I remember seeing this book on Pinterest when it came out, gazing longingly at the cover, wondering if I would ever get to read it. Back then, I was still at an all-girls traditional Catholic boarding school. I had known that I was gay since sixth grade, and devoured any queer media I could get my hands onto safely. Finally reading The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School was an emotional experience, to say the least.

Though distinctly a YA book, with sometimes juvenile writing that can wrench you out of the narration, it is still such a beautiful and emotional story. It’s a deep exploration of family, cultural heritage, and of religion and its effects, adeptly mixing romantic and fluttery feelings with dark realities and tones, humor with sobriety.

The night I finished reading this book at 11:30 pm, I cried so much. People sometimes complain about queer media that centers the coming out experience, but seem to forget that for some people, coming out is simply a dream that they can only live out in fiction. The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School was, therefore, for me simply escapism, a dream. I believe that if I had read this back when I was still in high school, I would have loved it even more, and cried even more.

This is the story of a queer, Mexican girl of indigenous heritage, growing up in a religious household, and it's important that it be told.

Reading Yellowface is an experience of its own.

Kuang’s in this style is simply incredible. Her writing is fluid, very personal and direct, very logical and straight to the point. It manages to characterize June perfectly, to minimize what she is actually doing through the matter-of-fact descriptions, and to keep you hooked at the same time.

June as a character is obviously meant to be a Character, but the psychological exploration of her habit of projecting her own flaws onto others because of her insecurities and how it drives the narrative is really interesting, maybe because it’s a problem I deal with (though… not to this extent). The way she can justify her actions is genuinely fascinating and manages to keep the reader on their toes wondering what she will do next to save herself. Somehow she seems like a horrible person at the same time as being such a pitiful, miserable, and pretentious young girl.

When I was reading the book, I was surprised it ended. It felt like it hadn’t reached its climax yet, which left me disappointed, but in truth, I think it must be so. We are yet to know the true extent of June’s commitment, we haven’t reached the climax of the story because it ends before anything is resolved. The cliffhanger leaves you on the tips of your toes, wanting more. June is on such a high pedestal that you simply must see her fall. Does this tie into the criticisms of internet behavior, that we are constantly hungry for someone to topple over and be squished, be it righteously or not? I don’t know, maybe? Needless to say, the ending is frustratingly good.

At the end, we are left wondering whether this is June’s personal side of the story or her official side of the story, which the ending seems to suggest. In its current form, it is still clearly incriminating. What would this say about what really happened then, if this is her defense?

As said above, Yellowface is an experience, and by God was it an experience.