June is an unsuccessful writer who is friends with Athena Liu, a beautiful, clever and successful Asian-American author. When Athena chokes on a pancake in front of June, she sees an opportunity to advance in the publishing industry in her friend’s wake. This novel explores the subject of plagiarism and how one defines their work, as well as the power of social media to promote or destroy. Reading about June’s ups and downs was distressing, sad and irritating at the same time, and I felt a kind of disgust regarding what she had done. This powerful novel provides an interesting insight into the publishing industry and its relationship with race and diversity.
“And they suggest I publish under the name Juniper Song instead of June Hayward (“Your debut didn’t reach quite the same market we’re hoping for, and it’s better to have a clean start. And Juniper is so, so unique. What kind of name is that? It sounds Native, almost.”). Nobody talks about the difference in how “Song” might be perceived versus “Hayward.” No one says explicitly that “Song” might be mistaken for a Chinese name, when really it’s the middle name my mother came up with during her hippie phase in the eighties and I was very nearly named Juniper Serenity Hayward.”