I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I tried to read this back in the summer and paused at 11%, thinking I just wasn't in the mood for it at the time. Now I have tried again and given up only a little further along. It just isn't for me. Naledi, the main protagonist is a recent graduate and the narrative reads a bit young adult to me. I am sure her character has important things to say about institutional racism, but I didn't warm to her and got a bit fed up of the general humourlessness of the story and Naledi harping on about how brilliantly she did at university. The conversations with her mother and family in Botswana were littered with words in (I assume) an African language, but since I don't speak that language, they were meaningless to me.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"The Grand Scheme of Things" by Warona Jay is a first-person, dual-POV British contemporary novel set a few years after Brexit. The story follows Eddie, a Botswana-British playwright, who has completed a dystopian play. She faces challenges due to her birth name and race. To help her play succeed, she asks Hugo, a white British man, to pose as the writer. Their secret complicates their lives even further.

The setting plays a significant role, with references to Brexit and subtle nods to a character resembling JK Rowling, creating a vivid time period for the story. Themes of white privilege, ignorance, and artistic integrity are explored through both Eddie’s and Hugo’s perspectives. Their different experiences with the powerful agent Helen highlight the impact of racism, as she treats them very differently based on race.

Eddie, who has a long-term girlfriend, and Hugo, who is often in relationships, share a complex friendship that feels more like a shared struggle than genuine camaraderie. The book avoids romantic elements, instead focusing on deeper questions through their relationships and the dynamics surrounding them.

Content warning for racism and queerphobia. I recommend this book for readers interested in post-Brexit racism and complex character-driven relationships.

I found this novel difficult to follow - there was too many characters, sub plots and dialogue. It might be for someone else but it wasn’t for me.

**Features:**
- Black woman who is also a lesbian and first generation British citizen as the main character
- Explores racism and sexism in the theater world
- Examines the tension between the main character and her family caused by her sexuality, her choice of career, and being raised in a different culture.
- Shows the corrupting power of success

**Synopsis:**

Relebogile Naledi Mpho Moruakgomo, or Eddie for short, knows she has a masterpiece on her hands. However, when her play is rejected by every agency and competition she sends it to, she begins to suspect that her unusual name is the reason. After submitting it under a shorter male name, she finally gets interest only to be rejected once more when the agent discovers she is a black woman. Looking to expose the theater industry for its biases and desperate to give her play an honest chance, Eddie reaches out to Hugo Lawrence Smith. In addition to having a similar passion for the theater, Hugo is everything that Eddie is not. Together, they hatch a plan to call out the theater industries by using Hugo’s name and face to make Eddie’s play a success. However, neither could anticipate just how successful Eddie’s play would end up being.

**Thoughts:**

This book does everything that the modern storyline in “By Any Other Name” failed to do and I am so happy I picked it up. The narration switches off between Eddie and Hugo and it is clear that they are recounting what has happened from a point in the future. Though not strictly in letter format, the characters tell the story as if they are saying it directly to the other. This makes the story feel intimate from the very beginning and I found it really compelling. Though there are definitely differences, Eddie’s and Hugo’s relationship is similar to the main characters in “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” and I would definitely recommend this read if you really enjoyed that aspect of the book.

Eddie herself is a smart, determined, and talented individual that finds herself stuck between worlds both socially and professionally. Her side of the story is just as much about navigating the complexities of her life that inspired her play as it is about trying to make her play successful. Nothing about her experience felt forced or overdone except for a couple of small moments that I found odd for her character. Her story has an agenda, but it manages to avoid hitting you over the head with it. Though I naturally found Hugo’s position less compelling, I liked his character voice and enjoyed what his perspective brings to the story as a whole. I could easily see Eddie’s perspective losing some of its welcome if Hugo’s wasn’t also included to balance things out. My only complaint is that there are a couple of brief moments where the story started to drag. However, this didn’t ruin my overall experience and I would highly recommend this read!

I made it to 27% in this book and had to put it down. I can't force myself to read anymore, especially not if the book just is not for me. I enjoyed the humor and the plot itself. My brain is quite picky with writing style, especially on an ereader, and I think the formatting and writing style made this difficult for me to get into. I was laughing and intrigued in the beginning and tried to get into it, but this book just is not for me.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to provide honest feedback. Thank you for letting me read this!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a eARC of this novel in exchange for a honest review!

This was so enjoyable and overall a fabulous debut! I thought the dynamic of the two leads was very well done, the dialogue was punchy and the story kept me entertained. The characters felt real, the conversations felt viscerally uncomfortable, as intended. This had elements that reminded me of Yellowface, which I adored. There is something about characters scheming society that is so captivating to me!

I felt like the ending was a bit rushed, and I didn’t love the reveal in the last chapter. But overall this was a well written exploration of systematic racism in the arts and how trying to combat this can lead to messy and sometimes unexpected consequences. Would love to read more from this author!!

