R.F. Kuang has done it again! Kuang never fails to take complex issues and turn them into a novel that is equally entertaining and educational. Yellowface is well written, insightful and an overall fantastic novel that I highly recommend to readers of every genre. This book is incredibly eye-opening in regards to the complex issues within not only the publishing industry, but our society as a whole.

If you haven't already, put this one on your tbr now.

----5/5 stars

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

File under: characters you love to hate.

There were almost no likeable characters in this book, but I loved it. The narrator for the audiobook was perfect. I'll definitely hunt down the other titles by this author.

Thanks SO much to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the advanced listen. Recommend!

Wow this book was so good! I’ve seen the buzz surrounding it, knew it was selected as Reese’s July book club pick, and I was eager to read it, and wow, am I glad that I did! I listened via audiobook and Helen Laser, the narrator, completely brought this book and these characters to life! I could not put this book down! While I would say it’s mostly a satire, there was also a thrilling mystery element that kept me glued to my headphones wanting to find out what was going on and how June’s story would unfold and conclude.

This book was also an utterly fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of publishing, especially as it deep dives into the process of writing, publishing, and marketing for one of the big 5 publishers!

The overall message of the book forces you to give thought to who should be the one to tell/write certain stories-especially ones outside of your race/culture, which leads to major themes involving cultural appropriation, white privilege, and racism. That paired with how social media, cancel culture, the price one will pay for fame/to have a legacy, along with capitalism in the publishing world, all contribute to make this a thought-provoking novel. And while these themes might sound heavy, this book was imbedded with raw honesty and laugh out loud humor. If there is one thing we know about the MC, is that she is cutthroat as is the publishing industry and what constitutes an original idea may just lie in the grey area (although what she did time and again was wildly wrong). June was flawed, unlikeable, made unforgivable choices and generally made me cringe most of the time. Even Athena wasn’t completely flaw-free, as much as I was rooting for her justice, she definitely lived in the morally grey at times as well! Completely captivating from the start, this book will educate you while utterly entertain you.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and William Morrow for my #gifted audiobook/ALC!

I have always enjoyed books that take place within the publishing world or include books, and was so excited to read Yellowface, after seeing so many great reviews.

It was unlike anything I’d read recently, and I really enjoyed the inside look at book publishing, the wry humor and the unreliable narrator storyline.

The audiobook was phenomenal and I highly recommend the narrator.

*many thanks to Harper Audio, William Morrow and Netgalley for the gifted copy

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang is the first book by this author who has no doubt been forever on my TBR list with their many talked about series. Why have I been sleeping on this author. WOW!! Yellowface was absolute genius!! I have such an appreciation now for this author and can’t wait to read their entire backlist STAT!!!

This book was incredible. It’s an amazing look at how deep and REAL racism is especially in the publishing industry There was talk not only about racism but pretty-privilege, misogyny and so much more. This is a book that should be required reading for all. R.F. Kaung is out here doing it!! And doing it so amazingly well. HATS OFF to you!!

A huge thank you to Harper Audio and Netgalley for this ALC. The narration was fascinating. I was so captivated by this story being told that I couldn’t listen fast enough. It was absolutely compelling. The narration truly captured the utterly toxic characters so much that it was beyond thrilling and so thought provoking. This is a book I’ll think about long after I’ve listened to it. Thanks again for this incredible listen. All thoughts are my own.

R. F. Kuang has done it again. She consistently proves her ability to write different genres. Yellowface tackles tough topics in this fast paced novel.

Cringe from beginning to end, but in the funny way. Even though I went into this book knowing it was satire, hearing the main character make the wrong, most audacious decision they could possibly make over and over again, brought me physical discomfort. The reader may have to know the various discourses that come with "book Twitter" to pick up on how on-the-nose Kuang's critique is. This one is definitely for those that enjoy mess and scandal.

The narrator of the audiobook really hit's the right tone. This MC is whining, but doesn't think that she is, so the voice actor really pulls off the rationalizing acrobatics that the character needs.

Have you read Yellowface yet? This was a one work night binge listen for me, and woe be the coworker who tried to interrupt…

June Heyward and Athena Lou attended Yale together, both moved to D.C. following graduation, and their both writers. Any friendship they had was because of these similarities in circumstance. Athena is a hugely successful writer, while June is struggling after her first novels.
They were together after drinks when Athena suddenly dies, and June (almost by accident) walks away with the barely completed manuscript for Athena’s next novel about Chinese Labor Corps in World War I. After rewrites, June decides with her editor to go by her first and middle name, Juniper Song (she’s a white woman) and publishes the book.

When I say I devoured this book, I’m not joking. It was so well written. It was filled with publishing industry dirt, Twitter battles, and left me wondering about June’s sanity.
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Thanks to @harperaudio for the ALC. I loved the audiobook!

LOVED this one. This one got me from right away. The fun night together. Then the sneaky page stealing and faking it as her own. And the behind the scenes look at the publishing world and trying to pass off Juniper as an Asian sounding author. really loved it all. It made me think. Me made me have conversations. It made me me want to read similar books.

I read this book in one afternoon and could not, WOULD NOT put it down. Without a doubt, this will be one of my favorites of 2023.

The cringe is so incredibly engrossing. My face was perpetually STUCK in a stink face at our horrible protagonist. And it all just snowballs straight to hell.

