Yellowface is the hottest book of the year. This book has everything- a witty, satirical look into the publishing industry, through the eyes of an unreliable narrator and explores themes of white privilege, racism, tokenism, plagiarism, online harassment and cancel culture. Not to mention goodreads reviewers, book-twitter discourse and World War I atrocities.

Yellowface is about a white author, June Hayward, witnessing the tragic untimely death of her Chinese-American author friend Athena Liu. However, instead of simply mourning and honouring their friend in a respectful manner, June steals Athena's latest manuscript. A manuscript that explores the experiences of Chinese workers sent to the frontlines of World War I. A manuscript that revives June's dead author career and launches her into the literary stratosphere.

"We owe nothing to the dead.

June believes she is owed success. Jane, a white woman from an upper-middle class background, who attended an Ivy-league college, believes woke culture has stripped from her opportunity for success. Unlike her beautiful, Asian-American, Ivy-leagued educated queer friend Athena, who was put on a pedestal, proclaimed the newest, brightest young star because of how diverse she is. Graduating the same year at Yale, debuting at the same time, why did Athena get a six-figure deal, with critical acclaim and literary awards to boot while June achieved a modest deal, selling only two to three thousand copies. It isn't about how well you can write, but how diverse you are. It isn't about how well you can write, but how diverse you are.

"Publishing picks a winner, someone attractive enough, someone cool and young and oh, we're all thinking it, let's just say it, diverse enough- and lavishes all its money and resources on them. It's so fucking arbitrary. Or-perhaps not arbitrary, but it hinges on factors that have nothing to do with the strength of one's prose.

June felt cheated. Underrepresented, under-appreciated and under-supported, June was swept to the side and left in the dust by her publishers, editors and agent. In her eyes, being an author should be about hard-work and the ability to write well. Taking and refining Athenas's manuscript was taking back what she was owed and showcasing her talent. This was June's time to shine. The white saviour rescuing Athena's manuscript, making it better than Athena ever could.

"I tidy up; I trim and decorate; I make the text sing."

I argue June does more than tidy up the text. June whitewashes the text. Discriminatory language is erased, historically accurate atrocities are cut and white characters are turned sympathetic and relatable. June strips the text of anything too 'offensive', in order to make the white reader feel more comfortable, less alienated, and less guilty. Telling forgotten stories about underrepresented and marginalised people shouldn't be sanitised. The atrocities happened. The discrimination and oppression happened. White-washing or erasing real events doesn't do justice to those people who suffered and perpetuates white supremacy. June panders to the white audience. It's a disservice to what Athena did, and it's a disservice to the Chinese labourers and their sacrifices.

"We also soften some of the white characters. No, it's not as bad as you think. Athena's original text is almost cartoonishly racist."

Unfortunately, history is filled with cartoonishly racist people. It is a privilege to not believe someone could be racist to the point of caricature. Downplaying the racism, the dehumanisation of people of colour is an injustice to those who were mistreated and upholding white supremacy. Whitewashing the book is the anthesis of what Athena stood for, and fought against. Athena didn't cater to white audiences. She wanted the reader to "work for it".

"I do think we've made the book better, more accessible, more streamlined. The original draft made you feel dumb, alienated at times, and frustrated with the self-righteousness of it all. It stank of all the most annoying things about Athena. The new version is a universal relatable story, a story that anyone can see themselves in."

It was never about relatability, or whether it is accessible. The original work was about real historical events and the oppression, prejudice and death of Chinese labourers. It was about exposure and empathy for those whose stories are largely ignored and swept under the rug, and once again, June adheres to white supremacy by doing the same.

"Taking Athena's manuscript felt like reparations, payback for the things that Athena took from me."

Reparations is a big word to be throwing around casually like that, especially considering Athena didn't 'take' something that was meant for June. One could argue June was the textbook predisposition of publishing houses, a white woman from a good background. As a higher-educated upper-middle class white woman, June is the textbook archetype for traditional publishing success. The fact that her debut flopped is not indicative of a great cultural upheaval inside publishing that now celebrates marginalised and underrepresented voices at the expense of white voices. White voices will always be at the forefront as they built the institutions and systems within society. It is the marginalised people that struggle for slices of the whole white pie.

