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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
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.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Colonisation
Moderate: Xenophobia, Grief
Minor: War
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
What a great premise for this book: Chinese-American students who are hired to take back stolen pieces of Chinese art and return them to their rightful home. However. The writing bogs down a very promising story, with a lot of quirked eyebrows, the examination of many of the characters' planes of their cheekbones, and the golden light of the afternoon dancing on skin. I rolled my eyes many times, especially on the sixth mention of "she had been in Beijing only two weeks before [or one week before, or three weeks before]," and the heist is laughable. When one character is leaving Stockholm with a stolen piece--and the details are all over the news--the security officers have apparently been hypnotized because they're like, Oh, yeah, your piece is super rad, and I laughed incredibly hard. The characters also use Google docs, watch Ocean's 11 as a group, and check out heist movies from the library while googling museum security systems. The final heist was so dumb that I didn't even follow it.
I have a lot of plot-hole questions here (e.g., Why would a billionaire choose some inexperienced students to pull this off?), but I think the author really wanted to write a book about the diasporic experience of the children of Chinese immigrants. If you're looking for a story in that vein, there are much better ones out there to be found. If you're looking for a heist story, this ain't it.
I have a lot of plot-hole questions here (e.g., Why would a billionaire choose some inexperienced students to pull this off?), but I think the author really wanted to write a book about the diasporic experience of the children of Chinese immigrants. If you're looking for a story in that vein, there are much better ones out there to be found. If you're looking for a heist story, this ain't it.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Crying about the diaspora experience is exactly what I expected I'd do from reading this book, but it surprised and enthralled me nonetheless.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
DNF. This book is sorely in need of an editor, not to mention that it’s just completely ludicrous. A company with unlimited funds chose five college kids with no experience as thieves to steal back five looted cultural treasures? Why? Who would do that? And the students are seriously training themselves to accomplish this heist by . . . watching Ocean’s Eleven? I don’t mind far-fetched stories, but come on. That’s just dumb. I don’t get why this one is getting so many great reviews.
I did not enjoy this book at all. It's billed as a heist novel but it's so slow and boring that it feels mislabeled. The first 20% of the book is just the five of them whining about how they don't want to do the heist. Literally every single chapter is just five different perspectives of people all saying the same thing: they have too much to lose to do the heist, but they secretly want to. It's absolutely ridiculous, especially considering they tell us in the blurb that they go through with the heists!!
There are 69 chapters in this book, and the heists take up maybe five chapters. And I think that's being generous. There was very little about the heists themselves and very little about them planning the heists. It was mostly just five perspectives of everyone saying the same thing over and over again. It was just every single person thinking they weren't enough and thinking of their complicated relationship to China. Those feelings are, of course, valid and important. But when it's five different people all thinking the exact same thing for 400 pages it gets boring. This book maybe would have been better if it was told only from Will's perspective (or maybe Irene's). There was no need for the five different perspectives when every single character felt like the exact same person. Just sub out their school and major and that's the only difference.
The author also did something that really began to annoy me over the course of the book. She started probably 40% of her sentences with 'He though about...' or 'She thought back to...' or 'He though of...'. Over and over and over again!! It was too much! The whole book was just way to introspective, especially considering how repetitive everyone's thoughts were. (OK, 40% is probably an unfair exaggeration but it honestly did feel like that).
I also found the ending completely unsatisfying. It felt like a cop out.So you're telling me there was just no follow up from the FBI at all? They got off completely scot free?? Even though Will had two of the heads just chilling in his room when he was arrested? And even though they have them on video in several of the other museums that were robbed?? And they would have flight records of them flying to the different countries. Not to mention the paperwork they filed when they were bringing the art back across the border. It's too much! It's too much for me to believe they never got caught. And the article thing was just dumb. I'm sorry but it felt very unsatisfying for that to be the reason they got the money. Why didn't they just do that from the start? It was just all so dumb
I also thought they made a bunch of dumb mistakes with the heists. It was frustrating to read about them trying to be so careful and then doing dumb things like repeatedly being caught on camera, not understanding how technology works, not understanding how the FBI works. It was enough that I felt like the author didn't put a lot of effort into planning how the heists would actually go down.
There are 69 chapters in this book, and the heists take up maybe five chapters. And I think that's being generous. There was very little about the heists themselves and very little about them planning the heists. It was mostly just five perspectives of everyone saying the same thing over and over again. It was just every single person thinking they weren't enough and thinking of their complicated relationship to China. Those feelings are, of course, valid and important. But when it's five different people all thinking the exact same thing for 400 pages it gets boring. This book maybe would have been better if it was told only from Will's perspective (or maybe Irene's). There was no need for the five different perspectives when every single character felt like the exact same person. Just sub out their school and major and that's the only difference.
The author also did something that really began to annoy me over the course of the book. She started probably 40% of her sentences with 'He though about...' or 'She thought back to...' or 'He though of...'. Over and over and over again!! It was too much! The whole book was just way to introspective, especially considering how repetitive everyone's thoughts were. (OK, 40% is probably an unfair exaggeration but it honestly did feel like that).
I also found the ending completely unsatisfying. It felt like a cop out.
I also thought they made a bunch of dumb mistakes with the heists. It was frustrating to read about them trying to be so careful and then doing dumb things like repeatedly being caught on camera, not understanding how technology works, not understanding how the FBI works. It was enough that I felt like the author didn't put a lot of effort into planning how the heists would actually go down.
This was not as fun as I wanted it to be unforch
It's on the bestseller list, but I thought it was boring and needed a good edit.