Rating: 3.5/5

When I first read the synopsis, it drew me in immediately, and I knew that i had to read it. Portrait of a Thief follows Will Chen and his friends as they hatch a daring plan to return looted Chinese art to their homeland. A fast-paced read, Portrait of a Thief draws you in and is impossible to put down.

With its lyrical prose and an interesting cast of characters, this book was a solid debut. Li wrote a book that captures the Asian American experience, and as a Chinese American myself, it was so easy to see myself in these characters, all of whom had their own struggles with diaspora.

Although every single one of the characters had their own distinct identities, I couldn't help but feel like something was missing; something that was needed to make them feel real and human. As excited as i was to read a heist book, it didn't get my heart racing and my blood pumping.

Despite this, i still enjoyed the novel and look forward to Grace Li's future releases.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

2.5/5 stars. Okay, so, I reallyyyyyy wanted to like this book. It was one of my top five most anticipated releases of 2022. I thought the premise was brilliant, and the discussions about colonialism were incredibly important and necessary. I've never read a book that tackles these topics before, so it's great that this exists/will exist to the public next year. But I think this book was not pitched correctly, and as a result, I was disappointed. I'll break this review up into three topics: writing, plot, and characters. (Also, in an attempt to have no spoilers in this review, I will try not to give examples that may be seen as mild spoilers, and I'll try to be super vague otherwise.)

Writing:
The writing was gorgeous— very atmospheric and ethereal. It was the main reason I kept reading to the end. But it was also EXTREMELY repetitive. Like, UNBELIEVABLY repetitive. I felt like I was reading the same thing over and over and over and over and over again, and that was why I enjoyed the first 30% of the book more than the rest because all of those sentences were new at first. The words "sun" and "light" were repeated hundreds upon hundreds of times, and once I noticed it, I couldn't stop noticing it. The characters were also constantly remembering things that had just happened, so the reader was constantly reminded of what they had just read, and it felt like nothing was happening because everything just kept being repeated. "Will remembered when" and "Irene remembered when" and "Alex remembered when" and "Daniel remembered when" and "Lily remembered when" but the reader also remembered when! I didn't need to be reminded of something they did when I had just read it. I know the characters had larger gaps of time between these events that they were reminiscing about, but the reader did not. The writing was definitely pretty, but it was redundant, and that made it boring to read, unfortunately.

Plot:
There wasn't one. Okay, well, there was the heist, but the heist wasn't even the main part of the novel, even though that is how the book is being pitched. The heist was just there for the aesthetic, and it only lasted a few pages each time, and the whole process of planning and executing the heist was summarized. Instead, we got hundreds of passages about how the light hit the water or the apartment or the museum or the art or their faces. And we got numerous lines about how Will doesn't know what he wants to do, and how Irene is always right and never fails at anything, and how Will feels like Irene gets everything he has to work for, and how Irene feels like she has to do what Will doesn't and do it better, and how Alex dropped out of college to take a job across the country, and how Daniel and his father never communicate about their feelings, and how Lily only feels like she's alive when she's behind the wheel. And all of those things are fine to state once, twice, even three times. But every chapter? It's like a plot didn't actually exist, and the heists only made a brief appearance from time to time.

Characters:
This was a very character-driven story, and that's great if the characters have enough substance, but it seemed like their one (1) personality trait (to clarify, each character had a different personality trait) was just repeated endlessly. And that was unfortunate because there was so much room for more. If all the redundant lines were taken out and replaced, the author definitely could have dived deeper into each of these characters. Some of my favorite scenes were when Will and Irene fought, or when Alex and Irene discussed their feelings, or when Will and Lily had their heart-to-heart conversation, or when Daniel and his father finally talked. Those scenes revealed more about these characters than what was going on in their heads, because what was going on in their heads was always the same. It was fine one time, but the reader has a memory too, and they don't need to be reminded of the same things over and over again. I wish we got to see the characters interact more through dialogue, but their conversations were always so short, with long paragraphs in between one spoken word or sentence.

