Yellowface

Phenomenal and heart-stopping. I could not put this book down when reading it, and it stayed with me in the corner of my mind for days afterwards (Like Athena’s ghost, maybe?).

Yellowface is written from the perspective of June Hayward, a mediocre and uninspired white author who steals the unfinished, unpublished manuscript of her much more talented friend/nemesis Athena Liu, an up-and-coming Asian American author who passes away unexpectedly. Publishing the stolen manuscript under a racially ambiguous pseudonym, June deals with the fallout of falsely claiming a narrative she’s never lived in.

Do you read to relax? This is not the book I’d recommend for you. However, it’s a paradox of a book-within-a-book, and you’re left wondering how June Hayward pulled off her scam… once again.