Reading Diary: Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan

Here is a synopsis from the publisher:

The stunning sequel to Daughter of the Moon Goddess delves deeper into beloved Chinese mythology, concluding the epic story of Xingyin—the daughter of Chang’e and the mortal archer, Houyi—as she battles a grave new threat to the realm, in this powerful tale of love, sacrifice, and hope.

After winning her mother’s freedom from the Celestial Emperor, Xingyin thrives in the enchanting tranquility of her home. But her fragile peace is threatened by the discovery of a strange magic on the moon and the unsettling changes in the Celestial Kingdom as the emperor tightens his grip on power. While Xingyin is determined to keep clear of the rising danger, the discovery of a shocking truth spurs her into a perilous confrontation.

Forced to flee her home once more, Xingyin and her companions venture to unexplored lands of the Immortal Realm, encountering legendary creatures and shrewd monarchs, beloved friends and bitter adversaries. With alliances shifting quicker than the tides, Xingyin has to overcome past grudges and enmities to forge a new path forward, seeking aid where she never imagined she would. As an unspeakable terror sweeps across the realm, Xingyin must uncover the truth of her heart and claw her way through devastation—to rise against this evil before it destroys everything she holds dear, and the worlds she has grown to love . . . even if doing so demands the greatest price of all.

This book was so good! Seriously, if I had a billion dollars, I would commission a 50-episode drama series adaptation of the whole duology. The synopsis gives you a good idea of the plot. There isn't anything particularly ground-breaking with regard to the plot. What really made this fun for me to read was how well Tan builds the world and sets the emotional stakes. Even the love triangle, which is a trope that I typically don't care for, was done well enough that I got super invested in. Seriously, though, based on Tan's descriptions of the setting and outfits and magic, this book deserves to be a drama with an unlimited budget for costumes and CGI and beautiful actors. It's an engrossing fantasy, and I'm thrilled to know that Tan is set to write another book within the world of this duology. And do check out the author's website. There are some good illustrations of the characters.

Reading Diary: Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Here is a synopsis from the publisher's website:

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 blew my mind! I stayed up til 1:30 AM to finish it last night. But I don't quite know what to say about it. The story is a fast-paced read. June's first-person narration as her mental state deteriorates gives the narrative the quality of a horror story, but the actual conclusion is too real. There are places that really made me stop and think about how I as a white woman interact with Chinese media, like writing fanfic of The Untamed. The narrative doesn't let anyone off too easily, I think. Most of the time, I sided with June's critics, but there were a few places I found myself -- if not agreeing wholly with her, at least somewhat nearby. For example, in one scene, June gives a reading and holds a Q & A and is confronted by a young Asian-American woman who criticizes her for telling an Asian story as a white woman. June replies, "I think it's dangerous to start censoring what authors should and shouldn't write...I mean, turn what you're saying around and see how it sounds. Can a Black writer not write a novel with a white protagonist?" (quoted from this NPR review of the novel since I don't have my copy handy).

I kind of get what June is saying because it reminds me of conversations around acting and how only queer actors should play queer roles because it can put actors in danger of being forcibly outed as well as pigeonhole them in roles. The part where I say "I agree, June, but..." is that while it should theoretically be okay for writers to tell stories outside of their culture and race, the real problem is that industries and consumers sideline creators of color in favor of white creators far too often. It's like the reason we say Black Lives Matter -- it's not that "all" lives don't matter, it's that historically, Black lives have been excluded and therefore we need to make a conscious effort to bring them up with those "all" lives. Or why feminism isn't about (or shouldn't be about) putting women above men. It's just that historically women have been pushed down in favor of men, so we need to bring them up to equity. The same goes with writing. Maybe someday it won't matter who tells what story, but right now, as this novel brilliantly illustrates, writers of color are pushed aside in favor of white writers to ridiculous degrees and that is something we need to contend with.

Anyway, I can't recommend this novel enough. It's both excellent food for thought and an excellent, thrilling story.