Ultimately, I feel like this book would have been better as a novella, or the author could have dedicated more time to the heist, or the author could have given the characters longer interactions with more dialogue (while also giving us more witty banter and humor). But even though this book ended up not being my cup of tea, I hope it finds its readers because everyone has different tastes!

i'm conflicted about the rating for this myself because i did like it overall but i expected something more from it i guess.

portrait of a thief is a great debut, one that talks about colonialism through art. stolen art, looted and bought by western museums for over centuries from the less powerful countries. grace d li had a clear vision as to how portray that and make us questions through the actions of the characters whether taking back this looted art, which once belonged to them and their preceding generations, is really a theft. the deep critique on imperialism and the anticolonial agenda is present throughout.

i also really liked the character dynamics and their experiences as diaspora kids following the 'american dream'. its incredibly character driven, each with their own struggles with their chinese american identity as well as the looming question of their futures. with 5 different povs leading the story, i definitely found them relatable, especially in the beginning, as each of their melancholies, dreams, expectations and burdens were brought to life. all of them questioning how chinese or how american they are is a common diaspora experience which was captured in the raw form. also ahh, the writing is incredibly simple to follow and uses pretty metaphors... maybe a lot of them lol.

but ultimately, after the couple chapters in the beginning, they started to fall flat. and their povs started to feel repetitive and tended to blend together which led me to not care about them. after all they're amature 20s something kids attempting a heist, which if you have trouble suspending belief, you will find it to be very clumsily planned and executed. so while i liked reading about them i also wish we'd gotten more depth about their personalities for me to sympathise with them. i also wish that the dynamics (romantic and found family!) between each of them was explored further too because there was some interesting tension and rivalry going on there.

i really wanted more intrigue reading the heist aspect, but portrait of a thief felt more like a coming of age novel. so yeah if like me you're misguided by the marketing, lower your expectations for this being a smartly executed heist. its all way too easy, especially in today's world of tech. i strongly think this book could've been better for me if it was just increased in words and page length, to completely give justice to the character arcs and the heists.

so overall i liked the narrative of portrait of a thief, very unique story with honest discussions on museum ethics and the lasting effects of the past of colonisation, one i think will resonate with immigrant kids. grace d li is definitely a talent, her prose vivid to imagine. but then again, this had a lot of room for being better in my opinion.

"Art belongs to the creator, not the conqueror."

From the moment I heard about Portrait of a Thief, I wanted to read it as soon as possible. Chinese diaspora planning a heist to take back the Chinese art stolen by Western museums? What an amazing idea! And for the most part the execution was also pretty great especially considering this is a debut. There were parts that could be a little repetitive with the wording and I did expect more action in regards to the heists than what was given but overall I enjoyed the story, the characters, and am excited to see what the author puts out next.

There were a lot of things I very much enjoyed about this book. I absolutely loved the dynamics between the characters and felt myself drawn to the relationship between Alex and Irene - who turned out to be a couple I rooted for so much. The commentary on Western Imperialism was so well done and and the exploration of identities between the characters was beautiful. My only complaint about this book is the pacing. I found myself less drawn to the book around the middle, when there isn't a lot of action. I felt that we could have had more heisting and less of the characters worrying about their futures, however I also understand why that was necessary. It was overall a 3.75/4 star book for me and I am excited for it to come out.

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li is all of your favorite heist movies combined into one thrilling, scenic novel. This book has everything you could ever want from high-stakes theft, an ensemble cast of unique characters, women kissing women, and reparations for art stolen.

The thing I loved most about Portrait of a Thief was that I never had any idea what was going to happen next. Truly. I spent half the book thinking maybe these college students with unimaginable dreams would get away with their crimes, and half the book thinking there was no way in hell they’d come out unscathed. Somehow, I was wrong the entire time.

When an author writes a book with an ensemble cast of characters, each one having POVs, it isn’t uncommon for the complexity of some of the characters to be lost, or overshadowed by the significance of the others. This, however, wasn’t a problem in Portrait of a Thief. Each character was developed with a careful balance, each one attended to perfectly. I felt like I completely understood the motives of the whole crew of thieves, their dreams and desires, and yet they still managed to surprise me along the way. It takes true talent to write something so delicate.

The aesthetics of the book were so beautiful, so perfect, it created an incredibly vivid image in my mind of the scenery, of the emotions of every chapter, every moment. It felt like I was watching a movie inside my head.

The only complaint I had while reading is that I felt some moments dragged on a bit too long, and I found myself wanting to skip some of the internal monologue that repeated itself occasionally throughout the story. I think, if I could, I would rate this book 4.5 stars.

