Yellowface is a total page-turner that peels back the curtain on the wild world of publishing, throwing in a mix of timely issues like diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation. June Hayward's journey from being ignored to hitting the bestseller list is like a rollercoaster that you won't want to get off.

R.F. Kuang's Yellowface isn't just a deep dive into the cutthroat publishing scene; it's also a nosedive into the drama-filled world of online happenings. June's rise to fame unfolds against the backdrop of the internet's all-seeing gaze, showing us just how crazy things can get in the literary community.

What really makes Yellowface stand out is Kuang's knack for getting us into the nitty-gritty through an immersive first-person voice. Juniper Song doesn't just tell her story; she pulls us in, making us feel like we're right there with her, grappling with tough choices and moral dilemmas. Do I agree with her decisions? Can I empathize with her?

If you're into the juicy drama of the publishing world and curious about how people navigate the storm of online criticism, Yellowface is a gem you don't want to miss. Kuang weaves a captivating tale while shedding light on the online dynamics, making this book a must-read for anyone fascinated by the crossroads of literature, ambition, and the ever-watchful eyes of the virtual world.

An exposition of life on social media. Woe betide me if I ever have to depend on it for any of my needs.

Kuang's June is a lonely woman and she does not even see it. Her life depends on her visibility on the media and she has tied in her work interictally with that fact so that it does not exist without. She is continually interacting with people she does not see physically, internet ghosts. I'm not going to go into the wormhole of who should write what but one thing I would say, let who ever write whatever, and then let the readers decide themselves.

I did not like June or her choices and as the writing reflected her then the book suffered as a whole. On the physical end the book might have benefitted from a tighter edit after all it is a book about publishing.......

An ARC kindly given by author/publisher via Netgalley.

I really enjoyed Yellowface – some parts were problematic, when you are unsure about the character's choices, but it was a lovely insight into the cut-throat world of publishing and modern culture.

Thank you so much and apologies to the publisher for the eARC of this book which I received many many moons ago.

R.F. Kuang is a self-aware talent. This book is a departure from her previous work in the SFF space, but it doesn't seem to have put her at any kind of disadvantage - she once again sticks the landing. This book is satire, taking on the publishing industry at large, though not without taking a few good-natured jabs at her own success. Yellowface is biting, pacy, and scathing, unwilling to pull its punches. There are only two real criticisms I have of this book:

1. It belabours the point
This book is a touch repetitive and extremely zeitgeisty - it feels very much of this particular moment in time and like it's constantly wink-wink-nudge-nudging at those of us who work in publishing-adjacent industries. I suspect it's shelf-life might be limited by how reliant it is on contemporary talking points for its humour.

2. Kuang writes too quickly
Every time I read an R.F. Kuang novel I get the impression that she is very much a write voluminously now, edit later kind of writer. This isn't really an issue when there's plenty of time between writing and publication, but I get the sense that her publishers are rushing her to publication because she's riding such a wave of success at the moment. I would so rather read something that feels a little tighter than get the next Kuang sooner.

Absolutely loved this book. such an interesting read on race and ignorance in the modern age. would highly recommend this

Athena Liu and June Hayward were close friends throughout their Yale days and their debut novels released at the same time. While Athena went on to literary stardom, June’s book floundered and her writing faded into obscurity. So when Athena dies, June decides to rewrite and publish the recently finished manuscript about the Chinese labourers’ role in World War One that Athena was working on. Why would it matter that the idea wasn’t hers when she was the one who edited it and her publisher and agent are the ones who have rebranded her as the ethnically ambiguous Juniper Song? Athena would have wanted this story told and all she’s doing is honouring her wishes, right? Everyone is reading and talking about Yellowface right now and I can certainly say that it is a very intense and frustrating read. At its core, it is an exposé on diversity or lack of it in publishing and a reflection on our society through a unique, thoroughly unhinged narrative voice. It is highly gripping and very thought-provoking, so you’ll want to set some time aside to get stuck in and absorb its lessons.

As usual, Kuang has smashed it out of the park, and delivered a witty, satirical view on the world of the publishing industry, and what it means to have your voice heard. With a complex protagonist who you love to hate, this book is exactly what you'd expect from the mind of Kuang, and is absolutely brilliant.

Yellowface is by far one of my favourite reads of the year. Many Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

So as a massive fan of the Poppy War trilogy and with Babel on my TBR, I was very curious to see something completely different and this book definitely delivered. The book itself centres on June, Who’s friend Athena dies and has her novel stolen by June who then publishes it as her own. It’s honestly one of the most convoluted plots- but every overarching part all makes sense to the point that it is something that could definitely happen in the industry.

The writing style is definitely different to the authors previous books, but honestly it’s a pleasant change and made sense for this particular story compared to the historical based books previously published and it was very refreshing and written well. Pacing was astounding and the story itself kept me gripped from the first few pages.
The characters are fantastic- June is a wonderfully complex character and it was so intriguing following the story following Athena’s death- it feels like the author has witnessed similar things happening in the industry and it shows with the depth put into this. If you have ever been in the online book community, especially Instagram or Twitter, this kind of drama shows up frequently and seeing something actually published about it in a really great tone was so satisfying.
I cannot recommend this book enough, it’s such a wonderfully refreshing read.

4.25

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first read by Rebecca F Kuang and certainly won’t be my last! I was completely hooked by her writing style and could not put this down. I’m a huge fan of a morally grey character and I felt this book made me feel so uncomfortable in all the ways it should have. I loved the social commentary on the publishing industry and particularly relating to race. I found this a really fascinating and eye opening read.