This book has some really well crafted scenes that get to saying what the author wanted to say in a smart and natural way that flows well with the characters' thoughts and conversation.
That said, it feels like the rest of the book was written as filler to get to those scenes.

Given the subject matter, a lot of the plot is very predictable from the beginning, and there were some moments when I genuinely considered DNFing as it felt like it was dragging on and what I was reading wasn't bringing any value to the story, the characters or the message. There was a lot of repeating the same thing or the character having the same thoughts many times that as a reader, took me out of the story and made me question why I was reading it.

I am glad I stuck through and got to all of the brilliant scenes (especially the one on the boat, I think that is one of the strongest parts of the whole book), but I wish there wasn't so much filler in between.

This is a debut and I will be looking at what the author writes next.




Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books | Washington Square Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

A powerful read that will definitely make you think.

(Reminds me of Disorientation in that regard)

A phenomenal new writer to keep an eye on!

"Art is a stressful game, Hugo. I know you know that now."

Overall, this was an entertaining and fast-paced read. It kind of felt like if Maame and Yellowface had a baby, in terms of its explorations of racism within publishing and broader industries, but also alongside a woman of color’s reflection and self-discovery via her connection to a white man. The pacing was great and the conclusion was satisfying. That being said, my holdups with the book:
- Nahid’s behavior and decisions often didn’t make sense, particularly her treatment of Eddie. That was the weakest part of the whole book to me.
- Hugo’s voice felt inauthentic at various points (maybe it’s just because I hated him)
- I’m not clear as to why it had to be written as letters/stories told between the two MCs’ points of view. It added nothing to the story and often just made for a slightly clunkier read.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Grand Scheme of Things Warona Jay is a first person dual-POV British contemporary set over the course of a few years shortly after Brexit. Botswana-British playwright Eddie has just finished her first play, a dystopia inspired by her experiences, and hits a massive wall due to her birth name and race. In order to give her play a chance, she enlists her new acquaintance, Hugo, a white British man, to pretend to be the writer of her play. But the accolades aren’t the only thing coming their way as their web gets messier and messier the longer they keep their secret.

The time period this is set in almost felt like a character along with the cast of human characters. From the references to Brexit to the allusions to JK Rowling (Rowling is not referenced by name, but an off-page character who is meant to be a stand-in for her is present) and her sphere of influence, to the post-9/11 world we live in that impacted Iranian-British Nahid, the time and place is very richly fleshed out. There is no mistaking when and where the story is meant to take place from page one even if the place names were never given.

Warona Jay tackles white privilege, ignorance, and the integrity of art from both Eddie and Hugo’s POVs, having both POVs refer to the other as ‘you’ in the narration, and their frustrations and regrets with others and each other are front and center. Eddie has shortened their name from Naledi to Eddie due not only people mispronouncing it constantly but also because of how constantly Othered it made her. When we meet the powerful agent Helen from both Eddie and Hugo’s POVs, it’s very clear that their experiences with her are extremely different and there’s very little reason for that to have happened outside of racism. Helen doesn’t even really want to shake Eddie’s hand, but she is enthusiastic when she meets Hugo and eats up the story he and Eddie cooked up regarding why the same play was submitted twice under two different names and two different titles. There’s no question that publishing and theater have an issue with whiteness like many industries do and those issues are truly highlighted here.

Eddie and Hugo are never romantic and their friendship is very complex and sometimes doesn’t even feel like a friendship but more like two people who are trapped together in a room and can’t get out. Eddie is Queer with a long-term girlfriend with no interest in Hugo whereas Hugo is always in a romantic relationship but Eddie is never really an option. I would love to see more interracial romantic relationships in literature, but, here, I’m glad that’s not the direction it went because the themes worked so well with the dynamic as is. A romance could have complicated it in some very interesting ways, but Hugo’s romance with Nahid and Eddie’s increasingly complicated relationship with her girlfriend Blue because of her lies opened the door to other questions that allowed for further exploration of the world we live in.

Content warning for racism, including use of the N word, and Queerphobia

I would recommend this to readers looking for a book exploring post-Brexit racism and fans of works that focus on a variety of complex relationships that are very character-driven

I liked the idea of the book but I don't know if I bought that particular play would have been be better accepted if it was written by a white man. I think an organization that felt that way about a Black woman playwright also wouldn't be interested in producing a play that was written from her viewpoint about topical issues like Brexit, drawing on her personal experiences as a Black second-generation immigrant, even if they thought it was written by some rich white guy. Same plot but a less personal to her experience play would have been more believable. Something about that didn't feel quite right to me and that was the set up of the whole book. Maybe the point was that the producers were too dumb to understand what the play was about?

I did like that Naledi was flawed and kind of annoying despite her lofty goals.