Grace D. Li spun glittering miracles while writing Portrait of a Thief, and I was entranced by the sheer talent I saw in these pages. I would recommend this book to people that love art, and those that find themselves falling for the criminal against all better judgement.

Hmmm, I’m not sure exactly where I’ve landed with this one. The cover is to die for and the synopsis got its claws into me immediately, which is why it’s one of the first few 2022 books I’ve started to dig into. And yet, I just don’t think Portrait of a Thief ended up reaching its full potential. It’s a case of trying to do so much that you end up failing at covering the basics.

The plot really took off early and with a bang—one of our five protagonists, Will Chen, is working at the Sackler Museum when a crew clad in all black breaks in and robs them of their Chinese art. Through this chance encounter Will gets drawn into a power play bigger than he could ever imagine, and decides to bring his friends along for the ride. In haphazard attempt to imitate the kind of teams seen in the movies, Will recruits his sister Irene ‘the conman’, her roommate Lily Wu ‘the getaway driver’, his old friend Daniel Liang ‘the thief’ and his old flame Alex Huang ‘the hacker’. They decide to take an impossible job for an impossible goal: to return to China what the West has pillaged in the name of imperialism.

And this is where it started to go wrong for me, because none of these allegedly smart 20-somethings have a goddamn idea what they’re doing. They coordinate via text message and WhatsApp. The big planning session, you know where they figure out how they’re going to commit international crimes, takes place on a—wait for it—Google Doc. The largest issue with their scheming is the amount of inconsistencies. Sometimes there’s encrypted calls, they all have flawless fake IDs, but then they also just carry stolen art in their luggage at commercial airports. It’s so insane it’s almost incredible.

And I understand that’s probably intentional to a point, but my problem is that nobody would hire these random college kids to do anything like this. It’s a heist, so there’s always going to be some level of suspension of disbelief in order to buy into what’s happening. But this isn’t a popcorn thriller or a action-y blockbuster movie-as-a-book either. It’s a critique of Western colonialism and imperialism dressed up as a fun ensemble heist. And while I would love to read some ridiculous Ocean’s Eleven-style romp as well as a novel that challenges the Eurocentric global power structure, I don’t quite think they fit together here.

Because don’t get me wrong, the best part of Portrait of a Thief was the reflections of each of the characters on their own experiences as members of the Chinese American diaspora. They’re such a complex, nuanced meditation that I can only assume Grace D. Li is pulling from her own feelings on the subject in some capacity here. But its delivery works against those very points the author is trying to make. Some of the musings on art, history and the West’s imperial legacy, while astute and true, felt very shoehorned into conversations where they didn’t belong. There’s entire lengths of dialogue that doesn’t lend itself into a natural back and forth, and yet these 21 year-olds are conversing like they’re grad students defending their dissertations. Great points, less successful execution.

The characters I think with the most to offer end up being the three outside of the main two siblings, Will and Irene. I would have loved a story of just Alex, Daniel and Lily without the toxic influences of the Chen’s. Will and Irene are entitled, arrogant and spoiled in different but complimentary ways and seem to have the weakest motivations to get involved in the first place, yet are pushing forward the most. That said, even though I did not like either of them, per say, I do appreciate the additional perspectives on being first generation children of immigrants in the US.

Despite my criticisms, I didn’t dislike this book. There’s too much good material present to set it aside, but I am a bit disappointed after hyping it up in my head as something it didn’t end up being. Maybe this would work better as a show or movie, which is something we can all weigh in on down the road as it’s been optioned by Netflix already. But if Portrait of a Thief does end up making it through that pipeline, I hope for a better balance between the art theft and character development. And that they ditch the Google Doc.

Thank you so much to Penguin for sending me a copy of this in exchange for a review. I am so blown away by how fantastic this book was. The story is so fast paced and the characters were so fantastic and flawed and I just wanted to hug all of them. This book is definitely my favorite heist novel now.

The promise of a heist and the focus on the Chinese-American identity in this book immediately drew me in when I read the premise on Twitter. Unfortunately, the majority of the story fell a bit flat to me although I did enjoy it enough. Following five characters, Portrait of a Thief is a story of the complexity of diasporic identities as they attempt to steal back stolen Chinese art and make history.

