I thoroughly enjoyed Yellowface by R.F. Kuang! This was such a compelling trainwreck in the best possible way. June, our unreliable narrator, makes increasingly terrible choices as she steals her dead friend’s manuscript and poses as Asian to publish it, and I couldn’t look away. The pacing made it gripping and the commentary on publishing and cultural appropriation is sharp. Even Athena, who we’re initially meant to sympathize with after she chokes on a pancake and becomes June’s victim, is revealed to also be pretty insufferable by the end. I haven’t had this much fun reading about characters I couldn’t stand in ages. The only thing I didn’t love was how much time was spent on June thinking she was seeing Athena’s ghost - it felt unnecessary in an otherwise sharp and entertaining story.