Yellowface

I truly loved this book. I went into this frankly not knowing anything other than a high recommendation and an impression of what it was going to be about based on the name (and let's be honest, the name implies a very specific thing). From the outset, I was intrigued. I found the writing style captivating and casual, and especially loved how I could very easily follow Juniper's characterization and shifting attitudes throughout the book. While I read this I heard R.F. Kuang in an interview mention that this was meant to be a horror story about great loneliness, and that impacted my impression of the book in such a positive way as I was reading it. The turns this story took had me captivated to keep reading and I flew through it, absolutely no clue how it was going to end but loving it so much. I loved how nuanced the story was about the plights of consumption, creation, and critiques of media, especially when race plays a big part in the stories, as well as being a captivating satire and horror story in its own right. As a creator, it made me reflect on the act of creating so much and I was not expecting to have spent so much of this book doing that, while also entertained at Juniper and her incredibly warped perception of and experience with it as the story went on.