07/01/22 -  i have so many thoughts i don't even know where to start to place them on this one and given that this was a very early advanced copy so rating may change. the themes kuang was able to highlight were so exacting, one being with the treatment asian americans, bipoc, and minorities get from the publishing industry on the expectations to pander to the 'american' audience and to sell their trauma stories. this being said, kuang is able to put into words how wrong it is for white authors to write bipoc history and culture especially the fact that they make profit from the history and trauma that is not their own or have a personal connection to. another general one in particular being how so many individuals, not just in the publishing industry, but in this workforce society have to give up something of who they are to cater to their job to put food on their table.

june hayward made me angry like i've never been before when it comes to a character on paper, her entire existence summed up the white privilege in the industry which made it more horrible to see the things she did to sell her book on real traumatic history of chinese during the wars. her self-victimizing and absorbed behavior made it all the more seething with all her woe is me. athena liu, it was intriguing how kuang characterized her with other characters' thoughts on her flaws too that's all i can say for now. the entire dynamic and june and athena's character arcs had me hooked in honestly, turning the page needing to know what was to happen.

when it comes to this story, the writing seems too familiar for readers who know rfk's own stories and her social media voice that we can see similarities with her own stories lining up with some characters and how aapi are treated in the industry. like you can see the muddy thoughts at points through the story it feels like its rfk's personal voice projected onto characters. another thing, in my own personal feelings i think not all may be able to get the satire completely. i mean yes it easy to comprehend but there's something about if one is either in publishing or deeply involved in online book spaces where there's constant reader and author discourse, then one will be able understand to another extent the overall inside joke of topics this book covers. i do have to say being a reader who avidly loves the poppy war trilogy and recently read babel, the writing in this work was a huge contrast to those fantasy works, something i never expected or was used to from kuang.
i still feel like i have some things to cover so more thoughts to come when its closer to release date possibly.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an copy in advance in exchange for an honest review.

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10/16/21 -  serotonin levels shot up when i saw this announcement. as always, will be reading anything rfk writes and babel hasn't even come out yet! just already know this will be a masterpiece with how its going to be a callout to racism and so called diversity in the publishing industry and as said in the description, the erasure of Asian American voices and history.