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remysharp.com · @remysharp.com@bridge.neodb.net

Rated Yellowface 8/10

Brilliantly written, almost car-crash like reading.<br/><br/>The story is very much set in the publishing world, which isn't something I know very well or is directly relatable, but I was still brilliantly drawn in by Kuang's characters.<br/><br/>It took me a while to fully realise that the protagonist, Juniper Song, is white (even if it says it right there in the blurb!), which, when it was written down in text made a lot of story even more cringe.<br/><br/>It's an interesting view into an individual being cancelled, then un-cancelled, then…somehow digging a deeper hole. I really couldn't find myself feeling any sympathy with the Juniper character and found myself often saying (albeit in my head): just walk away, start a-new, the damage is done.<br/><br/>Along side the cancel story, Kuang lets me, as a white reader, look in on a world where I don't really have any experience: Asian American culture in literature (and work), and how race is always in play for better or worse.<br/><br/>A great, intelligent read. Even if it keep making me think of the Batman slap meme...

#book

Published 2026-08-01 11:10 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere