Athena Liu and Junie Hayward went to university together and were aspiring authors. Athena is beautiful, wealthy and Asian. Junie is a self-described cisgendered heterosexual white woman from nowhere. Athena snagged a major deal with Harper Collins, and struck gold with her inspired writing. Junie published her debut novel under a small independent press and was barely noticed. One night at Athena's palatial condo, Junie and Athena are partying when a horrific accident results in Athena's death. Junie sees an opportunity and grabs Athena's work-in-progress which she goes on to publish as her own work. At first Junie believes she has gotten away with it, but soon threatening messages arrive which reveals that her betrayal and deception have been detected. How far will Junie go to protect her stolen success?

This book was the first of my "chosen twelve" for 2024. I'm so glad it made the list! Kuang really goes for the jugular here and I enjoyed it so much. She spares no one in her blistering satire; publishers, BIPOC authors, white authors, social media, and readers alike are on the receiving end. She challenges much of modern thinking around these topics while depicting the characters in very multifaceted and realistic ways. Neither June nor Athena is a thoroughly good or ethical person, raising the dilemma of how far is too far when it comes to ambition and success. So well written. I loved it.