leo_314 's review for:

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

5.0

dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book was an incredible read! Rebecca F. Kuang perfectly writes such a hateable main character, and by hateable I mean that this insane white woman goes off the rails by the end. Kuang gets you to sympathise with her for a chapter or two before throwing right back in your face that June is completely unhinged. This way of writing is so similar to emotional abuse and gaslighting in real life and the quality is unmatched. You get to see the way that June justifies her actions and how she positions herself as the victim. I have not read anything like it and it was amazing. If you are reading this novel, be prepared to be gaslit out of your mind and just remember, June is a psychotic racist who will go to any lengths to cover up her plagarism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship

Minor: Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, War