Yellowface was every bit as propulsive and razor-sharp as the huge hype surrounding it has indicated! I was hesitant to pick it up, because Babel was just too dense for me to really enjoy, despite its excellent prose, themes and story. Thankfully this was my Evergreen Readers book club selection for July!
This novel is so different from R.F. Kuang’s previous work, zippy contemporary fiction vs complex high fantasy/sci-fi. I am in awe of her range. It is immediately attention grabbing, and a story I just couldn’t look away from. The plot at first reminded me of A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne. But Yellowface is so deep into the current zeitgeist, I felt myself nodding along at the clear references she was making to the publishing world and the obvious similarities to the publication of a certain novel with the initials A.D. 😆 
“I occupy that curious space where the fraction of the reading population that’s constantly online hates me, but the rest of America’s book buyers don’t.”
This line made me wonder if the average (i.e. not terminally online) person will understand the satire of this book, and actually sympathize with the protagonist! Juniper is AWFUL, but her every thought and action feels plausible. The racism, micro aggressions, entitlement, and cultural appropriation that is so commonplace is laid bare. I am quite curious as to how the machinations of this manuscript moving forward through the publishing world (that is eviscerated within) went down. Absolutely a perfect novel for book clubs and anyone who loves to talk books!