The ending was flat. There was too much build up for that. I did think it raised a lot of valid points about art and racism but the book was a little clunky.

The plot spun a little out of control for me, but a pretty solid exploration of race and privilege in theatre/society.

I like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

The book appealed to me because it dealt with identity, theatre, and scamming. If you ever seen BlackKlansman then you would be a bit familiar with this tale. Girl writes a play inspired by her life, thoughts and feelings about Brexit, tries to shop it to a couple companies, they turn her down. She tries under a male name? They almost accept her until they find out she is black. But a chance meeting with a guy who thought her play had potential (who is white and wants to make it into theatre, plus his aunt is a famous writer) gives her the idea to use him to be her stand in, shop the play and see if it will not only prove her point that - A.) a black woman has a harder time than a white male and B.) the company that turned her down was racist and judgemental as hell.

I think poc would enjoy this more, and I think there is a lot to take away from this tale. We still live in a world where the white male or female has a lead up over others of a different color. There are stories to tell and many are being overlooked for their non-westernized names and color of their skin.

The only reason I marked it down a star is that I read it was supposed to be funny, I didn't find it funny. I found it rather serious, and by the third of the book's marker I wanted to shake the hell out of the guy and the choices he made regarding his success.

This is one of the freshest, new voices of 2025. I cannot wait to see what Jay writes next 10/10 stars!

Eddie has dreams of making it bigin London’s theatre world but all her submissions have been rejected. She suspects it is due to her real name which sounds anything but white. By chance Eddie meets Hugo who wants out of the corporate world. So they devise a plan to submit a script under his name. They vow to reveal the truth at some point. Now the fun starts!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Smart, insightful, at times hilarious, not to mention ambitiously plotted, The Grand Scheme of Things is a smartly executed novel filled with discussions and critiques of the West End Theatre industry, as well as British society as a whole. Highlighting the unspoken (and nearly as often spoken) prejudice against immigrants and various minority groups, Warona Jay’s debut novel is filled with strong social commentary and feels entirely relevant and shines a spotlight on the unfairness based on one’s upbringing and background. Despite its premise and at times cutting observations, this novel has much more to offer with its story. It’s also a story of young adults discovering their self-worth, confidence, and realizing their own identities. And that is on top of the elaborate web of deception Neledi/Eddie and Hugo spin, and all of the intentional and unintentional effects it has on everyone and everything around them.

Admittedly contemporary fiction novels that have multicultural or ethnic themes are not usually my go-to genre, particularly those that include harsh criticisms (sometimes at the cost of the reading experience or characters). However, I feel like the The Grand Scheme of Things is perfectly pitched and has a nice mix of humor, nuance, and balance of perspectives and opinions to avoid spiraling into an emotionally-charged rage novel. A great deal of consideration clearly went into each included theme and when paired with Jay’s sophisticated yet accessible tone, the overall experience was satisfying and impressive. I’ve seen some other reviewers mention the vague similarities to R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface, but the direction Jay takes the story and the heavy references to British culture and politics makes this comparison moot and unnecessary. While certainly not required to enjoy or appreciate the novel, there is a good amount of British political/cultural references that enhances the read, not to mention the signature lowkey sarcastic British style of humor that I personally love.

On the obvious theme of perceived identity, the novel does a wonderful job of exploring not only the prejudice that comes with one's background, but also the complexity of the topic. Words can be interpreted at face value or as being ethnically charged, intentional or unintentional, well-meaning or a back-handed compliment; you can never really know. The fact that such a lengthy internal dialogue over a single sentence comment only stresses how touchy of an issue this is, an area that the novel hits home perfectly. There are multiple occasions where as a white, privileged, wealthy man, Hugo is uncertain what to do or say to not be perceived as insulting or demeaning. Sometimes there isn’t a right thing to say no matter one's intentions and I loved the way Jay highlighted and explored that concept. There’s also the debate whether success is attributed due to the novelty of being different or being pigeonholed into a certain role and expectation because of it. Or as a playwright of color, its assumed Eddie will write plays about Black character experiences due to her background (despite being raised in Britain) vs questions raised should she write about other ethnic or white experiences. These are all great points of discussion with no clear answers or solutions, but I appreciated the tone and thoughtful manner the novel explores these topics.

