Reviews

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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alexyssj's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bwblue's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

roxiehrt's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. At first I wasn’t sure if this book was going to be my cup of tea. I usually am a thriller/horror reader, but man this book had me TENSE. From the conversations on racism/appropriation, second hand embarrassment, and tension throughout to the desperation of the main character to try to dig herself out of a hole unscathed, I found it utterly gripping. The last 4th of the book even had some very creepy imagery which veered into ghost story territory. I think that this novel spins you in so many directions, you’ll feel like you have whiplash by the end. I’ve never felt such intensity from a novel that wasn’t straight horror. It did more than most thriller/horror books I’ve read this year with weaving such a complex page-turning narrative.

Content Warnings

binchsensei's review against another edition

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funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

Fast and entertaining read! Very of-the-moment, which I think can be both a positive and negative thing.

I don’t love reading about social media in books but it serves the story pretty well here.

rayray_of_sunshine's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!
It made me question everything, ESPECIALLY since I' a white woman trying to get into writing. I loved the detail about the publishing industry and the nuanced the observations about race, gender, social media, morality, life and death. I want to read it for the first time again!

cyberquartz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I'll come back to this review because I feel like I need time to digest it and collect my thoughts.

But for now, I will say that I think this book touched on a lot of important topics of conversation, that I hope will encourage readers to look into more outside of the novel, and the writing was riveting even with such a morally corrupt narrator. I was in the beginnings of a reading slump until reading this so I was a little wary, but I couldn't put it down. I'm also curious as to how this book will age due to all the pop culture references throughout, and the conversations being had around it.

giocoree's review

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funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

obcecada pela rf kung e quero ler tudo que ela escrever… quando eu digo que esse livro é ESPETACULAR, FENOMENAL, INTELIGENTE e PERFEITO eu sei que eu estou standing on businesses amei demais quero escrever algo maior mas por enquanto eu apenas digo que todos devem ler esse livro e se divertir como eu me diverti