The December 1 discussion will center around Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. Kuang is the award-winning, #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy, Babel: An Arcane History, and Katabasis. She has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford; she is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale.
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.
With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.
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Summary taken from Publishers website.
If you would like to read Yellowface through Holy Cross Libraries, you can either use the in library only copy on reserve at Dinand or order a physical copy through Interlibrary loan.
To use the reserve copy, go to the Dinand Library circulation desk and ask to check it out from reserve. You may use the book in the library for three hours at a time. To request the book through Interlibrary loan, follow the directions below.
Yellowface
by
Follow the link below to your Interlibrary Loan account. If it is your first time using ILL, you will need to complete your account details. After that, look in the menu on the left side of the home screen for where it says "ILL Request." Click on "Book." You will see a form to enter in the book details. Enter the following details in the appropriate fields (rows that are highlighted are required/recommended for easier processing of your request):
| Authors/Editors | R.F. Kuang |
| Title | Yellowface |
| Publisher | Harper Collins |
| Place of Publication | |
| Date of Publication | 2025 |
| Edition | |
| ISBN (International Standard Book Number) | 9780063250857 |
You will also need to choose a pick up location. This is a required field with a dropdown menu. Select "Pick-up in Dinand." Other fields can be left blank. Once you have filled out the form, click Submit Request. You will receive an email when the book is ready for you to pick up.
If you would like an E-book copy of Yellowface, you can sign up for a BPL or WPL library card and download their ebook borrowing apps to request the book.
All Massachusetts residents, including people who attend school in Massachusetts, can register for a free eCard through the Boston Public Library. This eCard gives you access to the Boston Public Library's online resources, including e-books and audiobooks through OverDrive, Libby, and Hoopla.
As a Holy Cross student, you can receive an ARC (Academic and Research Collaborative) library card that allows you to use a number of different libraries in and around Worcester, including the Worcester Public Library. Visit the Dinand Library circulation desk to get your ARC card. This card gives you access to print resources and online resources like Libby and OverDrive for e-books and audiobooks.