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Also known as Juniper Song Hayward, Juniper Song

Appears from the start

A white novelist whose first book made little impact. She has measured herself against her more successful college acquaintance Athena Liu for years. After witnessing Athena's sudden death, June takes an unpublished manuscript from Athena's apartment and convinces herself that revising it entitles her to claim it as her own.

Appears from the start

A Chinese American novelist who achieved the literary success June wanted, publishing acclaimed and lucrative books at a young age. Brilliant, socially confident, and often ruthless in turning experience into material, she dies unexpectedly while June is visiting her apartment.

First appears in chapter 4

An editor at Eden Press who is enthusiastic about June's manuscript on the Chinese Labour Corps. She guides the book through acquisition and revision while helping shape the polished author identity under which it will be marketed.

First appears in chapter 2

Athena's former boyfriend, whom June knows from their overlapping literary circle. Grieving and uncertain about Athena's private work, he becomes one of the people June must manage as attention turns toward the origins of her novel.

First appears in chapter 5

A publicity professional assigned to help turn June's new book into a major release. Her work places June before reviewers, booksellers, interviewers, and online audiences whose approval can rapidly become hostility.

First appears in chapter 14

A former junior employee at Eden Press who recognizes Athena's project in June's published novel. Her knowledge of the manuscript's path through the publisher makes her a dangerous witness when questions about authorship intensify.

First appears in chapter 9

A prominent reviewer who sharply criticizes June's novel and its treatment of Chinese history. June treats her review as part of an online campaign against the book and responds by scrutinizing the critic rather than the criticism.

First appears in chapter 2

Athena's mother, bereaved and protective of her daughter's memory. Her limited knowledge of Athena's unpublished writing gives June temporary reassurance but cannot settle the growing public suspicion around the stolen project.

First appears in chapter 5

June's mother, who regards her daughter's renewed publishing success with pride but has little access to the fear and resentment driving it. Their conversations show how thoroughly June separates her public triumph from its hidden source.

First appears in chapter 2

A writer from June and Athena's wider professional circle. Like many people in that world, she is both a social connection and an audience before whom reputation, envy, and literary status are constantly being measured.