Really looking forward to reading more from RFK!

This is a hugely-anticipated literary novel exploring the erasure of Asian-American voices in the publishing industry. It follows the story of Jane Hayward and Athena Liu, when Athena dies unexpectedly; Jane then steals an early draft of Athena's next novel, completes it herself, and publishes it as her own .

I have mixed feelings about this book. I found it to be incredibly engaging while I was reading - I compelled to keep listening to Athena's story, finding the first-person narrative to be incredibly engrossing. Working in the publishing industry myself I found a lot of the discussions in here relating to diversity, racism and cultural appropriation in the industry to be interesting and refreshing, and could relate to a lot of what was being said. Generally I enjoyed the tone of the book and the completely different narrative it told.

This being said, I did find a lot of the topics explored to be done so in quite a simplistic way; a lot of interesting points were touched on, but there was opportunity for much more nuanced conversation. Athena was an incredibly frustrating (and ridiculous) character to follow; while I appreciate that she is supposed to illicit anger, confusion and ridicule from the reader, this made for an odd reading experience. R F Kuang's personal voice/views came through very strongly throughout, and that became quite distracting and limiting while reading.

Overall, there is lot of interesting food for thought in here, and I can see why it has been so popular. For me, there was a lot of promise, but it didn't quite deliver what I wanted it to.

This book is full of hideous people... and I couldn't put it down! I haven't read any of Rebecca Kuang's books before, but this is apparently a new direction for her writing and she really nails it.

June Hayward (or Juniper Song as she later renames herself to appear racially ambiguous) is our main character. An author living in the shadow of her hugely successful 'friend' from college, June is not doing well and struggling in most areas of life. Her fortunes start to change however, when said 'friend' dies in a tragic accident and June gets her hands on her latest, unfinished manuscript.

Forced, and not in a subtle way, to confront our own prejudices, this book is sometimes un comfortable to read, but I could not stop reading. June is not a likeable character, but then neither are the people around her in the publishing world. The only problem I had with this one was a feeling the ending was a bit rushed, however the book overall was not spoilt for me.

A timely, original, dark and often brutal look at the publishing world and prejudice - if this is not on your TBR you need to add it now!

Witty, hilarious, Kuang definitely did it again. I enjoyed her previous work, Babel, but found the tone to be very "young" for my taste. With Yellowface I got exactly what I was looking for from her.

The book is an absolute page turner. Kuang did an excellent job of creating the least relatable villain I've read in quite a while, relying on common cliches (Karens, all lives matter, no one can say anything anymore) while still giving Juniper personality (not a great one, but still a personality). I am quite excited to see what Kuang is going to give us next.

This publishing industry thriller has been much-hyped, so I was intrigued to read it. It is a pacy, well-plotted novel, that I read very quickly. It tackles inequality, racial injustice and the power of the internet/ social media making it a timely and thought-provoking novel. I do wonder how readers who are not connected to the publishing industry and/ or writers, will relate to some aspects of the book as it, as it is very industry focussed.

Couldn't stop reading, but it also made me queasy. So many layers.

Thanks to NetGalley, but I also bought it, and the audio is a trip.

R. F. Kuang keeps surprising me pleasantly with the ability to pen amazing stories in such a wide range of genres. Due to my love for fantasy literature, I wasn't as exciting to pick up Yellowface as I was for Babel or The Burning God but the book change my opinion in no more that a chapter or two.

Through an unlikable, mean protagonist, the author offers a sharp, witty, and realistic take on contemporary publishing, writing communities on social media, and the mistreatment of marginalized authors in a time when diversity is supposedly celebrated.

The writing style was very different from Kuang's previous work, but, as much as I loved all her previous novels, this one had the tightest pacing; I read it in no more than two days, without even realizing it. The drama kept me going. Stylistically and technically, this might be the author's highest achievement so far. I highly recommend Yellowface to authors, publishing professionals, and not only.

A timely read, particularly given many conversations happening in publishing right now around who stories belong to. Yellowface is a narrative that strikes home and showcases the way many people are so fast to appropriate culture and pass it off as their own. A really important book.

I am so conflicted about this one. It was mysterious and enjoyable but the pacing was completely off for me. The protagonist was fascinating and diabolical in her narcissism. However, I didn't feel like June or the plot could sustain a full length novel. It would have made a brilliant novella that was suspenseful and thrilling but at this length, some of the conversations were dragged out. I'd recommend it and will read more from this author but the pacing was off for me.

What a brilliantly intelligent book. RF Kuang is a mastermind and her writing will never fail to amaze me. The satirical commentary on the publishing world is so perfectly executed. In awe of Kuang and can’t wait to see what she does next.

For me every Rebecca F Kuang book is an automatic buy and like every book this one didn’t disappoint!
Great story telling and an interesting plot line!

I found this book interesting from a few angles. First, I got to see how difficult it is to be a writer, getting their stuff published, having to do public self promotion, worrying about their next project. I would like to write something, but I worry about the hoops I would have to go through, as a first time writer, but at the same time getting some guidelines from the protagonist. Second, the protagonist has stolen(plagiarized) her dead friend's book and feels endlessly torn/guilty about that. I think writers in general have to worry a lot about plagiarism, getting inspiration from others work, taking passages renovating them and making them their own. I wondered when I read this book whether the protagonist is actually Kuang, although she denies this. I also wondered as I read, how the book would end. Although some reviewers here didn't think the ending was good, I think Kuang cleverly made a very interesting ending, solving one problem of dealing with the actual authorship of the protagonist's book and getting inspiration for her next project.