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 Athena gives June a copy of her just-finished unpublished manuscript that no one knows about for feedback before challenging her to a pancake-eating contest, in which she chokes and dies.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.
The novel, THE LAST FRONT, receives the marketing and publicity rollout June has always dreamed of, and as a result the book becomes a NYT bestseller, is selected for multiple high profile book clubs, and wins a Goodreads Choice Award. June is thrilled by her newfound success until a Twitter account called @athenaliusghost accuses June of plagiarism, starting a firestorm of criticism directed at June. She knows that they don’t have any credible proof to make this accusation, and her publisher encourages her to not comment on baseless rumors, as Twitter represents a small fraction of the book-buying community. But June is not ready to let her hard work come crumbling down, and uses a fake website to track down the creator of the account. She discovers that it’s Athena’s ex-boyfriend, who heard her talk about the book when they were together, and is attempting to extort June for part of her earnings. June soon realizes that he doesn’t have any hard evidence, and dismisses the threat. She then makes a statement on Twitter that manages to dampen the controversy.
When June’s publisher inquires about her next novel, she draws on Athena’s unpublished notes she also took that evening as inspiration for a novel about her mother. The novel is moderately well received with modest book sales. However, a journalist highlights entire passages plagiarized from a work-in-progress that Athena worked on at a writer’s retreat they both attended. Soon, the literary community takes notice and her professional contacts become more distant or cut ties completely. Worse, when Athena’s Instagram starts posting pictures of her holding THE LAST FRONT, June becomes convinced maybe Athena’s ghost is haunting her after all. When Athena’s Instagram messages June to meet up, she acquiesces. When she’s there, she can’t see Athena, only hears her, but admits to stealing her novel and not giving her credit. Immediately after, a vocal Asian critic mimicking Athena comes out from behind a bush, with a recording of their conversation, intending to reveal it to the press. June realizes her career will be unsalvageable if this tape is released, and punches her. However, she ends up pushing June down the stairs, and by the time June regains consciousness in the hospital, the article has been published. With no other options, June begins writing a proposal for a tell-all memoir about stealing Athena’s book.