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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
DNF at 20%. I just felt like the characters weren't being set up well and the writing style wasn't my fav. I love the concept though and if I need a silly, art heist read I'll pick it back up
This book was nothing to rave about, but it solidly kept my interest. It was interesting to examine cultural issues against the backdrop of an international art heist.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
cute concept, very bay area
everyone tries really hard to be sexy all the time
everyone tries really hard to be sexy all the time
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Portrait of a Thief was good, but a disappointment. While the character dynamics were interesting, the plot warranted more than what was offered. There were a lot of lead-ups to the heists. The planning was well done, but once it was time for the actual heist it was over in a single page. Maybe my expectations were too high after reading Six of Crows, but for a heist book, I was expecting the heists to be on the page and not happen off-page. I did enjoy the cultural background and the characters,
just an fyi i thought this book was a high 3, but i'm rounding up. maybe a good 3.7 or 3.8
spoilers ahead
i really enjoyed the concept of the story, but i couldnt suspend my disbelief long enough to imagine a group of college students being able to pull off a stunt of this magnitude. it felt like the charas play into the stereotype of being high achieving, esp with all of them attending a "prestigious" brand name school. the book was also really philosophical. there was way too much time spent contemplating being an immigrant or a child of diaspora as well as colonialism in general. it started getting real repetitive real fast.
i will say i have a lot of mixed feelings about china and western colonialism since china was (and still is) a very aggressive imperialistic power in southeast asia. i mean i could see why some of the charas felt strongly about bringing back chinese art but it just feels...iffy.
i will say that some of the scenes got me emo lmao. overall a fun, light read. the ending felt a bit rushed but it was an attempt.
spoilers ahead
Spoiler
i'll start with what i liked. i enjoyed the dialogue and the relationships. the conversations were fun and the r/s didnt feel too forced, which is more than i can say for a lot of YA fiction nowadays. this book was an easy read and i guess we don't normally see aapi in literature so i'll give that a plus.i really enjoyed the concept of the story, but i couldnt suspend my disbelief long enough to imagine a group of college students being able to pull off a stunt of this magnitude. it felt like the charas play into the stereotype of being high achieving, esp with all of them attending a "prestigious" brand name school. the book was also really philosophical. there was way too much time spent contemplating being an immigrant or a child of diaspora as well as colonialism in general. it started getting real repetitive real fast.
i will say i have a lot of mixed feelings about china and western colonialism since china was (and still is) a very aggressive imperialistic power in southeast asia. i mean i could see why some of the charas felt strongly about bringing back chinese art but it just feels...iffy.
i will say that some of the scenes got me emo lmao. overall a fun, light read. the ending felt a bit rushed but it was an attempt.
I wanted to like this book. It started off promising, I liked the premise but it quickly lost believability. The pacing felt off too and the heists themselves weren't very exciting, which is what you want from a book about thieves and stealing. There was a lot of repetition and so many scenes were glossed over. About halfway into the book, I couldn't wait for it to get over and then near the end, I just started skipping sections because I did not like the ending which felt more contrived than the plot up to that point.
Two things about this book:
The author uses the sky as a way to describe the beauty of a place *alot* and I never notice these things but I noticed it here.
Second, we get it Irene can do anything. This is repeated so often in this book.
But, I would totally read another heist book with these characters.
The author uses the sky as a way to describe the beauty of a place *alot* and I never notice these things but I noticed it here.
Second, we get it Irene can do anything. This is repeated so often in this book.
But, I would totally read another heist book with these characters.