The publishing industry is a cut-throat money hungry business, notorious for its lack of diversity, performative allyship and subsequent tokenism of POC authors. Publishers are hawking a product, capitalising on what makes it marketable and if it falls within current trends. What is currently 'trendy' is the tokenisation of a minority figure to be virtue signalling social progressiveness within traditional white spaces. Athena was the newest shiny token that the publishing industry could showcase and self-congratulate themselves on how diverse and woke they were.

All this to say that Athena, for what we can gather, isn't all altruistic. From the unreliable narration of June, Athena wasn't one to uplift a fellow minority up. The consequence of being one of the people at the forefront of minority representation, Athena was seen as an example of one of the few who made it. She broke the Glass and Bamboo ceiling.. June attributes this to Highlander Syndrome - gatekeeping other minorities from reaching a certain privileged status. BIPOC's are not immune to falling into the white supremacy trap, whether subconsciously or consciously. Athena proximity to whiteness, and white acceptance made her resistant to anyone encroaching, and pushing her out. Athena knew the game she had to play to be seen, and begrudged those who would eventually replace her. She would one day lose her shiny glossy status as the new up-and-comer and the literary world would one day choose a new token minority to praise, and exclaim that they were woke and diverse enough. In that aspect June was right, it wasn't about how well you wrote, as it was all in the hands of the powers that be that chose who would be the next author with the it factor.

It is also important to point out that Athena wasn't without privileges. She attended top schools in foreign countries and came from a wealthy background. Athena's class-privilege had gotten her a leg up in life. Perhaps that is what rankled June. Athena had a class privilege that June was not privy too. June was to the epitome of white superiority, cis, white, able-bodied young women who should have been proclaimed the newest white woman on the block with all the fanfare and success that publishing will eat up, and throw money at. Athena represents the changing climate and the growing want in reading diversely. June was expecting a silver platter and now she feels like she was finally receiving her dues.

I've made it. I've fucking made it. I'm living Athena's life. I'm experiencing publishing the way it's supposed to work. I've broken through the glass ceiling. I have everything I have always wanted- and it tastes just as delicious as I always imagined.

Yellowface feels like it is the culmination of some of the more recent literary scandals of the past few years. Bad Art Friend particularly feels relevant in regards to Athena using others trauma to fuel her writing. It begs the question of inspiration vs plagiarism as Athena exploits the experiences of real people used for critical acclaim and monetary gain. Did she have permission? Were the people compensated? Both seem highly unlikely. Bad Art Friend asks similar questions about life imitating art and the ethics of exploitative inspiration.

Other literary scandals that feel relevant to Yellowface are the American Dirt Cultural appropriation scandal, Kaavya Viswanathan plagiarism accusations, the serial plagiarism of Jumi Bello, Blake Bailey's memoir against cancel culture after several sexual assault allegations⁴, the Penguin Random house trial after the attempted purchase with Simon & Schuster, and of course the JT Leroy hoax, the James Frey 'memoir' and the essayist Nasdijj was faked Native American ancestry.

Social media can make or break a career. It has had a big hand in many of these controversies being exposed, gaining virality and cementing them into infamous cultural status. Currently, social media is a necessary tool for authors to pitch and promote their work. Most authors have to become their own social media managers and marketing team, trying to go viral on Tiktok, in hopes to leverage their popularity in order to sign deals like Olivie Blake or Alex Aseter. It is now expected for authors to use engage in book twitter discussions and maintain an aesthetic bookstagram, all in order to attract readers to their books.

June is aware of the public persona she must reinvent herself on social media. Firstly, she publishes under a different name, ditching June Hayward for the more racially-ambiguous Juniper Song (Song being her middle name given to her by her once-hippie mother). Secondly, she co-opts BIPOC digital spaces, engaging in performative allyship in order to frame herself in a positive progressive light. I would go so far as to say that June adopts an Asian persona online while being non-Asian, i.e. Digital Yellowface. There is nothing inherently wrong with engaging in content that reflects views of BIPOC's but in doing so, June aims to cultivate an image that gives people a pre-conceived assumption that she has WOC, specifically Asian. Lastly, she uses an author photo that exudes ethically ambiguous energy.

