A review by magspaggs
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved this.  I think the characters were so compelling to explore the world with. I also think that the mix of characters, all with different ideas of home, of belonging, of Longing, and of grief, was well established and explored. I cannot fully relate to the idea of diaspora as I was born and raised by people born and raised who were raised by people born and raised. But there is a sense of understanding I shared with Lily, the idea of running away or towards something. 

ALSO LESBIANS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some quotes I highlighted while reading:

Loss was the hesitation in his voice when he spoke his mother tongue, the myths he did not know, a childhood that felt so vast and alien from his parents' that he did not know how to cross it.

The stories her parents had never told her about China, the empty space it had carved within her. How it felt to search and never find. All these years, and Lily had never known how to love a place and not leave it behind.

"We're children of the diaspora," Will said. He had grown up in the US, knew that no matter how much he wanted it to be, China would never be home to him. "All we've ever known is loss."

All parents leave their own scars. We're the ones who have to heal from them.