost in the mix, and no clear resolution?’ This hits way too closely to the actual novel, since the final 70 or so pages lose the thread as much as the protagonist does. There are some strange plot points brought up and then dropped immediately, seemingly a half-baked attempt in garnering sympathy for the thus-far (and with good reason) vilified main character, and some off-hand comments about suicidal ideation. The ending just isn’t satisfying, but I’m not sure where else it could have stopped.

Here are some other points I thought worth bringing up briefly:
- No other character is developed past their basic function in the narrative, with the exception of maybe Athena, but since she is dead for the majority of the book, her character is established through the perspective of her sexual-harasser ex-bf and June’s bigoted, unreliable narration.
- The mentions of suicide seem crass and added as an afterthought. It is technically hinted early on that June had previously visited a therapist, but it is more easily liked to an instance of sexual assault.
- A lot of references and anecdotes require being pretty terminally online/on Twitter to understand. 2020 is briefly mentioned as the time period, but nuances will definitely be lost on readers who aren’t decently acquainted with online book-blogging and social media drama.
- From reading other goodreads reviews, apparently a decent portion of the vitriolic Twitter-takes aimed at June, could easily be based off of conversations around privilege that were aimed at the author in real life? I personally don’t think knowing this before reading would affect my enjoyment of the book too much, but it’s something that could definitely bother some readers.
- Mild spoiler but June randomly considering committing manslaughter in all seriousness is fully unhinged and felt a little bit out of place

All in all, I’ve never read anything like Yellowface before and will definitely be reading R.F. Kuang’s other books (and not just because I’ve owned a copy of The Poppy War for a good couple of years now).

At its core, Yellowface is about racism and toxicity in the publishing industry and sometimes the book community.

Yellowface is a jaw-dropping book that felt like a memoir with its realism. The book feels like a look behind the curtain of the publishing industry and includes instances that have happened recently in publishing and the book community. E.g. Twitter book drama and calling out problematic authors/books.

The main character June is extremely unlikable and on multiple occasions, I said out loud “she is so racist!” While the main character is ‘justifying’ why it isn’t racist and she isn’t a racist. (She is). However uncomfortable it was reading from June’s perspective it was also fascinating reading it knowing it was written by a POC author who has experienced these interactions from the other side.

I could feel R.F. Kaung in this book while I was reading. I was hyper-aware that a POC author in the publishing industry was writing this book. I was constantly looking for deeper meaning and wondering how many of these instances were based on things that she has experienced.

I highly recommend this book I was engrossed in a half-fascinated, half-disgusted way. I just had to know what happened next.

An enthralling narrative about privilege versus marginalisation and an everyday journey of an author. Is stealing worth it for a lot of money, but just for short-term success and a bit of limelight?

CW: Racism, death, anxiety, trolling/bullying/death threats

I got very frustrated with Poppy War because I think my expectations were completely skewed by misleading reviews on Twitter/ Instagram. As a result, I didn't love it - and perhaps will revisit it another time. In contrast, Babel was one of my favourite books of 2022 and utterly brilliant. It also completely defied my expectations. I am not sure how these things are effecting my review, but I just wanted to acknowledge that these thoughts were in the background when I requested this book. On the subject of expectations, I have seen this book touted as a "thriller" - which I personally wouldn't agree with. I'm glad that I didn't see that before reading, as I do worry that would be another thing that would effect how I read this. As it was, I read this over a very short period of time - I couldn't put it down. Although I wouldn't say it was a thriller, it was definitely a compelling read.

Yellowface marks a huge departure from the stunning fantasy/speculative world building of Kuang's previous work. It is very clearly rooted in the reality of the publishing world, as well as the very zeitgeisty world of social media trolling/ cancel culture. Many other reviews touch on the finer points of the plot, but the essential story is that a struggling white writer (June) steals the manuscript from her bestselling and Chinese-American college 'friend" (Athena) the night Athena dies. June tries to pass it off as her own work and has to deal with the consequences of her actions. It's a very meaty and timely question - who has the right to tell which stories - that is the backbone of this book.

