Yellowface

After its initial success, The Last Front and June become the focus of online criticism. The novel is perceived as racist and June as a villain for whitewashing history. June receives support from her new friends, Marnie and Jen, who have formed a group chat named “Eden’s Angels” with June. They tell her to ignore the hate and stay offline, but June, who cannot disconnect herself from social media, becomes entrenched in the negativity. The reviews criticize both her depiction of white characters as sympathetic and Chinese characters as lacking agency.

Reviewers focus on June’s identity and the novel’s cultural inconsistencies. One reviewer even goes so far as to lump The Last Front in with other “historical exploitation novels: inauthentic stories that use troubled pasts as an entertaining set piece for white entertainment” (99). As more of these reviews roll in, June obsesses over them and builds arguments in her head to refute their claims. At an event, she responds to a question about her right to tell this story with a defense against censorship. It divides the audience, but June is pleased with her response.

Amid this public criticism, June internally criticizes Athena. She remembers a time when the two went to a museum for an exhibit on the Korean War, and June found Athena speaking with a veteran, taking notes on his story.