Unfortunately, having a carefully crafted online persona will not protect you when the court of public opinion finds you guilty of moral indiscretions. Twitter is an echo chamber of thousands of outraged voices enacting performative justice and accountability. The new digital era has warped crowd mentality into the online sphere, and once caught in the storm of public discourse, the platform will condemn, shame, threaten and cancel someone we collectively deem guilty of a moral wrong-doing. Public shaming is an important tool used in society, and is being utilised online for social justice movements to highlight inequalities, discrimination and racism. It is also used to humiliate others that have betrayed the persona they presented to the public. In the last few months we have seen the downfall of wife guys (Try Guy's Ned Fulmer, Adam Levine and John Mulaney). At no point did any of these people commit actual crimes, but they were all found guilty of doing something morally reprehensible, like cheating on their wives. Cancel culture is a weird phenomenon that Yellowface uses to reflect on the current landscape of online culture.

When the cracks start to form around June, she does the most predictable thing a white woman does - claims victimhood. In order to avoid accountability, to pass the blame off and the subsequent vitriol over her actions, June weaponises her white tears. The weaponisation of her white tears are a form of white supremacy, as they act as a shield to avoid accountability. White women hold a belief that not only are they entitled to sympathy, but also that they uphold moral order. June re-centres the narrative to gain sympathy at the expense of Athena, dehumanising and attacking her as marginalised people are viewed as disposable. June dehumanisation of Athena goes so far as to transform Athena into a ghost, haunting and terrorising the poor, helpless June. In weaponising her victimhood, June is 'reclaiming' her trauma from Athena, and her critics by writing Yellowface. It is the culmination of the pain and suffering June endured. June is taking back control of the narrative, while profiting off controversy and scandal.

Yellowface is trying to do a lot of things at once. Some are better handled than others, and some are thrown in your face rather than subtly handed to you.

This book is too heavily entrenched in the now. Personally, the contemporary references were distracting and made it instantly dated. From the mention of Tiktok to the twitter discourse, to movies like Knives Out, and Promising Young Woman.

I found the ending somewhat abrupt, with no satisfying conclusion, or comeuppance for June. There were no reparations, no apology tour or lasting damage as Yellowface is meant to be read as the book that June writes after the scandal. It's a book that will be widely read and sought after as it will be the new juicy best-seller in the notorious life of June. The consequences are non-existent and unfortunately, reflective of reality.

Would I recommend this book?
Yes

Will I re-read this book?
Yeah

Kuang has done it again. This is a biting and satirical novel which explores the publishing industry and the writing process. Very metafictive and well-done. I enjoyed the unreliable narration and felt that it worked well in supporting Kuang's purpose of capturing the hypocrisy and double-standards of some writers.

This book was like driving past a car crash and not being able to look away and yet it had me questioning everything, and I was here for every second of it!

At the beginning of Yellowface I realised that June was an ass… but as she showed her true colours more and more I found myself trying to justify her choices, marking them down as mistakes.

But, I caught myself, witnessing my own thoughts and judging where my own privilege was informing the way I interpreted June’s thoughts and actions.

This woman was making deliberate, conscious decisions to improve her own world at the expense of others. She collected people, opinions and skewed her thoughts to justify each action, talking herself into believing it.

As I moved through the book I loved watching this asshole of a person digging herself a bigger and bigger hole, still trying to justify every action.

Yellowface is perfect for readers who play in the twitter, Booktok, bookstagram and booktube spaces as it offers an exploration of problematic authors, authors writing outside their lane, commentary on the publishing and representation of minority groups within popular fiction. All the things we engage in meaty discussion within these spaces.

…And THAT ending… was perfect. I will not spoil it… but it gave me what I wanted.

Thank you Netgalley, the Author and the Publisher for this ARC, all thoughts are my own and given voluntarily.

Jealousy

Plagiarism

Lies

Racism

Morality

Success

Guilt

Juniper Song Hayward, a white American woman steals Athena Liu, her American/Chinese best friend’s unpublished manuscript after she suddenly dies in a freak accident. Juniper then publishes it under her name. Once the haters suspect her wrongdoing, wracked with internal guilt, she publicly denies it, sending the publishing spin-doctors into action.

This is an insight into the cut-throat world of writing, publishing and associated fame. In an age of social media backlash, there is no escaping the cancel culture.

Different to Babel - Yellowface is a dark satirical insight into the publishing world.

I really like RF Kuang’s writing and enjoyed this book.

Thanks to #NetGalley and
#harpercollinspublishersaustrala for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“People always describe jealousy as this sharp, green, venomous thing. Unfounded, vinegary, mean-spirited. But I’ve found that jealousy, to writers, feels more like fear. Jealousy is the spike in my heartrate when I glimpse news of Athena’s success on Twitter”

Yellowface is the fifth novel by award-winning, best-selling Chinese author and translator, Rebecca F Kuang. Juniper Hayward and Athena Liu take many of the same classes at Yale, but after that, their paths diverge. Athena, as June sees it, is a beautiful, Yale-educated, international, ambiguously queer woman of colour who, by the age of twenty-seven, has three best-sellers under her belt and has just scored a Netflix contract. June is just a plain, straight white girl from Philly: her one novel tanked, and she’s tutoring rich kids for the SAT to make rent.

While they basically have only skin-deep friendship, more a product of proximity than connection, Athena invites June to celebrate with her. That includes a lot of whiskey and, in the ensuing silliness, despite June’s best efforts, Athena chokes to death. The only copy of her just-finished manuscript, sitting there on Athena’s desk, is too much temptation for June, who puts it in her bag and takes it home.

June works quite hard on turning this first draft into a publishable work, and she quickly begins to believe her own justifications for doing so. Her agent is impressed and lines up an enthusiastic publisher. The advance is generous. Her editor suggests some changes to make the book less confronting, but that also soften Anthea’s strong stance on this difficult topic. June readily agrees: she firmly believes that “Reading should be an enjoyable experience, not a chore”

Because the book is about the treatment of Chinese laborers fighting on the side of the British in World War One, and June is not Chinese, she decides on a pseudonym using her middle name: Juniper Song, hoping to bypass the touchy issue of cultural authenticity mentioned by her publisher. She also rejects outright having a sensitivity reader check the manuscript.

The Last Front hits the New York Times bestseller list and June is enjoying the sort of recognition that Athena had. And then, allegations of plagiarism hit the Twittersphere. Is this the end of June’s career in writing?

There’s a delicious irony in a Chinese author writing a white protagonist who has appropriated a Chinese woman’s work to pass off as her own. Kuang explores the vexed question of cultural appropriation, touching on morally grey areas such as who has the right to write about what. Racism, misogyny, and xenophobia are all aired, and she does it all with such eloquent prose.

Her characters are complex and flawed, and neither June nor Athena is particularly likeable, but Kuang somehow gets the reader totally invested in June’s fate: will she get away with it? Do we want her to?

Kuang gives the reader a compelling insight into the publishing industry, and demonstrates the huge influence that social media can have. She also throws in a dramatic climax. This is a twisty tale that’s hard to put down: clever and thought-provoking, polarising and often darkly funny.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Collins.

This is going to be the best book of the year! I am so excited for everyone to read it. It was unique, different and it really made you think. Five out of five stars.

I read this as a PDF on the NetGalley app on my phone. I hate reading PDF books on my phone, yet I loved every moment of this read regardless. That is how incredibly good Yellowface is.

This book was so addictive, so engaging, so relatable particularly as an Asian immigrant, that it ended up being a blessing that I read this on the phone, because it meant I could read it whenever I had my phone with me, which was like… always.

Throughout my entire read, I was torn. Torn between despising and sympathising with the anti-hero protagonist, June Hayward aka Juniper Song. Torn between wanting to keep reading and wanting to slow down so I could enjoy it for longer. Torn between loving my read and cringing as I read all of June's casual racism and the lies she told herself to justify her actions.

Like Babel, this book is packed with themes including racism, plagiarism and cultural appropriation. It exposes the dark side of publishing (well done to the publisher for publishing it!) and raises awareness about social media abuse and the dangers of the rumour mill. But unlike Babel, it feels like a much lighter read and the writing is very easy to read. I don't know how Kuang managed to write a thrilling story featuring all those heavy topics in under 350 pages, but she is an absolute queen for it.

Wow! What a book! I have only read The Poppy War by this author (looking to read the rest of the series) and Babel is also on my TBR shelves, but this one is quite a bit different to those books.

I'm going to be vague here because I don't want to give too much away but I just want to say that the protagonist blew me away! She is hard to hate or love, but she is something else!
As told in the synopsis, this book touches on many topics, (not only within the publishing industry), and the author does it well. Yellowface is a satirical and thought-provoking book and definitely a must read!

Thank you Harper Collins Australia, The Borough Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.

To sum it without too many spoilers because this one is best read with absolutely no idea what you’re walking into! This is a brutal critique of the publishing industry, and what is to be a person of colour navigating white spaces. Kuang doesn’t hold back. Our “protagonist” June Hayward, a mediocre white author with a failed debut is frenemies with Asian bestselling author, Athena Lui. After a freak accident, where Lui unfortunately dies, June steals her manuscript and publishes it as her own.

