A review by juney_
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.75

Spoiler

Ok I will admit.... When the book ended and Juniper didn't die, I was a bit sad. I feel bad for literally wanting the main character to be killed off, but she is also such a piece of shit and made me so angry the entire book. Of course, Kuang is an amazing writer and i absolutely adored this book the entire time. But I hate Juniper. I think everyone probably hates juniper [unless they're racist tbh]. She's a very easily hateable character. Even when she seemingly tries to redeem herself by claiming that Athena stole her stories from her, i still hated her. 

I knew she would get worse as the book progressed, but it was such a trainwreck watching her life crumble and then her trying to haphazardly cover up her tracks. I loved it, honestly. In terms of character depth, she is so well written. Every flaw is on the page and she tries so hard to hide them all from other characters and also the reader by trying to justify her racist actions. But it's so plain as day. I don't remember exactly what part it was, but there was such a clear shift from "I'm not racist i swear" to "I'm a woman and I'm oppressed why don't I get the same love that POC get". It's incredibly fucked up obviously. But Juniper really reminded me of people i have met in my life. If someone calls them out for their racism, they are reactionary and turn the pity onto themselves instead of apologizing and learning from their actions. 

While i did want her to die in the end, I thought about it more and realized that the ending that happened made so much sense as well. Kuang demonstrates so well the way cancel culture works and the turnaround of the internet (especially with letting things slide, like racism). With the book ending saying something along the lines of "and the cycle continues forever" I was like ... fuck you're really right. White people get so many passes and "it's ok it was one time"s. It was an unfortunately accurate depiction of our current reality when it comes to social attitudes about racism. One of those kinds of endings where you're like "Jesus fucking Christ they wrote it so well that Juniper almost feels too real". Do you know what I mean? I am unsure if I'm articulating it well enough.

Nevertheless, I thought this book was excellent. I was so hooked on it, and I have never had a book make me question and think about what would happen next as much as this one did. Every part of it was so surprising and yet made so much sense. 

4.75 because of me wanting Juniper to die, It is still such an amazing book.