Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

80 reviews

kelly_e's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

2.75

Title: Yellowface
Author: R.F. Kuang
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: May 25, 2023

T H R E E • W O R D S

Icky • Juicy • Insightful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Athena Liu is a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories by basic white girls anyway?

But now Athena is dead. And June has her unfinished manuscript...

💭 T H O U G H T S

I'd added Yellowface to my list of possible 2023 releases to explore after attending an online event with the author. The premise had me apprehensive, yet the author did a fantastic job selling me, so when it became available as a 'quick read' through my library I scooped it up.

The fact satirical stories are not my thing is something I knew going in, and yet I picked it up anyways. Another thing I don't care for are stories centered around social media and cancel culture, both of which are central here. So it's clear this novel was not meant for me.

With that said, Kuang's writing is incredible. She delivers a no holds barred account of the ins and outs of the publishing industry - a bold move that paid off. While not for me, I understand all of the love it is receiving. What this book does really well is give readers lots to think about, making it a fantastic book club selection, sure to spark interesting and engaging discussion.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for something fast-paced
• fans of the unlikeable narrator
• bookclubs

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic."

"Reading lets us live in someone else’s shoes. Literature builds bridges; it makes our world larger, not smaller." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexism, Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Death, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual violence, Cursing, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Islamophobia

ellaticonstellation's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This novel is compelling, I couldn’t stop reading. Juniper is a flawed character and I loved that. She had clear dreams and motivations that pushed her to steal a manuscript from her friend and become a compulsive liar because of it. I was like, oh my god, you did not just do that to a dead woman. What kind of friend are you?

The psychological warfare by Candice against Junie was well-deserved because it was the punishment for stealing Athena’s The Last Front and the idea of Mother Witch. Juniper lied a lot that she was believing her own lies as realities. But Candice had her own brand of crazy. She even made money because of this story. That was insane!

Junie was delusional and had a loud mind; it was truly interesting. At some point, I was cackling because of her ridiculousness. The stress of the mystery behind the Instagram posts and messaging was intriguing, I was at the edge of my seat. Oh, Junie was assaulted and it made me so sad. 

Athena wasn’t a saint at all. She wrote other people’s story without their permission. She exploited their pain and I thought that was cruel. 

Damn, the internet people are really scary and there’s really a big price for being famous.

This is my first book by R. F. and I enjoyed this a lot. I’ll read more from you. Thank you!💕

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

allisonz6's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Racial slurs, Violence, Death, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Minor: War, Death of parent, and Suicide

issyd23's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

What I would give for a read The Last Front fanfic written by a white woman! The most petty obnoxious protagonist; enjoyed every minute of it 4🥞

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racism, Xenophobia, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Classism, Death, Alcohol, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, War, Genocide, and Toxic friendship

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective medium-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death, Cursing, Racism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual content, Drug use, War, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Confinement

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark emotional tense

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Death, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Classism, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Trafficking, Abortion, Deportation, and Drug use

korrasami95's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Death

hedsek's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective 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

3.25

I'm really not sure how I feel about this book, to be honest. On the one hand, it was a really easy read and the buildup of tension was very well done. I also love reading an unlikeable and unreliable narrator, and the ways in which Kuang described the mental gymnastics of someone being racist but thinking they couldn't possibly be racist were spot on. But on the other hand, reading this after having read Babel, it fell a bit flat in some ways. Athena seems quite a self-insert of the author, and as a previous review mentioned, having criticism that Kuang faced repeated at Athena through the mouths of people we obviously shouldn't take seriously feels a bit strange (which felt at the beginning but couldn't really put into words before finding that review). In terms of writing, too, there was a lot less to like than in Babel and I feel like Kuang would have been able to do more in that department. However, this is also a completely different type of book, and it kind of works as well. I also thought the ending was really abrupt and not very satisfying. But overall, I still enjoyed reading this book a lot and it's been a while since I've read anything this fast so it did keep me engaged well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Sexism, Misogyny, Stalking, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts

justwingit03's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Gaslighting, Bullying, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, and Rape

lostinthebooks_'s review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Death, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Stalking