Will Chen is content in his life as an art history major in his senior year at Harvard; that is, he is until he’s offered a chance to make history: to steal back Chinese art that was stolen by the West and continues to lay in their museums. Will then gathers a group of other Chinese Americans for the heist: Irene Chen, Will’s sister who can talk her way out of anything; Lily Wu, Irene’s roommate and a street racer; Daniel Liang, Will and Irene’s childhood friend and the son of an FBI Art Crime agent; and Alex Huang, a software engineer who once went on a few dates with Will. Together, they plot together to steal Chinese zodiac heads, taken from the Summer Palace, from Western museums in exchange for $50 million.

I’ll start with some positives! I also liked the characters and their dynamics. We follow a group of five characters, all tied to either Will or Irene in some way. They’re all college juniors or seniors (or would-be senior in Alex’s case), and I found their attitudes of “I have the whole world in front of me” alternating with “I’m unsure of my future and what lies ahead” to be incredibly realistic. Their personal journeys throughout the story were poignant, combined with the exploration of how different every person’s experience with being in diaspora is.

There are two romances, one of which is sapphic. The dynamics of these two couples and the group dynamics overall were one of my favorite parts of the story. Lily knows Will is trouble yet there’s an undeniable chemistry between them; Alex and Irene have a bit of an annoyance to love thing going on. Daniel’s devotion to Will and Irene and vice versa, the three of them having grown up with each other, was clear, and Lily, Daniel, and Alex forming new friendships was nice to see.

I also liked seeing the different diasporic experiences being juxtaposed. Will and Irene are fairly comfortable being Chinese American and having one foot in each culture. Daniel was born and raised in China and still does not consider himself American, despite living in the US for ten years. Meanwhile, Alex really only feels connected to her culture through her family, and Lily knows little of her culture because her parents have left it behind. It was important to read about all of these different stories because there is no one right way to be Chinese American or to be in diaspora. Each person’s experience is different and doesn’t invalidate someone else’s.

That being said, I think this book was very heavy-handed in getting this message across at times. The characterizations were also strong, but honestly it felt like each character each had one sentence that kept being reinforced, which made the book begin to get repetitive halfway through. While all of our protagonists’ stories might have resonated with me more a few years ago, I personally am fairly comfortable in my connection with my culture now, so it was hard to relate to them when the same message just kept getting repeated. Maybe this will be different for other readers though.

Other than this, I have to state plain and clearly that the heists are the flimsiest part of the story. This is not necessarily a bad thing and something I probably could have completely ignored if not for the repetitiveness as stated in the previous paragraph. I just feel like it has to be said in case you were going into this book expecting the heist to be thrilling and the main part of the story.

I will say that the book is realistic if nothing else; I mean, not totally realistic but if a group of college students had to plan a heist, it would probably play out like in this book. It was a bit disorganized and they had to take notes from films and books, which is a bit strange to think of but the whole point is that they’re not masterminds. I also really appreciated how they expect Alex to be some amazing hacker just because she’s a software engineer and she clearly has no idea what to do. Not every person who’s good with computers knows how to hack!

(Though, I’m sorry, the moment they opened a GOOGLE DOC to plan, I had to take a moment because even in general security purposes, people don’t use google docs…why would you use this when it’s an immediate piece of evidence if/when you’re caught, even if you deleted it…Surely, we could’ve had a less convoluted manner of planning collaboratively.)

It may seem like my review was critique after critique, but please know that I did enjoy this book for the most part. I think a lot of it just didn’t work for me personally; maybe it would have, once upon a time, but as it is, the message was beat into our heads a little too harshly to fully appreciate the poignancy of the characters’ journeys. However, Portrait of a Thief was a enjoyable read, one that I still think is worth reading if it intrigues you.

I had really high hopes for this book but was ultimately let down. The premise of a heist implied a fast-based, banter-filled story whereas this is a slow, meditative piece of literary fiction. The word light is used about 400 times and the word sun 100 times. The words became so common it became a joke. The repetition of the same landscape, same lines, over and over became increasingly abrasive to my reading experience as I continued. The story felt completely abnormal, as most people would not react like the characters did and it reduced the “realism” of the story because of how pretentious, unnecessarily dramatic, and easily convinced these characters behaved.

