Reviews with content warning for Self harm - Yellowface

Impressive and thought provoking story telling. I hated the main character and found myself talking at her through the whole book but I also couldn't put it down. Also created lots of questions when disagreeing with the main character but also disagreeing with ending antagonist too. Really well done, got all the emotions going. loved to hate it.

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ellacostello's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

As a whole I loved the book
Unsure about the ending I would have liked to see more into the possibilities of this new published book and the outcomes of the drama… although I’m sure the rounds of both good and bad would have been the same as throughout the book

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soph_mills's review against another edition

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challenging reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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leechachatotheright's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I will say that this book was very thought provoking, a social commentary on racism, diversity, etc. I gave it a 3 as it was a good read in its writing itself and does tackle an interesting perspective but, I don't think I'd recommend this to a friend to read. The first two thirds of the book was very inticing, but the ending felt like

"This, really? Is that all? You haven't learned anything."

and honestly, that may be the point of it. I find the narrative very different from anything I've read before, but maybe that's also why it felt flat at the end. I don't mind endings not having the whole

character learns from their mistakes trope, if anything, it is kind of refreshing to see this perspective.

But alas, the ending did feel a bit inconclusive to me, though I understand the intention of it. I don't know if I'll read it again, but I'll definitely say it was a unique read and I didn't put the book down until I was finished. I basically wanted more from the ending.

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rachaelcandoit's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was one of those books that I was nervous to get into because of how talked about it is.

This book feels like a car crash I couldn't look away from. I deeply disliked many of the characters and was honestly fascinated at their story.

I think it's incredibly admirable for Kaung to write at story like this showcasing such an antagonistic perspective. I loved seeing the internal workings of the publishing industry too.

Honestly with how much this book is talked about it I was expecting to find it more controversial and didn't really. I do think that some ideas could've been expanded upon or made more introspective but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

My only super tiny gripe is that I don't love the narrator speaking directly to the reader. It took me a while to get into the story because of it. I also don't love the overt foreshadowing. These are my personal preferences and if they don't bother you then you won't find an issue here.

Otherwise really loved the book and it's messaging.

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_ren's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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katlinstirling_reads's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A bit disappointed with this one.. I wanted to enjoy it but I think it’s a BookTok book that is unfortunately overhyped, which is a shame because the story/plot is there. The genres are ‘thriller’ and in the acknowledgments ‘horror’ but this book is far from either, it’s more of a drama in my opinion. I actually really enjoyed the bookish aspect and although I’m not sure how true those parts were I did like to read about the publishing process and huddles authors have to face.

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malvika_k's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was really mind boggling. The crux of the story is incredibly interesting, it’s a unique plot. But the whole time I felt I was being brainwashed, which I think was the point, but also was frustrating.

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