A review by audreading
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

challenging mysterious 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

4.5

R.F. Kuang does not miss!! You are going to HATE June Hayward, but you are going to love this book. It almost reads like a mystery where you’re in the mind of the criminal, waiting to see whether she will get caught (and hoping she will).

I actually started noticing so many stories like this one coming up on Twitter while I was reading. We always wonder, with these celebrities who go off the rails with bigoted rhetoric, how their thought process works and how they get to such a place. Yellowface shows you just that. I can’t tell you how many times I was screaming at the page and wanted to type out an argument just like I would online.

The book also shows an interesting peek into the publishing world in almost a meta way (except we would never want to relate R.F. to June). This is a struggle we readers don’t have to think about too often! We just lap up the books with no real appreciation for the fight that goes into getting honest work onto the table.

I only take off half a star for this book because the ending wasn’t my favorite.
Candice’s actions felt hard to believe and out of nowhere. I truly thought Athena’s “ghost” would just be June descending into madness in consequence to her own choices and struggles.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings