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.
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"“Her magnificent novel uses satire to shine a light on systemic racial discrimination and the truth that often hides behind the twisted narratives constructed by those in power.”"
— Booklist (starred review)
“Helen Laser gives a mesmerizing performance…that brings out the novel’s themes. This is a riveting production of a thrilling and thought-provoking story. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile“Viciously satisfying…addictive.”
— New York Times Book Review“It’s addictive, shocking, compelling, ridiculous, and extremely fun to read.”
— Paste magazine“This novel is satire at its finest…Be prepared for a shocking and wild ride.”
— Amazon.com“Excellent satire from Kuang…This is not to be missed.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Hard to put down, harder to forget.”
— Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling author" The story has promise, but this writer feels a need to overwrite and use a grandiose vocabulary only surpassed by the rapidity of the reader. While the main character spews blamelessness in stealing another writers work and the publishing industry underbelly, I followed the chapters easily. My biggest problem is why writers have to take a political stance? I don't care about their opinion. It offended me and doesn't add a thing! "
— KSLL, 10/28/2024R. F. Kuang is the #1 New York Times bestselling author whose books have been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy awards. She is a Marshall scholar and a translator and has an MPhil degree in Chinese studies from Cambridge and an MSc in contemporary Chinese studies from Oxford.