In this episode of Why You’re Reading, Ellie and Ellen dive into Yellowface—R.F. Kuang’s sharp, twisty take on the publishing world, identity, and who gets to tell which stories. They get into the messy, compulsively readable plot, the chaos of June Hayward’s downward spiral, and how Kuang blends satire, thriller, and social commentary.

They talk about Kuang’s genre jump from fantasy to literary fiction, the not-so-subtle takedown of the industry, and how social media plays its own role in the story. There’s also a look at the real-life stats behind publishing’s diversity problem, the impact of microaggressions, and the weird line between admiration and appropriation.

Plus, does this book age well with all those Twitter references? Will it still hit five years from now? And of course, the final call: shelf it, share it, or shred it?