Yellowface (January 2024) Group Read Discussion

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

This is the group thread for Yellowface!

Content Warnings: death, racism, online harassment (including death threats), rape/sexual assault, suicidal idealization, war (mentioned)

This thread is open for discussion beginning December 8th! Please keep in mind that spoilers are allowed (mark as a spoiler) in this thread but only up to the group's current reading place. Do not spoil the book if you've read further than the group. Any extra days of the month can be used to catch up if needed! Page numbers are an approximation based on the hardcover or paperback that is the default on Goodreads.

The Group Read Discussion schedule is as follows:

Week of 01/08
January 08: Chapters 1-2
January 09: Chapters 3-4
January 10: Chapters 5-6
January 11: Chapters 7-8
January 12: Chapters 9-10
January 13: Chapters 11-12
January 14: Chapters 13-14

Week of 01/04
January 15: Chapters 15-16
January 16: Chapters 17-18
January 17: Chapters 19-20
January 18: Chapters 21-22
January 19: Chapters 23-24


You can read the group book at any time during the month and at your own pace. This is the pace the group will be using, but if you read ahead or will be giving spoilers, please mark them (click the "some html is ok button"). If you have any questions a mod or another member can help you.

[Lexus]

I enjoyed this one!

[Juliane]

I only started this and am up to chapter 4 but wow June is an unreliable narrator and I'm very torn about despising/liking her although the justifications for her actions are already beginning to annoy me.

Also can't decide if June and Athenas relationship can even come close to be considered a "friendship" as it seems so freaking toxic but that could also all be related to June being such a dodgy narrator.

Looking forward to finding out just how far she is willing to go to protect herself.

Also note to self: Watch/Read a reminder about first-aid, including the Heimlich manoeuver, because even just reading that scene in the book was kind of scary

[✨ Brianna Raquel ✨, New Procrastinator]

I kept putting this book off for so long, and I hate that I did. It was easily a 5-star read. This was my first R.F. Kuang, and I definitely need to get into her other books.

Isn't it crazy how a lot of the things Juniper sees on twitter (and sides with 🙄) are prevalent things in the twitter community? Like happening as of a few months ago? Maybe those authors should read this book.

[✨ Brianna Raquel ✨, New Procrastinator]

Juliane wrote: "I only started this and am up to chapter 4 but wow June is an unreliable narrator and I'm very torn about despising/liking her although the justifications for her actions are already beginning to a..."

It shocked me when she said they hung out briefly in college! I really just thinks she so snakey, so we saw her view of her "friendship" with Athena. I think Athena's view would've seemed more like a distant friendship.

[Jen]

Is anyone still reading it? It took forever to arrive at my library, I picked it up today!

[Juliane]

I'm up to chapter 16 now and it is kind of scary how delusional June is becoming already in finding excuses for what she did and her plans on how to talk her way out of various situations that threaten to expose her scam.

@ Brianna I agree about the whole twitter discourse its amazing how well R.F. Kuang manages to capture the social media frenzies that are so ridiculously endemic these days and some of them really seem to be plucked very closely from reality especially with the discussions of bad mouthing or review bombing other authors and such.

I see this in the way June and her author friends behave including the ways she uses social media to find a way to defend herself. But also, even though of course the reader knows that the source of the accusations of Plagarism is correct, the way these spiralled into death threats by people who couldn't be bothered to check sources or even do the tiniest bit of research is insane.

Also I don't think I can remember a single good thing that June said about Athena, she always finds ways to put her down or put a negativ spin on things, I'm really disgusted how much June is willingly profiting from her death. And with the revelation of chapter 16 (view spoiler)[that she took even more of Athenas notes and writing than just the one script, like when did she even have the time to do that after Athenas death? There really seems to be no end to her deception, especially now she can't seem to follow up the stolen story with her own and becomes so jealous of others being successful writers and wanting to regain her own fame. (hide spoiler)]