Lastly, it felt very unrealistic and Unrelatable to have characters who are all highly attractive, highly intelligent, successful, and in great schools and jobs yet who constantly complain.

The writing was beautiful, the diversity among experiences was beautiful, but ultimately I didn’t enjoy this experience.

"art belongs to the creator, not the conqueror." No better quote to capture the essence of this impressive debut novel that is a fast-paced exploration into what it, at its foundation, what it means to be a generation of diaspora kids surrounded by the difficulty of being so immersed in a land far from the native land of your ancestors that facing hard truths of imperialism and historical injustice lands you in a place that sweeps normality from under your feet in the face of finding your identity and righting the wrong. While the overall writing and development wasn't perfect, for young readers, novels like these are revolutionary and something I, as a senior reader, am proud they'll have at expense. Fast-paced, epic and educational.

*actually 3.5 stars
Wow, I have so many thoughts on this book. First and foremost, the premise of a group of Chinese-Americans going on a heist to steal back a bunch of looted art is everything I've ever wanted. The exploration of family and what it means to be a diaspora kid was so nuanced and it warmed my cold, dead Chinese diaspora heart. Each of the five perspectives that we get had a different take on what it means to be Chinese and living within the United States so there is something for almost all of us to relate too. I appreciated the discussions around imperialism too, but I think it would have been useful to also acknowledge that China has had the same impact on other Asian countries.
Also, I loved every single one of the main characters. The way they all played off of one another, in regards to all of the different friendships, siblings, and romances (especially my favorite sapphic couple) was fantastic. Its hard to believe that this was a debut novel, because the writing was great.
However, while I did ultimately enjoy this book, especially its characters and the discussions around identity and imperialism, I did have some issues with the plot itself. These kids left a paper trail that was miles long, and I feel like they could have easily been caught after like 0.2 seconds if they didn't have dumb luck on their side. The stakes were high, but the way they continuously got away with no consequences made the me not take the stakes seriously. *minor spoilers ahead* The biggest example of this is the fact that they used a google doc (what?!) to plan out their heist. There's no way authorities wouldn't have figured this out even if they had someone at google on the team to cover it up. If my old high school could use google docs to discover which students were paying others to write their essays for them, I’m pretty sure the FBI rookies could figure this out. Also, im convinced that our hacker was recruited with the sole purpose of getting set up with the recruiter's sister because she could not hack to save her life. Other than that, there was just a handful of inconsistencies that I noticed. They mentioned using fake IDs to travel and perform the heists but when TSA was getting them through the airports they addressed one of the characters by her actual last name.
Ultimately, I did enjoy this book. I adored characters and their exploration of the diaspora's struggle to fit in in wither China or the US. Despite its flaws, some of which I'm sure will be fixed by the time it is published, I would still recommend it and would definitely pick up the author's next work!

This is so good! Will Chen witnesses a targeted theft at the museum he works in, and finds himself recruited by a Chinese billionaire to steal back the zodiac sculptures from the Summer Palace. He recruits his sister Irene, her room-mate Lily and his friends Daniel and Alex, all with their own reasons for getting involved - not least the payout they're promised if they succeed.

It's both really enjoyable and thought provoking. Where does art belong? Why is it in so many museums in Europe and North America when it was created elsewhere and often stolen or dubiously acquired? Where do the children of immigrants belong and where is home? The book covers all of those issues, as it's partly about a group of college age young people finding out where they fit in the world as well as art and museum ethics. It's a really good read and I heartily recommend it!

Written by Grace Li, Portrait of a Thief is a multi-POV contemporary debut masterpiece with anti-imperialist themes. When Harvard senior Will Chen is approached with an offer to steal back five Chinese sculptures that were stolen from Beijing centuries ago, he finds himself unable to say yes — after all, what wouldn’t you do for ten million dollars? As their fearless leader, Will’s band of merry men is made up of what seems to be every heist archetype — his sister, Irene Chen, as as the conman, his best friend, Daniel Liang as their thief, Lily Wu, Irene’s roommate and friend as their getaway car, and Alex Huang, their hacker. While they each have their own motivations for joining, and their own dreams about how to spend that ten million dollars if they succeed, the very core of their reasoning is this: correcting history, and trying to connect to their culture in any way they can.

