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thirdtimesacharm's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Death, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and War
valreadsallnight's review against another edition
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
I just love this book! I enjoyed reading it so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, Cultural appropriation, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Cursing
Minor: Islamophobia, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts
Sexual Assault - Is not described. Is referenced throughout the story. Misogyny - Not blatant, but it's mentioned one character refutes that misogyny is still a thing in the publishing industry. Many insults towards the characters are rooted in misogyny. Islamaphobia - Is only mentioned once. Note: There is a scene where the main character cruely and publicly humiliates one of their students, a minor.foxie35's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexual assault
katndrsn's review
challenging
dark
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
5.0
I can’t recall another book that is so uncomfortable, with a character so subtly but blatantly awful that you can’t look away from.
I don’t want to say much more, but it’s my first 5* of the year with good reason - def worth the hype, a must read
I don’t want to say much more, but it’s my first 5* of the year with good reason - def worth the hype, a must read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Xenophobia, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault
Minor: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Suicide, and Death of parent
There is a scene of rape/sexual assault that features in the last quarter of the book. It is a necessary plot hook and doesn’t last too long but there is description of a drunken incident and recalling of eventsdevynreadsnovels's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Cursing and Grief
Minor: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Rape
broccoli_j's review
dark
emotional
fast-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
5.0
Wow, just wow.
This book is a must read for everyone!
Is is a well written genius critique in which we follow the „villain“.
June is an unreliable narrator and the definition of white women tears. You are meant to feel bad for her and in conclusion feel then bad, for feeling bad for her.
This book is brilliant, shocking and most importantly of all not at all far fetched!
This book is a must read for everyone!
Is is a well written genius critique in which we follow the „villain“.
June is an unreliable narrator and the definition of white women tears. You are meant to feel bad for her and in conclusion feel then bad, for feeling bad for her.
This book is brilliant, shocking and most importantly of all not at all far fetched!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Death, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Bullying, Racism, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Chronic illness
saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Shit was absolutely bonkers.
A scathing satire about racism and toxicity in both the publishing industry and the online book community. Yellowface is an extremely blunt novel that asks the reader to interrogate the bold question: am I the asshole?
I'd recommend just reading the book if you're interested as my review goes into detail about the themes, there's a lot to unpack and this review is less me recommending the book and more me unpacking some of the themes. I especially recommend Yellowface to people who are knowledgeable in publishing and/or involved in the online book community.
The plot and characters eerily reflect real life discourse, there’s a few too many people I can think of who I see June Hayward in (off the top of my head, J.K. Rowling, Jean Cummins, Emily A. Duncan, and several influencers, to name a few). Yellowface feels less like a novel at times and more like an essay for R.F Kuang to discuss it all. It paints neither the publishing industry or online book discourse in a positive light, calling out how bestsellers are curated by publishing before readers even get a chance to know they exist and how the discourse is rarely, if ever, productive. As well as calling out how discourse is had over books and representation, questioning how much readers enable these shitty authors and how a lot of criticism is all bark and no bite.
My main critique of the book is that for how much it talked about online discourse, I wish it had gone deeper. Compared to the commentary on racism and publishing, it felt surface level. Like “wow! People on Twitter are really angry! And the discourse is really rancid! Wild ain’t it?” I did like the commentary on how cyclical the discourse is and how change rarely comes of it, but those are pretty lukewarm takes. I’m pretty sure anyone who’s ever even seen grass can come to those conclusions.
Like in her fantasy novels, there are no heroes in Yellowface. It’s difficult to judge anyone given June Hayward is an unreliable narrator in both how self centered and lacking in self awareness she is: caring so much with the appearance of being a good person while putting none of the work in. Particularly in relation to racism as she proclaims to be an advocate for the AAPI diaspora while every single interaction she has with Asian characters are rife with microaggressions.
RFK doesn’t distance the reader from June, rather inserting us deep in her head. So deep that at times she begins making sense and nearly tricks the reader, until that is she does something extremely out of pocket and the reader is startled for ever having considered her points.
It should also be noted that despite the book's title, June never does full yellowface, she never outright lies about being white or stealing the manuscript. Instead she twists her stories and omits truths. If people ask, she’s white, but her author name and photo are purposefully ambiguous. June doesn’t see this as a lie and she wants the reader to believe it isn’t fucked up. She’s a fourth wall breaker in a way, desperately trying to convince the reader that she is the victim in all of this.
Almost everyone around June enables her bullshit, as a matter of fact they have a lot of bullshit too and it’s a cycle of horrendous people supporting horrendous people. Athena Liu who haunts the narrative is put into question as well. I disagree with the take that she’s RFK’s self insert, because though she does get a lot of RFK’s criticisms, they’re criticisms that a lot of AAPI authors get. She’s also far from perfect and it’s difficult to judge who she is from June’s extremely biased perspective.
As Athena is called into question, there is a conversation around who can write what stories. 100% the book was NOT June’s story to tell no matter how she spins it. But was it Athena’s? It’s notable several of the criticisms that are had of June’s stolen book were sections that Athena wrote, though Athena’s version was mostly better, it’s far from perfect and it’s questionable how authentic her representation was and whether she was exploitative.
If it wasn’t Athena’s book to write and certainly not June’s, whose was it? How far out of a writer's own experience can they write to remain creative and original but not be appropriative or exploitative? Is all writing about pain for profit inherently exploitative under capitalism? Is there even such a thing as an original idea divorced from one’s own experiences? Do writers have the right to write about someone else’s pain?
”Once the personal became spectacle, the pain was still there.”
As a writer who’s aspiring to break into the industry in genre fiction, these questions will haunt me like Athena’s ghost haunts the narrative. As will the descriptions of the publishing industry, showing the corruption of publishing and just how many authors slip through the cracks. It doesn’t actually matter how talented or good you are, only how well you can be marketed. How many of the best books of all time are lost to obscurity or never even published because no one cared? How many of us writers will suffer this fate? Especially authors who don’t look like June and who have actual morals?
Themes aside, the book is compulsively readable. Filled to the brim with drama and twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. I do think the ending twist could’ve felt a little less contrived, but I did really like it on a thematic level. I also found the timeline hard to keep up with, however, June notably doesn’t change much throughout the novel. So perhaps the timeline being difficult is simply because successful June is just as vile as pre-success June? Then again, the timelines are also a bit difficult to follow in RFK’s other books where there are more prominent character arcs. I’m thinking she should perhaps shorten her novels from happening over the course of years and instead have them happen over a more concise couple of weeks or months.
Overall, Yellowface is a novel that begs for controversy. It’s in conversation with the reader and asks some very uncomfortable questions while revealing a lot about the greed of publishing and white tears. It’s also a cautionary tale about why you shouldn’t plagiarize.
A scathing satire about racism and toxicity in both the publishing industry and the online book community. Yellowface is an extremely blunt novel that asks the reader to interrogate the bold question: am I the asshole?
I'd recommend just reading the book if you're interested as my review goes into detail about the themes, there's a lot to unpack and this review is less me recommending the book and more me unpacking some of the themes. I especially recommend Yellowface to people who are knowledgeable in publishing and/or involved in the online book community.
The plot and characters eerily reflect real life discourse, there’s a few too many people I can think of who I see June Hayward in (off the top of my head, J.K. Rowling, Jean Cummins, Emily A. Duncan, and several influencers, to name a few). Yellowface feels less like a novel at times and more like an essay for R.F Kuang to discuss it all. It paints neither the publishing industry or online book discourse in a positive light, calling out how bestsellers are curated by publishing before readers even get a chance to know they exist and how the discourse is rarely, if ever, productive. As well as calling out how discourse is had over books and representation, questioning how much readers enable these shitty authors and how a lot of criticism is all bark and no bite.
My main critique of the book is that for how much it talked about online discourse, I wish it had gone deeper. Compared to the commentary on racism and publishing, it felt surface level. Like “wow! People on Twitter are really angry! And the discourse is really rancid! Wild ain’t it?” I did like the commentary on how cyclical the discourse is and how change rarely comes of it, but those are pretty lukewarm takes. I’m pretty sure anyone who’s ever even seen grass can come to those conclusions.
Like in her fantasy novels, there are no heroes in Yellowface. It’s difficult to judge anyone given June Hayward is an unreliable narrator in both how self centered and lacking in self awareness she is: caring so much with the appearance of being a good person while putting none of the work in. Particularly in relation to racism as she proclaims to be an advocate for the AAPI diaspora while every single interaction she has with Asian characters are rife with microaggressions.
