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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 When June watches Athena die in a freak accident, she does what any self-preserving author would do: steal Athena's unpublished manuscript, of course.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
alphabetmafiamember's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Racism, Death, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, Stalking, Grief, Gaslighting, Bullying, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Vomit
Minor: Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Murder, Death of parent, and War
ceceska's review against another edition
- 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
Ce livre suit l'histoire de June, une femme blanche, qui vole le manuscrit non publié de son amie asiatique suite à son décès. Le manuscrit porte sur le rôles des travailleurs chinois lors de la Première Guerre mondiale. Elle publie le récit de son amie en le faisant passer pour le sien, mais en y faisant quelques modifications...
Les thèmes de ce livre sont : le racisme, la solitude, la jalousie et l'appropriation culturelle. Ces thèmes sont explorés dans un long monologue fiévreux et dérangé de la protagoniste.
Ce livre était unique puisque la majorité de celui-ci était le fil de pensées de la protagoniste, June. Les dialogues sont peu nombreux mais sont très efficaces. Dans ce cas-ci, moins de dialogue a rendu l'histoire très intéressée puisqu'on voit bien la psyché de la protagoniste ainsi que le raisonnement qui la pousse à prendre des décisions chaotiques.
J'ai beaucoup aimé détester June. Je ne sais pas quand est la dernière fois que j'ai autant détesté une protagoniste d'un roman. June était extrêmement raciste, méchante et qui pense que tout lui est dû. Elle est absolument horrible. Chacune de ses décisions est pire que la précédente. J'ai adoré ça.
Ce roman m'a tenue en haleine du début jusqu'à la fin. J'ai eu des réactions de surprise à haute voix plusieurs fois pendant ma lecture. Je n'en revenais simplement pas des événements qui se produisaient.
Ce roman était très bien écrit. J'ai beaucoup apprécié ma lecture. Le rythme était très rapide, ce que j'apprécie énormément. Je ne m'attendais pas du tout à cela considérant que la majorité du livre est ses pensées.
Bref, encore une fois, je recommande ce livre à TOUT le monde.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, War, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Colonisation, Bullying, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Genocide, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Deportation, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
pazfauxster'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
3.75
The book was very insightful and I liked how real the characters were. On the one hand, not a single one of them seems very likable. On the other hand, sometimes you catch yourself empathising with one or the other, then halt and think: they're kind of a horrible person, though. Does that make me a horrible person, too?
It tackles the racism and the capitalistic greed of publishers, and it's also speculative and keeps you on your toes. After reading (or, rather, listening to) the book, I stumbled upon the author's instagram and couldn't stop thinking how much of this stuff she had to experience firsthand.
Whenever I see a book trending on tiktok now, I will wonder if the author will once commit a social faux pas that will send their entire career tumbling down. And perhaps it's a cruel thing to think, but so is the publishing world.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Racism, Rape, Toxic friendship, and Bullying
Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
thequillhand's review
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Death, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Rape, Death of parent, and Sexual assault
Minor: War
jessife'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
3.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Rape, War, Xenophobia, Grief, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Racism, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts
amandaboyer's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Grief, Hate crime, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Racism, and Death of parent
katrinalamothe's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Colonisation, Toxic friendship, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Xenophobia, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Gaslighting, Slavery, Emotional abuse, War, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Bullying, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Vomit
Minor: Islamophobia, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
kellyofcali's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Racism, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Grief, and Mental illness
Minor: Death of parent, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
aestass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Racism, Death, Sexual assault, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death of parent