One of the biggest contributing factors to why I enjoyed this novel so much was largely due to its wonderfully balanced and flawed characters. I should’ve expected it given the way the book’s synopsis is structured to highlight both characters individually, but I was pleasantly surprised by how evenly the story was split between Eddie and Hugo. While Eddie’s playwriting aspirations are clearly the plot’s primary focus, I did not expect for Hugo to also have a compelling character journey. Eddie is portrayed as being confident in who she is, has largely accepted her perceived “uniqueness” for better or for worse, and has clear goals and direction in life. Hugo on the other hand is perfect foil for Eddie being viewed as conventionally attractive and marketable, popular and wealthy, but lost in both his professional and romantic life. While Eddie is passionate, emotional, but honest with her feelings, Hugo is instead presentable, golden retriever like, but emotionally distant and disconnected with what he wants. In a story involving societal and racial prejudice, it's easy to demonize characters like Hugo for having everything Eddie doesn’t have, but I found the level of restraint and exploration of their differences to be very impressive. At times it even feels like Jay purposely portrays Hugo in a more flattering light when inevitable miscommunication and conflicts occur, though certain open-ended aspects of the book’s conclusion may swing the balance back towards Eddie at the end. The two characters also have wonderful chemistry and found it incredibly refreshing that the book purposely did not go down a romantic route with those two that would’ve felt overdone and distracting. One of my favorite parts of the book was their initial random meeting and how the two characters perceived the situation and each other so differently. The way each character was able to provide the support and encouragement each other needed when no one else in their lives could I thought was both heartwarming and very well executed.

Another area that I thought the novel excelled in was its portrayal of the struggling artist and how taxing the journey can be. Eddie’s reactions to her early rejections, setbacks, conflicted jealousy of others succeeding, it felt spot on. Despite the obvious signs that their plan of deception will be a success, the book does a great job of portraying the hopelessness and despair of being unable to break into a heavily contested and gate-kept industry. And by switching between Eddie and Hugo’s perspectives, the unbalance is even starker to look at, enhanced by Jay’s fantastic writing and dialogue for talent agent Helen.

While I felt the plot and characters were the book’s best elements, there were a few notable points that held this back from being a perfect read for me. While the plot is well-done and the book packs a ton of content into a sub 300 page book, I felt the story had a noticeably slow start due to a heavy focus on Eddie’s strained family relationships and connection to Botswana at the beginning. While this is crucial context relating to Eddie’s identity and motives in her life, the exposition felt a bit heavy and detracted my interest in the book’s playwriting premise; I would’ve preferred this context more spaced out rather than all up front at once. There is also a major turning point mid-way through the story involving Eddie’s relationship with her girlfriend Blue that felt a bit jarring and awkward. As the plot progressed, this development started to make more sense and I acknowledge its purpose within the context of the overall narrative. However, its execution left a bit to be desired and essentially painted Eddie as the villain to her own story (which may or may not have been an intentional choice given the overall trajectory of the story). While I found the book’s conclusion to be largely satisfying (thankfully avoiding an out of character happily ever after or a complete Shakespearean tragedy that would be unpleasant to read), one of the open-ended aspects involving Hugo felt at odds with the chapters from his perspective immediately preceding it. While there was a recurring trend of miscommunication involving Hugo’s romantic developments and morals, it felt like there was a sense of resolution upon Nahid’s ending with Eddie. The way the last chapter from Eddie’s perspective tosses that out the window felt a bit unnecessary or could’ve been better set-up as opposed to happening off-screen/page during the multi-year time jump. And that’s an unfortunate negative mark on what I consider an otherwise excellent conclusion to an explosive and ambitious plot.

Despite some mild reservations and nitpicks in places, I was thoroughly impressed The Grand Scheme of Things. Not only was Warona Jay able to catch and keep my attention with themes and plot elements I ordinarily wouldn't have found interesting, she was able to carefully and thoughtfully balance the prejudice and injustice immigrant and minority groups face on a daily basis. I thought this was a wonderful and smart debut novel!

WOW. What a fun read this was, I couldn't put it down. A lot of books are being compared to Yellowface with any somewhat similar plot (if you haven't read Yellowface, do it!), but I do think this is an apt comparison. The story follows Naledi Moruakgomo, who goes by Eddie as she tries to break into the very white, very male industry of playwriting in modern day UK. When she meets Hugo at a cafe and they form a friendship, they hatch a plan to have him submit it under his name, after she is rejected over and over. What happens next is quite the ride, and I found this book so propulsive. There was never a dull moment!

An impressive plot, strong lead characters and good writing. But something didn’t click for me and it never quite hooked me. Maybe just not the right season for me to read it.

I enjoyed being on the sidelines of the people we meet in this interesting and topical
modern day version of subtle and at the same time, over the top unintentional OR
not, discrimination directed towards a young woman and her attempt to have her
play successfully marketed.
The plan, which started out as a ‘simple secret,’ took on a life of its own that, by
the time hearts have broken, relationships destroyed and careers cracked, the
deception became more important that the societal issues that became the
ruination of many.
This is a powerful debut novel from the talented Warona Jay. It is a privilege to
have been able to read this book.
My thanks to Atria Books via NetGalley for the ARC and download of this book for
review purposes.

Not what I thought it would be. An interesting premise but not the book for me. It might appeal to other readers.