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grunbean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don’t think I’ve read a book where I’ve been so invested but so revoked by the main character at the same time. This isn’t a story of heroes, and every character can be viewed as shitty in some way. Which ultimately ties in to where this book goes!
This is a unique kind of horror, and I would really recommend trying it!
Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, War, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Grief
the_wistful_word_witch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This descent into madness with echoes of Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart grips you by the throat from the very first page and sends you hurtling along a narrative that leaves you not only shocked at everyone's actions and audacity but guessing at the many ways it could possibly end... That is, until the actual ending knocks you right on your ass. Did June just lose her mind after watching Athena die so horribly and the whole book is just a tortured fever dream she's having while on a grippy sock vacation?? Has Athena actually come back as a ghost to haunt June?? You'll have to read the whole thing to find out because Kuang's brilliant prestidigitation in the form of an incredibly unreliable narrator keeps us focused on one thing while the truth sneaks up behind us, just waiting to push us down the stairs.
I pretty much hated all the MCs in this book, which is a new thing for me... But Kuang does an amazing job of capturing what it's like to be a white woman caught up in a maelstrom of her own making, within a cut-throat industry that's all about that superficial diversity. I was going through an array of emotions, getting sucked into June's just as much as my own were taking over. Yellowface just left me shaking my head and muttering, "wtf... why would you even do that??" about everyone in it.
I had a buddy read going on and it was so much fun because not only were we able to riff off each other as we moved through the book at relatively the same pace, but my reading partner really made me step back and look at things differently.
Graphic: Death and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Xenophobia and War
laestaci's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Racism, and War
mjones14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Grief, Colonisation, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Bullying
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Rape
Minor: War and Islamophobia
abbysingh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Grief, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Rape, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Islamophobia, Medical content, War, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, and Vomit
bubski_mcboo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Death, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Rape, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, War, Forced institutionalization, Incest, and Islamophobia
jenniferbowman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Cursing, Gaslighting, Vomit, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Violence, Alcohol, Classism, Sexual assault, and Stalking
Minor: Genocide, War, Medical content, Classism, Abortion, Abandonment, Ableism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Self harm
basil_touche's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The ending is going to stay with me, how it dawns on you as it reaches the end that
I do wish that we could have learned more about Athena, there was a lot about her family history that is mentioned briefly but I suppose that's part of the narrative; her voice was stolen from her, we'll never truly know her, mostly only how June saw her. There's so many layers to this book I'll be thinking about for quite some time. I will absolutely be checking out Kuang's other novels.
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Violence, Mental illness, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Racial slurs
Minor: War, Suicide, and Death of parent
amybartoli29's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Bullying, War, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Cultural appropriation, and Racism
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Stalking
boba_n_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
June Hayward and Athena Liu have been "friends" since undergrad and have bonded over their writing aspirations ever since. However, Athena has been wildly successful, and June has... not. When June watches Athena die in a freak accident, she does what any self-preserving author would do: steal Athena's unpublished manuscript, of course. No one has seen this masterpiece yet, so June decides to do the kind thing and make sure Athena's experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I is published... but June says that she is the one who wrote it. Without any outside assistance. She even lets her team market her as "Juniper Song," which does end up confusing some people when it turns out that June is white. All of this leads to the largest rollercoaster of June's life where she experiences the highest highs and the lowest lows.
There were times I laughed at June's ignorance and others where I cringed where she used her privilege to act as a victim--especially when she starts to become alienated on social media. The book hosts such a complex narrative that it will leave you questioning your own allegiances.
As a white person, I felt as though this novel helped touch on important topics that need to be discussed. How far is too far? Where do we draw the line? How do we live in a morally gray world that years to place us in black and white? One of the biggest questions I took away from Yellowface is: who is able to tell what stories? Is it right for a white person to write about the experiences of people of color? Is that really their story to tell?
Read this book. If you've been even slightly interested by it, just read it. It's well worth your time to explore the nuance beyond these important topics. I tip my hat to you, Ms. Kuang, for the masterpiece you have created.
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent, War, and Suicide