The Bookish Mindset

Overview:

Title: Yellowface
Author: Rebecca F. Kuang
Published: May 2023
Genre: Literary
Themes: Racism, publishing industry.

One sentence summary: June Hayward stole Athena Liu’s manuscript after her shock death and is publishing it herself, she finally feels like she’s getting everything she wanted.. until people start asking questions.

One sentence review: A brilliant book to spark conversation, it is literary genius.

Review:

June Hayward stole Athena Liu’s manuscript after her shock death and is publishing it herself. Under a slightly new name, Juniper Song, June finally gets everything she wanted (and everything that Athena had) from the publishing world.

Until people start asking questions..

Kuang describes this book as a horror story of loneliness in her acknowledgements but I’d go as far as saying it’s a straight up horror story (in a brilliant way).

My stomach was in knots after the first few chapters, especially after the chapter where she “edits” (read: whitewashes) Athena’s pages with her editor. I feel like by reading this book I’m complicit in the stealing of Athena’s work too.

It’s a book I wanted to comment in and scrawl all over while June comments she’s made the book more “universal” or “accessible”, no dear, you’ve made it white centred. The plot thickens as things transpire and without spoiling it, wow it gets deeper.

It’s an absolutely brilliant book. A book that will spark so much conversation and is absolutely one to go down in history. It is literary genius and you need to read it.

“Athena’s fingerprints are all over this project. I don’t wipe them off. I just provide an alternative explanation for why they’re there.”

If reading more is something that you’re looking at doing this year then should check my reading challenge out here! Read nine books from nine prompts over the first six months of the year and be entered into a draw to win a bundle of bookish goodies.

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And don’t forget to check out my other blogs and reviews – you can find books with similar themes in the same folder link below, or click back onto blogs to see the whole offering.

Last updated 19/03/2025