It is told from June's perspective, and she is incredibly unlikeable, with her various strands of covert racism becoming more and more obvious as the story progresses and she becomes increasingly unhinged and what she does becomes increasingly nasty. Being inside June's mind is an uncomfortable place to be as she performs ridiculous mental gymnastics to justify her actions - and this book is just that - very uncomfortable.

Given the furore that Babel caused for about 48hrs on Instagram when "that review" went viral from one reviewer that epically missed the point of the book, I can imagine that this is definitely going to have the same effect.

Oh this book was really something. I haven't read any of Rebecca Kuang's fantasy so came to this with no idea of what to expect in terms of writing/tone, but I was so intrigued by the proof cover I had seen and the basic premise that I knew I had to read it. I work in publishing so I wasn't surprised to find myself loving the commentary on our whole industry and the complicated questions the plot throws up around who is allowed to write certain stories, the cult of debuts and our responsibility with regard to what we publish and how we reach readers. What I *wasn't* expecting was how torn I would be; June is an awful person, clearly, so why did I find myself hoping things would work out for her in the end, that somehow she'd get away with everything? That's testament to the author's writing. Her characters are nuanced and absolutely occupy the moral grey area: June's opponents (and Athena Liu herself) are very much guilty of bad behaviour of their own along the journey, and the insights into June's fragile ego, her insecurity and envy, lend her a vulnerability she probably doesn't deserve.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about Yellowface since I finished reading it and am sure it's going to stir up a whole lot of conversation in our industry when it comes out next year. I'll look forward to seeing what happens, and I'll definitely be recommending this.

3.5 stars rounded down

This started off really well - the first third to a half of Yellowface pulled me right in and I couldn't put it down. The pacing tapered off throughout the second half though, which is a pity. Nevertheless, Yellowface was a provoking read - it's impossible not to root for our main character but equally impossible not to be nauseated by her lack of morals or compassion. Interesting concept for a story - I just wish the engaging storytelling had been carried all the way through.

This is a bold book to write. While giving a satirical insight into the publishing industry, it delves deep into the dark and murky side of plagiarism, cultural appropriation and social media. The narrator is deliberately unlikeable and unreliable but it was quite riveting to read her journey into villainy. One plot point seemed to come out of nowhere when maybe it would have been better to drop a hint or two earlier on. I'm glad I've read it but I probably wouldn't reread it.

Kuang’s literary debut takes on the narrative lens of the story’s villain. By making June/Juniper the main character, the reader is in part made complicit in her racism and leaps of logic, which I think is very smart and well done for the most part. The final quarter of the book took a bit of a turn that I found particularly compelling as well, and the ending was very clever.

At times, however, the pacing felt off and the middle of the book dragged in some ways. I felt, too, that June tended occasionally toward a caricature of a racist white woman toward the end. That isn’t to say she seemed inaccurate at all, but it seemed to me the strength in the choice of perspective was the complicity and front row seat to the way someone who considers themselves not racist, and liberal/woke can rationalise in such a way. At some points, though, June’s racism became so overt that the readers who should be feeling uncomfortable would likely instantly be able to disidentify from her, mentally absolving themselves of any complicity by how clearly she was in the wrong. In this way, I think the novel may have been more effective with a little more subtlety.

Overall, a good literary debut following an incredible genre showstopper (Babel is one of my favorite books of all time). I look forward to reading what Kuang does next.

Thank you to HarperCollins for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was added to my TBR when I heard about it on a podcast earlier in the year as it sounded like such a fascinating premise. It didn’t disappoint.

I read an eARC of this so thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for letting me read this.

I loved The Poppy War so much that R.F.Kuang became an auto-buy author for me. This author is just so brilliant at writing unlikeable characters that you’re still invested in, and writing about challenging subjects in a very natural way.

I was absolutely hooked by this book, I felt compelled to keep reading, and once I’d finished, I kept thinking about it.

This book is told from June’s perspective. Her friend and fellow (and significantly more successful) author Athena Liu has tragically died in front of her. June steals Athena’s completed manuscript and decides to publish it as her own. I couldn’t believe June’s audacity! June is our narrator and she doesn’t realise she’s the villain. She’s continually throwing out spurious arguments to justify her actions and she seems delusional. She seems to believe so strongly that she’s right but her mental health still suffers. This felt more due to fear of getting caught rather than genuine guilt. Athena’s book is about Chinese labourers and their unsung contribution to the war effort in WWI. A subject that’s important to Athena as we find out from the visit to the museum and the research she did. June justifies taking credit for the work of an Asian author and her rationale is disturbing.

I felt very sorry for Athena at times, but I liked that the author didn’t make her perfect. Athena had made some people feel used at times which June sees as justification for her actions. Although it certainly doesn’t justify what June did, I liked the balance that came with Athena not being treated as a saint.

Social media is prevalent throughout this book and is a major cause of June’s anxiety and subsequent downfall. She’s obsessive with checking it even when everyone around her advises her to ignore the trolls and stay off of it. She comes across as narcissistic and this exacerbates her self-destruction. On social media some of the things people were saying about June, and later Athena were really awful. We as the reader know that June has stolen the book from Athena, but the death threats and some of the comments were hard to read.

I found myself regularly irritated by June, she comes across as really self-righteous and patronising to others. There were moments where she was quite awful to people and she doesn’t think she’s doing anything wrong. Trying to manipulate Athena’s mother, her conduct to an Asian audience at a book signing, her treatment of the young writers she’s mentoring. She’s deeply unpleasant but she doesn’t realise it! She manages to justify everything she does to herself. She’s also good at manipulating others.

There is a lot of commentary about the publishing industry here too. People who try to challenge June are silenced or attacked. Her agent and publisher continually defend her even with growing evidence of her wrongdoing. Her publisher tries to make her seem more Asian to help with the promotion of the book, changing her name from June Hayward to Juniper Song. June has her author photos retaken with lighting to make her ethnicity more ambiguous. This felt deeply uncomfortable that they tried to make June seem more Asian and very unfair to Asian authors.

I thought this book was brilliant. The author just had the perfect balance of writing a horrible protagonist without making her a caricature and keeping you gripped throughout the story. Even though I didn’t like June, it still felt so tense waiting to see if she’d get exposed! I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this book since I finished it.

Who has the right to write about suffering?

That question is at the centre of RFK's latest comedic thriller about racism, xenophobia and cancel culture. One thing is for sure, that right does not lie with June Hayward.
Yellowface distinctly differs from Kuang's previous work. It's more contemporary and commercial, a page-turner, popcorn fiction. Though at the end of the day, like most of her work it centres on the Chinese voice. The only difference is, in this case, Kuang chooses to highlight white tears from the lens of a twenty-something flop white author.

I absolutely ate this book up. I couldn't stop reading it and had to tear myself away at 4 am. Kuang deploys her witty and biting commentary on the hell that is the publishing industry and the internet. She leaves no room for excuses. No rationalizing or absolution of the kind of shit the main character pulls. It is this ruthless depiction of her protagonist/villain that makes Yellowface such a success. Kuang is not here to show the white allies like June, she is here to show the ugly bitter truth and she gives zero fucks how it will be perceived by a white audience. I have to mention that this isn't new for her work. Kuang's books are known for making the reader uncomfortable, by shedding light on to issues that the Twitteratis love to dissect and cancel people for. ironically enough the day I got approved for the ARC, there was this entire discourse on twt by white European readers on how "attacked" and "persecuted" they feel by Babel: An Arcane History.

