Yellowface

by R. F. Kuang

Let me start off by saying how much I appreciate this ARC provided by HarperCollins UK! [Also, this design is fantastic – front and back!] This book has multiple genres, one of which is suspense, and I can’t tell you how much adding the tangible action of needing to flip pages to continue the story made the already amazing story that much more enjoyable to read. [While I completely believe I would still absolutely adore this book without it, it definitely didn’t hurt.]

I’m OBSESSED with this book! So. Obsessed. This is quite possibly [maybe, definitely] my favorite book of the year. It’s definitely my favorite book of Kuang’s. [For the record, I’ve only read Babel and The Poppy War – just the first book, I haven’t finished the trilogy yet. Doubt the rest will top Yellowface, though.]

ANYWAY!

If you’d like to read the Goodreads summary, you can find it here! Unlike normal, while I didn’t technically read the summary, I did know a good bit more than I normally know going into this reading. That said, it clearly didn’t take away from the experience, which I feel like has to just be further points in this book’s score.

Recommendation: Read it. Just, read it. Seriously. On the fence? Read it. Not sure if it’s your thing? Probably still just read it. Already a fan of these types of stories or Kuang’s previous work? Read it for sure! It’s so, so good, I can’t even properly put into words. GO READ IT. [Should probably also add that, even if this book isn’t normally your thing, read it anyway.] Seriously, there’s very few people I think I’ll ever not recommend this book to. Give it a go!

Take this as you will: this book is definitely on my reread list.

June Hayward is a character that, while you may pity her, you get an early feeling she isn’t quite the normal heroine, the one you root for and hope she accomplishes what she sets out to do. Somehow, though, you’re invested early on and you. Just. Can’t. Stop. Reading. While Athena is crucial to the story in a way June just can’t be, June has her own complexities. If you’re an aspiring [or actual, I imagine] author, you might recognize some of the desperation behind some of June’s decisions. You may even understand some of her justifications, her thought processes, and how she comes to some of the conclusions she comes to throughout the book.

Athena Liu, who doesn’t get as much “face time” as you’d imagine for someone who is this influential and a central piece to this story, is such a unique, complex creature. Even at the end of the book, you’re left with this mixed desire to meet her and get to know her more than you were able to in this story. [That said, you aren’t really left feeling like her story is in anyway really unfinished, in case that’s a worry!]

I kept wondering, randomly throughout my read, How is Kuang going to get me to root for June, this stealing, plagiarizing, manipulative person? And, somehow, without ever really getting me to root for June, I was captivated. I needed to know what happened next. I needed to know what June and the publishing industry and everyone else impacted was going to do about every new thing. Would June and the stolen manuscript “win”?

While the book was advertised as having a sort of “open ending”, where the intent is to leave it up to the reader to decide how the story continues past the last page of the book, the story doesn’t feel incomplete. Sure, you’re left wondering what happens next, but most good books end that way, don’t they? It’s almost expected, almost required in stories like these.

And this book doesn’t disappoint.

Also, be prepared to be bombarded with me continuing to talk about the book for the next . . . ever?

**THIS IS ANOTHER FANGIRL REVIEW, SO BE WARNED THAT SPOILERS AND FANGIRLING LAY AHEAD! READ ON AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. YOU CAN ALWAYS READ THE BOOK AND COME BACK! THIS REVIEW DEFINITELY ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE ANY TIME SOON!**

OMG THIS BOOK IS STILL PLAGUING MY MIND, AND IT’S DEFINITELY ON MY REREAD LIST!

Ahem. Back to the contents: I’ve never read a book quite like this one. An MC who isn’t a heroine in any way, a victim of the MC who is also a villain of sorts, a villain who is really more of a spineless vigilante, viciously vocal but fair weather friends, and an industry willing to support them all.

The MC who isn’t a heroine . . . The only parts I “rooted” for June during was that disappointment about her ultimate failure as a published author. It’s a fear every author gets when they get picked up for publishing, regardless of their deal offer. I did not root for how she tried to go about “fixing” that failure, however; I wish to be super clear on that front.

On a similar note, the only part of June I did sympathize with is that deep desire to [successfully] make a dream come true. But June is willing to cross more lines and do more questionable things than I am/would be, if I found myself at the same, odd crossroads of “dream realized” and “not realized successfully”. I don’t envy June her position on that weird crossroads, but that doesn’t justify what she’s done.

That said, Athena doesn’t seem to be entirely “clean” in her decision-making skills, either. Like June, she’s also willing to cross more lines and do more questionable things than I would be, but, unlike June, it seems she has the talent that would make most people look the other way. It’s fantastic, the way this book manages to present two very different authors, but they’re also somehow very similar.

All of that aside, this is a book I didn’t know I needed until I had it. I can’t get it out of my head, and I don’t want to. It’s thought-provoking, blunt, honest, brilliant, mind-blowing, gripping, epic, and so much more. It’s a book I’ll likely be reading again and again and again and again and . . .

The little back-door glances into publishing was also not only enlightening, but so enjoyable to see! Outside of non-fiction works, you don’t normally see stuff like that about publishing. It made reading about it in a fictional work so much more enjoyable!

Literally, the only people I won’t recommend this book to would be people who either just can’t get into anything other than a specific genre [as in, they can only get into fantasy or sci-fi or something]. If there’s even the slimmest of chances someone will like it, I’m going to recommend it.

I would say, “I apologize now for how often I will be bringing this book up”, but I’m honestly not sorry. [Unless it ends up turning you off from trying it, because then I’d be very, very sorry.] This book deserves to be shouted about from the rooftops, and I plan to do just that.

All of that said: be kind, stay safe, and read on!