The more I read it, I found myself worrying that June will get caught! And then I’m like WAIT A MINUTE she should get caught!!!! This book is everything dark, satirical and oh so meta. We dive into the mind of a white women who is just so OBLIVIOUS to her surroundings. She whitewashes a book on Chinese concentration camps, she changes her name to a more ambiguous one where people can’t tell if she’s Asian or not, she continues to profit on the trauma and tragedies of minorities without a care in the world.

This is a really fast-paced book that just pulls you in! But the middle does slow down a bit and gets super meta. I enjoyed all the commentary on Goodreads, twitter, and the book community. I loved how Kuang referenced authors reading reviews online cause ya know that’s just a big no no.

I also liked how the book critiques WHO gets to write what stories. Are POC/minorities only allowed to write about trauma, are those the stories that are sell well? What about writing outside your lived experiences? A Chinese-American author writing about Korean War survivors? Or should they just stick to what they know? Do books about the war only sell when there’s a white saviour/hero in the mix???? I can give you a handful of examples I’ve read by authors of colour who whitewashed their stories to make it plateable to white readers lol! Or simply when they paint the white guy as the hero 😗

I've read two Kuang books in back to back months and they've both left me in the same state. Dazed, amazed, and utterly spent.

While Babel is a 550 page historical fantasy tome, Yellowface is a slim and snarky contemporary satire about the racism and bullshit in the publishing industry. In both stories, Kuang not so subtly condemns white supremacy in extremely blatant but clever ways.

You may be wondering why I keep referring to Babel in my review of Yellowface but I do think these two texts are so closely linked. Separated by two centuries, these stories told in two completely different genres are so different in form and voice but so similar in theme and message. Not to mention I found two Babel easter eggs in Yellowface!

Our main character in Yellowface, Juniper, is a modern reincarnation of Letty (Babel), with white supremacy undertones and victim mentality overtones. Everything Juniper says to justify her actions to herself digs her into an even deeper hole in the reader’s eye. She is constantly contradicting something she said previously, setting double standards for herself and Athena, and acting like a bombastically entitled hypocrite throughout. Her feral inner monologue that churns out microaggression after microaggression sometimes feels comically overdone, but upon looking around the real world, a reader can draw the conclusion that this is a satire that hits way too close to the truth. Kuang toes this line expertly, while it’s sickening to watch unfold it’s simultaneously impossible to look away.

Yellowface is fast paced, unputdownable, and a perfect binge read for any season or occasion. I read it in 24 hours and similar to when I finished Babel, really didn’t know what to do with myself after. The post-Kuang afterglow really is a debilitating state of being.

4 stars! Thanks NetGalley for the review copy!

this book is gonna make people mad and force them to recognise their own internal biases.

Yellowface is very meta about book reviews and twitter.
And calls out systemic and internalised racism.

This book is a whirlwind and a chaotic mess in the best way possible. It’s one of the best unreliable narrators I’ve ever read. It tackles so many themes and looks at who can and cannot tell certain stories.

Overall I really enjoyed it, it’s messy, fast-paced and engaging. But there were some parts I didn’t enjoy or felt off. Which I can’t get into much detail without spoiling. One part was that there were also about 5-6 HP/JKR references which I didn’t like. In my opinion, it was part of the satire and to show how wrong June is. But I still would rather they be removed and have something else to carry the same sentiment in its place.

If you’ve seen the movie ‘Not Okay’ this is similar in many ways. A white woman lies/ steals an experience for fame/ social clout and excelling her career.

This is a dark, satirical comedy. It leaves you mad and angered at both our narrator and the publishing industry/ book Twitter. It’s such a fun and engrossing read. I loved some of the references to pop culture, such as the exorcist stairs (iykyk). But I have a feeling it could age poorly, but that does happen with all books with pop culture references.

4.5 stars

Kuang’s latest release was brilliant, amusing, insightful and very important. I am so eager to see how more people are going to respond to this, not only is it different to her previous releases but this book is different to anything that has been published lately. I absolutely loved it, not quite a 5 star favourite, but it was so good and I highly recommend to readers of any genre.

Great writing, so intriguing, so hilarious, all while touching on important topics. Within these 300ish pages Kuang manages to critique cultural appropriation, the publishing industry, cancel culture and the power of social media.

You should definitely be adding this short, witty, fast-paced contemporary to your tbr asap.

As usual, I am already itching to see what brilliant work Kuang produces next.


Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for this eARC of my most anticipated read of the year!!!

What a read!

This was my first read from RF Kuang’s catalog and now I’m just kicking myself for not reading her works sooner!

I’m not sure what I expected from Yellowface, you read a blurb and get a gist for what’s coming but it’s the execution that makes the story, and it was a ride. Kuang’s writing comes with so much expression and natural pacing that you forget you’re turning pages and not seeing a movie, or living in the head of the main character. And inside Juniper Song’s head has been exhausting.

I love that this was written from the perspective of a character with such a disillusioned and repulsive thought process — you watch as they try to reason their acts and explain away the micro aggressions for their own preservation and it makes your blood boil.

Kuang puts forth discussions on things like difficulties of publishing, of being a public figure in a modern age with social media, and of the boundary for reviewers and authors but she also excellently addresses privilege, and race, and the realism of how deeply your position in those things can effect your process.

There is a part of me feels the story might’ve been dragged on a little too long with MC’s thoughts, but another feels maybe that’s the point, that it furthers the overall plot. The entirety of the novel June is trying to justify her actions, even the somewhat open end shows you how far she’ll go to preserve her image and come out on top. It’s mad!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Yellowface focuses and hones in on writing and the publishing industry, highlighting the inner workings of it. All the characters symbolise a part of the industry and I appreciated the tie in of social media and modern issues in this story. The dark satire was brilliantly executed. Kuang writes incredible morally gray characters, pretty much every character in this book has ambiguous and unreliable intentions which factors in on their realism, she manoeuvres the characters and their decisions in a way where you genuinely could not form a decision and opinion about them, yet also simultaneously making you feel for the characters at times. You never truly know what to expect from them and where the story will lead, there were so many masterminded breadcrumbs and trails that formed an overall picture of the story. June was so aware of the inherent wrongness of her doings yet she believes herself deserving to reap the rewards, it was introspective to witness the battle of morals. Kuang incorporated and provided a commentary of the element of race into this book in a seamless way, navigating the racist debates and their response in the business on the always-contentious subject of cancel culture, providing an insightful perspective. Yellowface is a tale about the falsehoods people tell themselves to justify their actions, the mythology they create around themselves to get by in the world and the lengths a person will go to in order to reinvent themselves.

What. Did. I. Just. Read.

I loved seeing what life is like for authors - Yellowface offers a rare glimpse into the publishing world. Kuang calls it like she sees it in her descriptions of everyone Juniper works with.

& then she hits you with the paranoia - I’m literally questioning my own sanity after reading Yellowface.
I. Couldn’t. Get. Enough.

It’s … I don’t even know the right word. Heart racing? Anxiety-inducing? Literally Insane.

Moral of the story - don’t mess with anyone.

Shoutout to Netgalley & HarperCollins for the ARC.
Yellowface comes out May 25th, & I highly recommend pre-ordering. It’s highly anticipated & lives up to its hype.

ARC received in exchange for an honest review

I'm really struggling with this one. For a majority of the book it was 4.5-5 stars in my mind, only really losing me in certain moments (most of those involving somewhat oversimplifications of certain theory and discourse such as about domestication vs. foreignisation in the translation field). I agreed with all the points she was making, but I think I was skewed towards seeing it as a little 'shallow' from the perspective of a masters of interp. & translation student who has had to scour over such theory in detail. I can now definitely recognise that the way Rebecca wrote about it was really inclusive and effective for people outside the field and is much better at getting a general audience thinking about the themes and implications.

Now that aside, I was REALLY loving most of this book and I absolutely adore R.F. Kuang's narrative voice and writing style, not to mention she's an absolute idol of mine in both the fields of translation and literature particularly in her vocal condemnation of the anglophone British/American hegemony in the publishing and translation industries and her representation of 'transfiction' and guilt of the colonised translator in Babel. So I already had quite a strong bias towards loving this book before I even started, and to be honest this was my easiest read in a long time because I was just devouring the pages. However, I was struggling to articulate why, when I reached the final chapters, I was feeling a vague sense of dissatisfaction. I can't tell if I was just disappointed because it was over or because I was expecting something a little more climactic or not, but I think I settled on the fact that the climax really was earlier on, and then we get to be along for the ride on this downward spiral. So although I ended it thinking more along the lines of 3.5-4 stars, I think my reflection of the story, the important place it holds in the industry, and also that last chapter and implied direction brought it back up.

