Pitched in the vein of WHITE IVY and THE OTHER BLACK GIRL, it follows June Hayward, a white author whose rival, Athena Liu, has seen much more success. When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals Athena’s manuscript about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during WWI and presents it as her own under the pen name “Juniper Song.” While the author has an intimate knowledge of the publishing industry, publishing twitter, and the anatomy of a publishing scandal, the novel fails to rise above keen observation and add to the discourse.
At the beginning of the book, June Hayward is struggling to write her second novel after her debut failed to make a splash. June’s perception of success has been altered by former classmate and acquaintance Athena Liu, a cross-genre literary darling, whose three novels received increasing accolades and advances. When Athena invites June out for drinks to celebrate her recent Netflix deal, June knows this will only increase her jealousy, but agrees because she knows Athena will pay. To her surprise, the alcohol helps cut the tension she feels, and the two have a great evening, leading to Athena inviting June back to her apartment. Athena gives June a copy of her just-finished unpublished manuscript that no one knows about for feedback before challenging her to a pancake-eating contest, in which she chokes and dies.
June feels awful that she wasn’t able to rescue her friend, and mourns her death by taking time off from her day job
to read her manuscript. June immediately recognizes that the novel is Athena’s magnum opus, a surefire bestseller if it were published. Without a moment’s hesitation, June begins to retype Athena’s manuscript with her own edits before sending it to her agent as her own. Her agent is impressed by the book, and is able to get her a six-figure splashy book deal. Her publisher is excited for the book but concerned by the optics of a white woman writing from the perspective of Chinese laborers. June decides to publish the novel under her middle name, Song, because it sounds ambiguously Asian, and emphasizes that her friendship with Athena inspired the novel to avoid accusations of plagiarism.
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