Yellowface by R.F. Luang is a trippy story about a young woman, June, who soars into bestseller territory after stealing her “friend’s” manuscript.

June met Athena during their enrollment at Yale. Athena seems to have it all and becomes a renowned author early in her career. Meanwhile, June’s first book was a flop.

Spoilers ahead- June seizes the opportunity to turn her stasis around following Athena’s death. She achieves acclaim after finishing Athena’s draft about Chinese laborers during WWI. The aftermath shifts between the ups and downs of success: adoration as well as harsh criticism. Readers begin attacking June’s authenticity as a white woman writing about Chinese history and also begin questioning whether she is the true author.

This sends June on a spiral of paranoia and obsession with social media. Can she write the next big novel to erase the negativity, or is she only as good as Athena allowed her to be?

A solid read with plenty of interest and great writing albeit a bit repetitive toward the end.