June 2025 - Yellowface - R. F. Kuang

For our sixth book of 2025, we have a piece of satirical fiction.

'Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.

So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.

So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.

But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.'

This book is available on Kindle. For international delivery you can find it from Blackwells and it may also be available at the library or an English language book store.

We are a "real" book club, which means we do read the book before the meet-up and discuss it. New members are always welcome.

We need to notify the venue about how many will attend, so please make sure your RSVP status is accurate.

Hope to see you there!