I can also already imagine some criticisms about the satire or criticism being too heavy handed or blatant etc., but I would argue that's entirely the point and one which Rebecca even brings up at one point from the perspective of Juniper to pre-emptively combat this very argument. Also, although I think some other reviews had a point about the characters feeling a little too much like 'characters' and not people, I do see both sides of this. I think they were supposed to be slightly exaggerated caricatures of these real figures in the industry and that is also entirely the point. I also don't completely agree they were shallow depictions, because no one was a truly 'good person' and I love that (especially as someone who doesn't mind reading from the villain's perspective like this). They felt real in that sense, a character who is morally in the right is also completely unlikable at times and does some f*cked up things, a character who is morally in the wrong has moments that humanised them (albeit not for long and for good reason), and characters who were done completely dirty by other characters were not immune to themselves also acting deranged, albeit as a fairly justifiable response to the mistreatment. I personally thought it was a thoughtful examination of how there cannot be a 'perfect victim', and perhaps also that the juxtaposition that even someone who might be considered a successful author of 'diversity' but also a 'bitch' in the industry is anchored to the same tokenism and is just doing the best she can, and yet the book also examines her exploitation of other and even herself.

Athena. She absolutely haunted this novel in the best way, and her relationship with all the other characters made this so complicated. I also really liked the character of Juniper. And by that, I mean I like that I hated her but also couldn't bear to see her caught out. Not because I think what she did was in any way acceptable, but because I have an innate inability to process second-hand embarrassment (often having to skim scenes in books/media that make my entire body clench second-hand embarrassment or anxiety), so I was enthralled in this paradox of wanting her to be exposed for what she did (although that desire became intentionally complicated throughout) and also writhing in metaphorical pain as the thread was unravelling before my eyes.

However, I think where I was lost a bit was during the Twitter discourse. Anyone who spends a decent amount of time online is aware of Twitter discourse and the various stances on 'cancelling' and the surrounding drama, and although I did enjoy that important inclusion here, I did think it dragged on just a little too long in my opinion. It got a little lost in the sauce and took me out of the immersion a little. It's not to say it wasn't an accurate depiction, because I have no doubt whatsoever the R.F. Kuang is much more in the know about the online going-ons of the literary world than myself, but it just didn't connect with me as much as the other 80% of the story.

In short, I absolutely think everyone should read this (petition for R.F. Kuang as required reading in every school everywhere), though I'm not sure the people who probably need to read this the most will take away from this what they should, and in any case may consider it a personal attack on them somehow. However, I'm glad R.F. Kuang said what she said, and said it with her whole chest, and upon a little more reflection I think it easily still deserves at least 4-4.5 stars. Such an important read about such an important discussion, and I can't wait to re-read this after further reflection.

June Hayward and Athena Liu met at college and bonded over a shared love of writing. But while Athena became a literary darling with multiple awards, best sellers, and now a Netflix series, June's writing career has slumped. Her debut novel barely sold a few thousand copies and she's about to be dropped by her agent. When Athena dies in front of June in a freak pancake accident, June takes Athena's latest, unseen manuscript, reworks parts, and publishes it under her new, ethnically ambiguous name Juniper Song. Finally June has the success she always knew she deserved but she can't escape the shadow of Athena.

Told from a first person narrative we live in June's mind as she learns the secrets of the publishing industry (best-sellers are chosen before they're ever released and no one cares about morality if the book are selling), experiences the highs and lows of social media, and faces continued backlash for cultural appropriation and accusations of plagiarism. June is not a good person so it was interesting to read the mental gymnastics required for her to justify everything that's happened (it's not plagiarism because she rewrote the novel, it's not cultural appropriation because she did her research and besides, Athena wrote it). This is an insightful story which explores who is allowed to tell which stories, bias in publishing, and the pitfalls of social media. Kuang's writing is amazing, it is so enthralling and brilliant. She shows the nuances of writing POC characters and stories, and the pitfalls white writers can fall into when creating diverse characters without adequate research or sensitivity, and the complete lack of diversity within the publishing industry. While June is an unsympathetic narrator she still provides interesting commentary on the vulture like nature of writers, wondering if anything is original or even "their" story to tell. To be honest, the basic premise of the book reminded me of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz and although they are very different scenarios of story theft and quite different outcomes, it is a similar premise, so maybe she is right and there are no original ideas, just good books, bad books, popular authors, and unlucky authors.

