Yellowface
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK
“Hard to put down, harder to forget.” — Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling author
White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American—in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R.F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel.
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.
So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.
But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.
- Pages
- 329
- First published
- May 16, 2023
- Language
- English
- Edition
- Ebook
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Shelved by 17 Litcadians
Reviews
Finished December 17, 2024
Started April 6, 2026 · Finished April 10, 2026
When I was younger, I watched an episode of VeggieTales that talked about the dangers of lying. It scared me. This book is a testament to that very tale: that our lies, especially when we double- and triple-down on them, grow into large, uncontrollable things that leave lasting, damaging consequences. YELLOWFACE is an extremely well-written exploration into the shady side of publishing, of artistic voice and choice, of moral integrity, accountability, fact vs. fiction, of willful ignorance, and harmful stereotypes. Our protagonist, Juniper Hayward/Song is NOT a good person. And yet she is a compelling, phenomenally-written unlikable character and a very unreliable narrator. And she poses great questions regarding the “death of a hero” concept: to what lengths should we go to honor our dead? And in what ways do our experiences with them cloud our judgment? I deeply enjoyed this story. R.F. Kuang is such a strong, incredible writer that I admire very much. This book is easy to get lost in—absolutely thrilling, thought-provoking, and uncomfortable at times. I highly recommend this book.
Finished April 8, 2026
*☆2 stars☆* I- well, this was interesting. Two writers. Same dream. Only one makes it.. out alive. When a sudden, shocking opportunity falls into June’s lap, she takes it. Suddenly, she has the career she’s always wanted. But success built on secrets doesn’t stay quiet for long and the truth has a way of resurfacing. I will say that I was intrigued by this book in the beginning and couldn't wait to pick it back up to read more. I love books where we get to be in a characters mind and pick apart their psyche—especially when guilt is involved. And I thought there would be more of that until there wasn't.. A big chunk of the book involved our main character scrolling through her social media accounts—gorging on positive feedback but being derailed by the criticism. Which, yes I get it. The author is trying to show us the ugly side of publishing and how social media exasperates success or failure in the writing world. Unfortunately, that sucked the delicious tension I love with thrillers right out of the story. I wanted a slow spiral into madness. What I got was a slow spiral of social media angst and page refreshing. And unfortunately, it didn’t really recover from that. The ending felt pretty anticlimactic, especially after all that buildup. There are some strong themes here—cultural appropriation being a big one—and it’s definitely a conversation starter. But for me, those elements got overshadowed by the repetition and lack of payoff. If you’re into books that tackle publishing drama, social media chaos, and cultural appropriation, this is worth picking up. [Find my reviews on Bookstagram too!](https://www.instagram.com/literarily_laurynn?igsh=aTh6eTZ6dGwxMXpy&utm_source=qr)
Started April 7, 2026 · Finished April 9, 2026
This had a really strong start that grew into something very anxiety-inducing as I got deeper into this story. Watching this FMC unravel with some things that are very relevant to real world cancel culture in the book community, had me sucked in and invested immediately. I could not help but root for the villain in this, or at least understand her and the hole she just kept digging as everything else gnawed at her under the surface. I also had moments of frustration, like you have committed to this bit, WHY are you falling for this?? But at the same time, I can see how desperate and guilty she felt, and people are complicated, nobody is all good or all bad. I love books that remind me of that. And while this was a little underwhelming in the end, I feel the ending was realistic. I am not sure I care for the “hero” conning her to save this legacy (especially since the motivation felt more financially opportunistic than personal), since I had been immorally rooting for the villain for SO much in this lol, but I do feel that says a lot about how this book pulls you into the villains perspective and makes you question who really is in the wrong here? I mean its her, she for sure is wrong, but… I would have preferred she completely got away with it then spiraled into madness, and took the mediocre “hero” down with her. Overall great book, highly recommend!
Finished August 19, 2026
Finished April 1, 2026
Started February 2, 2025 · Finished February 3, 2025
Started January 12, 2025 · Finished January 12, 2025
Finished May 4, 2026
3.5⭐️ I never thought I could simultaneously sympathise with and hate a character so much, that was absolutely insane! Extremely well written and had me feeling anxious for Junie throughout the book even though she was completely in the wrong
Started December 7, 2023 · Finished December 18, 2023