Kuang also deftly handles the subject of cancel culture and how character assassinations leave everyone damaged with only the keyboard warriors and critics and bloggers victorious with their increased reach and engagement. It gets very meta at times, and a lot of the critiques that Athena Liu's work gets are similar to what Kuang's own work used to get, even a lot of the milestones achieved by Athena's character are similar to how Kuang herself is such a prodigy in the writing community. Yellowface also tackles the horrors of publishing and how racist, unfair and elitist it can be. How a book is declared a "bestseller" not on the merits of its writing/storytelling but because the publishers said it will be. The closed-door meetings are where the success or failure of a book is determined given how many diversity points it gets. Ultimately, no one gives a fuck about Own Voices or the visibility of marginalised communities in the industry. It's all about how it can be packaged to become the next Tick Tock phenomenon.

I can not wait for this book to be out in the world, to wallow in white tears and tormented Karens. Excited to see how this is unironically dissected in the court of public opinion. Will definitely be preordering this. Yellowface comes out May 2023.

Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK, and HarperFiction for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Never read Goodreads for reviews if you're a writer"

Sage advice for every writer, and without a sense of irony, where you're reading this.

This was brilliant, a tale that started off with a tragedy, then a choice, and the repercussions of that choice.

What made it a five star for me was the way in which June, the central character, goes through all the different phases of things. This was a bolt from a writers heart, everything that every writer I've ever known has gone through, every second of it distilled in its clarity, unflinching in the telling of what we go through. This was one of those books that you tell other writers to read, but then tell them to hold off on it, because the truths within are so hard to look at, even when you've made peace with them.

The rise and fall (and rise again?) of June is a rollercoaster, mysteries, misdirection, and mayhem, the dark depths of the human psyche, both in June herself and in those she finds herself surrounded by. As a complex character, beset by all the worries of writers as well as the situation that she placed herself in, June leaps from the page, her inner monologue a thing of beauty.

And the inevitable question of would this book have meant as much to a person who doesn't write or create? I don't know, I can only speak to it from my perspective, and for me, this is one of the best books I've ready this year, can't recommend it highly enough.

Gripping. Could not put this book down.

Such an interesting premise that explored issues such as racism and appropriation.

don’t know how this book will go down in the world – I genuinely don’t. I can say that right from the start it got me hooked but how Meta and interesting it was from sentence one.

It’s like one of those disasters videos that are awful to watch but you need to see what happens. Nothing goes right. I think RF Kuang is brilliant in building and showing unreliable narrators but also morally grey characters, and that’s what this book showcases again – but instead of being fantasy, it’s a witty thriller satire. It very much reminded me of Sorrow and Bliss type of writing. You are not going to like these characters but you want to root for them anyway.

I really enjoyed the topic and approach to cancel culture, Twitter and having all those harsh truths laid bare. It really makes you think of your stance as an observer, reader and reviewer. Social media fascinates me a great deal and scares me likewise and so, I was very enthralled by it all in this book. Some people might have find it repetitive but I think it was interesting to see the cycle and the effects of it.

I also really enjoyed how it showcased the ins and outs of publishing, good and bad. The secondary characters that were mainly people from the industry were well thought out and had a unique voice for sure. This book highlights how minorities are treated overall, but especially how the publishing industry treats them.

It approaches racism, culturalism, oppression, and white women’s tears etc., which are themes that RF Kuang doesn’t shy away in her other works.

My only two criticisms are the amount of pop culture references through the book and the muddling lines of this sounding often as RF Kuang personal views, which is not necessarily bad and it’s her experience after all, but often felt more of a rant than a literary fiction book.

Overall an enjoyable quick read and I look forward to read more works of the author on this different genre.

Loved this dark and funny dissection of the publishing industry. The main character June is a proper horror but at times I was rooting for her to succeed which just shows how great Kuang's writing is. It did get all a bit OTT at the end but was totally in keeping with the rollercoaster feel of the book. Really enjoyed.