June has always been jealous of her friend, Athena Liu. Athena's books sold waaaay more copies than June's and June is convinced it's because Athena is Asian and that she is white. As they are hanging out one night Athena dies in a freak accident and June steals Athena's latest book draft right off of her desk. She passes the book off as her own and becomes a bestselling author. But now there's some Telltale Heart mess going on and she can't get Athena out of her head.

Y'all have just got to read this book to believe it. The way that June tries to justify blatant racism still has me completely shook. From the constant microaggressions to the gigantic red flags, Kuang has written one of the most unlikeable main characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Basically the most unreliable of unreliable narrators. June just over here gaslighting every reader.

I want to just write a hundred page love letter to R. F. Kuang. She is an auto-read author for me. And the RANGE. She wrote this AND the masterpiece that is Babel. She blows me away.

The darkness, the satire, the social commentary, and the endlessly fascinating look into the sausage factory that is book publishing are each reason enough to pick this one up.

Not considering any of the race and/or cultural appropriation issues, I found this story funny. I loved the tongue-in-cheek look at publishing and reviews, particularly the way that June reacted to negative Goodreads reviews. The tension and anxiety she feels as she goes through the book felt so real and I almost, at times, felt sorry for her even if she was written as a caricature. Kuang does a great job building tension and having June spiral downward into her anxiety and delusion. There are other, much more serious topics brought up in this work but I read for pleasure so I will not comment on them. There are more than enough reviews that will tackle the cultural appropriation angle. As a story, I enjoyed being in June’s twisted mind and found her amusing.

The audiobook version of this title was very well done. The voice was pleasant and kept the story moving along. I kept stopping the book because I hoped the main character would make better decisions but she didn't listen to me! Recommended for fans of twisty fiction.

She is the moment. R. F. Kuang did the thing.

This was a whitty, satirical, engaging good time. I think it provided brilliant commentary on the publishing industry and today's race politics in a way that was really inviting. And the characters were just so lively. To be honest, it read more like a dramatic true crime podcast. Just loved it to death, highly recommend.

This book is so smart. The author provides a witty look inside the publishing world while simultaneously tackling issues of race, cultural appropriation, and stolen stories. Literary fiction filled with so many twists, this is seriously a genre mash up. I don't think I've ever read anything quite like this and I look forward to reading more.

I could not put this down. The voice was so compelling (both the protagonist and the audio performance) and I delighted in the mental twists and turns that accompanied this otherwise exterior, plot-focused story. I loved the layers of complexity and the exploration of whether actions and characters can be fully good vs. bad.

"Truth is flawed. There's always another way to spin a story. Another wrench to throw in the narrative."

Juniper Song, such a pretty name, and though she is an unreliable narrator, and possibly a little cunning, i couldn't find it within myself, to dislike her. I can see this happening, it probably has more times than we as readers hear about, taking advantage of a freak accident or happening, to steal someone elses idea or story. Easy to convince oneself that one has pure motive, but....do they?

a look inside the world of publishing, where press, even if its bad, can usually be spun a different way. Maybe easier in the past, before alternate facts became a way of life, and the internet became a haven for those the judgemental. Before cultural approbation became something to abhor, question, who has the right to write what?

Definitely held my interest, wondered where it would go next. Life lived on the internet, addicted to the approval, the attention. Thought this was realistic, though ironic.

The audio was narrated by Helen Laser and she performed, perfectly.

The hyper-specific niche that I love is a story about a conperson. Yellowface checks that box for me.

There is so much hype about this book that all I feel like I can say is that the hype is right!

Witnessing the though process of the main character and the way she gas lights herself through out the whole book is so hard to watch but makes you keep coming for more.

The narrator was great to listen to as well.

Yellowface by R.F Kuang was at great book that had me laughing and thinking about how things are at times. Great book.

WOW! I own many books by this author, but this is the first one I have read. While this is not in my normal genera (and the others are) there is just something so compelling about this book. From the first five minutes of the audio book I could not stop listening. Not a bit. I was glued. It is the story of theft. Idea theft. Of passing the work of one person off as another, damn the consequences. And not only passing it off as yours, truly believing that it is yours. It is your work, and the other author just did the basics. It was interesting to be inside the main character’s head, and her thought process through the events of this book. I saw myself as a reader on many of the pages, and in many of the events. I see influencers I recognized as the parodies they are. And I saw behind the eyes of someone reaching for the unattainable, just to have it crash around them for their own folly. I loved everything about this book, and come fall, when they start handing out awards, this will be on the top of the list.!!

If you enjoy reading about literary scandals, cultural appropriation, social media, ethics in writing, satire, and books about books, you will LOVE this. I know I did.

The main character, Juniper 'Song' Hayward, is so despicable yet Kuang kept me deeply invested in her journey.

This was a delicious and outrageous read, with an electrifying storyline and characters that truly came alive.
Kuang writes expertly- there were no lulls or extraneous details- just tightly plotted writing that makes you think, laugh, gasp and shake your head from the first to the last page.

The audio was sterling- the narrator voiced the anger, insecurity, jealousy, anguish, arrogance, etc of Juniper and also the luxurious over the top voice of her muse/frenemey/victim Athena Liu.

It was a perfect read for me in the moment because I had just finished reading Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer, which deals with a lot of the same themes, like how impossible it is this day and age to separate the art from the artist, especially when the artist has done something unethical or immoral.

In terms of the social media plot, this book reminded me of So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson.
There's also some Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart vibes in this book.

This book is an excellent choice for all but especially recommended for writers, librarians, and anyone in the literary/publishing world.