I truly enjoyed this book and devoured it in a day however the ending fell a bit flat. It almost felt like R.F Kuang didn't know how to wrap it up so she just... stopped. Apart from that it was fantastic.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC

Jane - I mean June is a struggling author whose debut novel was a flop. Athena is an instant bestseller and seems to have everything handed to her. June and Athena are besties, except they are more like friends for convenience. Neither of them have any other friends or much of a life outside publishing.

Athena dies and June steals Athena’s next novel and publishes it as her own.

The story wasn’t Junes to tell, as it was literally stolen AND the story is about Chinese labourers during WW1. Not really something a white author should be writing about these days.

‘Outdated preconceptions about who can write what’ is one of the many thoughts June has during this book, which makes you want to reach through the pages and yell at her. She chooses author photos that make her look ‘racially ambiguous' and they change her pen name to Juniper Song to let the readers assume she's of Asian descent.

Yeah, this book is messed up, in a good way.

This book was bingeable, I read it in two days. The writing style was easy to follow and the drama kept on coming. Since the book is told from within June’s head there are no characters to root for, and because June is such an unlikable character you just can't wait for her to suffer.

Early on in the story there was a moment at an event where June is convinced she's seen Athena’s ghost, so I was expecting more of that. But the ghost thing was forgotten about till the end of the book when it was extremely played up. I was hoping to slowly watch her spiral out of control due to her guilt.

I was expecting more of a thriller after the panic attack/ghost appearance and the twitter drama in the middle of the book was a bit heavy handed and tedious. I’m wondering if the book would be more enjoyable for those who aren’t involved in the online book community.

The UK version of the eARC did contain 6 references to JKR and HP but it seems as though they have been completely taken out of the final copy. Kudos to the editing team for that decision. We didn’t also need HP references to tell us June is a horrid person, especially 6.

Thanks to Harper Collins Publishers AU and NetGalley for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Yellowface is a rather difficult book. And that's putting it mildly. What it aims to achieve isn't the magical element from The Poppy War, but neither is it the stance on imperialism and colonialism from Babel. It is a wholly different thing—a captivating and gritty story of a young writer haunted by the ghost of her guilt.

Admittedly, as many reviewers have pointed out, this isn't in any way, a remarkable and groundbreaking story. But it is born of all things mundane. A white writer steals her "friend's" manuscript and puts it off as her own; only to land an expensive deal; the rest is history. Kuang set out to tell a story of publishing and the difficulties of being a person of colour in the industry, but what emerged was a book that asks more questions than answers them.

Juniper Hayward is nothing, while her friend Athena Liu is the beloved of the community. Adored by all, she's the token Asian writer in the industry, who writes about her identity and intersectionality, which only skyrockets her career as a marginalised writer. Only human, Juniper is bound to be jealous of her writer friend. But as tables turn overnight, Athena is no more and Juniper is now the only person who has in her possession, Athena's unfinished manuscript. A little too convenient, isn't it?

The book, irrevocably, is a remnant of today's world. Does belonging to a marginalised identity immediately make you the people's favourite? Readers these days are, of course, gaining interest in "own-voices" stories, so naturally white authors should be on the decline. But are they really? Or is it the complete opposite? Nobody knows, and these are only some of the questions addressed in the thought-provoking literary fiction.

And what's more unique about the novel is that there is no "someone" to root for. The story, all displayed in Juniper's head, takes us through all the good and the bad in her. From her voiced thoughts to the dark ones lingering in the corner of her mind. And it's not just her. We learn more about the celebrity author, Athenia Liu—whether it is through June's capricious narrative is for the readers to find out.

Yellowface is, in all, a satire on the publishing industry. It is also very meta, exploring topics like Twitter discourses, privilege as an author, and many others. This honestly, isn't like her other projects, which was for a wider variety of audience due to the nature of its themes. It's not nice, the truth never is. And as a bottom line, I would say that go into this book without expectations because the presence of them would perhaps ruin the aftertaste of finishing the book. Or not, depending on t
he reader.

This book makes you uncomfortable in the best way. It's sharp, fast-paced, and critiques racism found in the publishing industry.