RFK doesn’t distance the reader from June, rather inserting us deep in her head. So deep that at times she begins making sense and nearly tricks the reader, until that is she does something extremely out of pocket and the reader is startled for ever having considered her points.
It should also be noted that despite the book's title, June never does full yellowface, she never outright lies about being white or stealing the manuscript. Instead she twists her stories and omits truths. If people ask, she’s white, but her author name and photo are purposefully ambiguous. June doesn’t see this as a lie and she wants the reader to believe it isn’t fucked up. She’s a fourth wall breaker in a way, desperately trying to convince the reader that she is the victim in all of this.
Almost everyone around June enables her bullshit, as a matter of fact they have a lot of bullshit too and it’s a cycle of horrendous people supporting horrendous people. Athena Liu who haunts the narrative is put into question as well. I disagree with the take that she’s RFK’s self insert, because though she does get a lot of RFK’s criticisms, they’re criticisms that a lot of AAPI authors get. She’s also far from perfect and it’s difficult to judge who she is from June’s extremely biased perspective.
As Athena is called into question, there is a conversation around who can write what stories. 100% the book was NOT June’s story to tell no matter how she spins it. But was it Athena’s? It’s notable several of the criticisms that are had of June’s stolen book were sections that Athena wrote, though Athena’s version was mostly better, it’s far from perfect and it’s questionable how authentic her representation was and whether she was exploitative.
If it wasn’t Athena’s book to write and certainly not June’s, whose was it? How far out of a writer's own experience can they write to remain creative and original but not be appropriative or exploitative? Is all writing about pain for profit inherently exploitative under capitalism? Is there even such a thing as an original idea divorced from one’s own experiences? Do writers have the right to write about someone else’s pain?
”Once the personal became spectacle, the pain was still there.”
As a writer who’s aspiring to break into the industry in genre fiction, these questions will haunt me like Athena’s ghost haunts the narrative. As will the descriptions of the publishing industry, showing the corruption of publishing and just how many authors slip through the cracks. It doesn’t actually matter how talented or good you are, only how well you can be marketed. How many of the best books of all time are lost to obscurity or never even published because no one cared? How many of us writers will suffer this fate? Especially authors who don’t look like June and who have actual morals?
Themes aside, the book is compulsively readable. Filled to the brim with drama and twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. I do think the ending twist could’ve felt a little less contrived, but I did really like it on a thematic level. I also found the timeline hard to keep up with, however, June notably doesn’t change much throughout the novel. So perhaps the timeline being difficult is simply because successful June is just as vile as pre-success June? Then again, the timelines are also a bit difficult to follow in RFK’s other books where there are more prominent character arcs. I’m thinking she should perhaps shorten her novels from happening over the course of years and instead have them happen over a more concise couple of weeks or months.
Overall, Yellowface is a novel that begs for controversy. It’s in conversation with the reader and asks some very uncomfortable questions while revealing a lot about the greed of publishing and white tears. It’s also a cautionary tale about why you shouldn’t plagiarize.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Racism, and Rape
Moderate: Hate crime and Misogyny
twistykris's review
challenging
dark
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
5.0
The main character, June, is despicable. I felt so much second-hand embarrassment listening to this audiobook. I have a headache from the number of times I rolled my eyes. She had justification for EVERY vindictive, backstabbing, racist thing she did and I hate her for it. A truly insightful (from the wrong perspective) look into the publishing industry.
An absolutely infuriating book of watching someone's terrible life choices end up not costing her much anyways because she's a yt woman.
I devoured this in a day. 5/5 stars.
An absolutely infuriating book of watching someone's terrible life choices end up not costing her much anyways because she's a yt woman.
I devoured this in a day. 5/5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Rape, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Vomit, Misogyny, and Racial slurs
scifi_rat's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Plot: 2.5★
Prose: 2.75★
Pace: 3★
Concept/Execution: 5★/1★
Characters: 2★
Worldbuilding: 4★
Ending: 1★
Prose: 2.75★
Pace: 3★
Concept/Execution: 5★/1★
Characters: 2★
Worldbuilding: 4★
Ending: 1★
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Rape, Sexism, War, Physical abuse, Cursing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Bullying, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Stalking
Minor: Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
vas_17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Stalking
Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Rape