While Portrait of a Thief is a heist novel, it’s more so a coming-of-age story, a story about identity and culture, and a story about friendship. It isn’t so much about the heist itself as it is about our main characters, and their journey. In that sense, it reminds me of Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle, where we’re more sucked into the series for the characters and their growth, their dynamics, and their relationships, rather than the quest itself. The charm of Portrait of a Thief lies in the characters, and the dynamics between them. I truly loved reading about their backgrounds, their families, their motivations, and the things that lead them to say yes. What’s most interesting to me, is that of all the reasons to say yes to the heist, the money factor was always a part of it, but never the most dominant reason.

It’s hard to write this review without oversharing, and I admittedly am incredibly biased towards this book, given how much it resonated with me. Reading Portrait of a Thief felt like reading my own diary entries, only those entries were folded in between a found-family art heist story, where five Chinese American college students stole back looted Chinese art from western museums. I loved how it portrayed the experience of being an immigrant/a diaspora kid, the worries, burdens, and pressure that comes with it. One of the things I appreciated the most was how there wasn’t one overarching, universal experience — just like how it is in real life. There were so many lines that struck a chord within me and resonated so deeply. I saw myself in Will, with his love for beautiful things, his rage towards colonization, and his drive to set things right; I understood Irene’s eldest daughter syndrome, I saw my family in Lily, and the way her parents rarely talked about the way things used to be. I recognized Alex and her family in my own family, and in the busy restaurants of Chinatown that I frequent. But most of all, I saw myself in Daniel, and the complex feelings he felt towards ‘home’. Like all other heist stories, I really had to suspend my disbelief for Portrait of a Thief, but I think it makes sense that the events play out the way it does. I would’ve loved for Portrait of a Thief to be longer, and would do anything for more content. Although it wraps up neatly, I think Portrait would have benefited if it had been published as a duology, or was longer, which would’ve given it more room for character development and growth. As a reader, I always find it difficult to say goodbye to characters and stories, and so I always want more.

In all honesty, unless you’re also a diaspora kid, I don’t think this book will touch you the way it did for me. But Portrait of a Thief crept into the deepest parts of my soul, and found a home there, and I hope you’ll love it as much as I did.

portrait of a thief was such a fun read! however, i can’t help but feel like something is missing, but i can’t exactly put my finger on what.

i quite enjoy the cast of characters. really loved their dynamic. unfortunately, i can’t say any of the characters were memorable – they worked really well as a group, but none of them stood on their own. i loved how each of them had their own reason to join this heist, but i wish the book went deeper, as it did feel a bit shallow. would’ve been really cool if we got more interactions between the characters as friends, since we’re mostly shown dynamics between characters that will eventually be a couple. i also liked how each character had their own voice, their own inner conflict. i also have to say their monologues were a bit too dramatic for my taste.

the heist felt way too easy. everything went a bit too well for it to be believable and i know this is fiction, but it didn’t really have any exciting parts. nothing really went wrong at any point. the planning also didn’t make a lot of sense because who would use google drive to plan a crime.

overall, portrait of a thief was a solid debut, with a fun cast of characters and an interesting plot. i’ll definitely check out the author’s future works as i quite enjoyed the writing style.

thank you to netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion!

This was a title that I was highly looking forward to read because of the great premise and hype around it on social media. While I liked the book, it didn't completely meet all my expectations.

The characters were not as memorable, but they have very interesting dynamics with each other, and that was fun to read. I really enjoyed how each character dealt with their identity while having different backgrounds, I just wished their motives were more fleshed out and believable.

I also liked the way this book adressed colonism, specially when it comes to stolen art in museums, but I thought the heist aspect of the book was quite weak and disappointing. The planning of the heist seemed kind of lazy and too amateur-ish and that ultimately lead to me not being too invested in the plot.

I think this should have been an adult book—the pacing and character development needed more room, and the adult genre I think would have let that flourish.

This was SO interesting! Each character is incredibly well fleshed out and they genuinely feel real. There's such a human element throughout, it was deeply unexpected. The writing is also IMPECCABLE. I tore through this in one night, I was so enraptured.

thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc! the premise of this novel really excited me and after seeing a bunch of positive reviews, i was really looking forward to portrait of a thief! while i still enjoyed the book, i expected to like it a bit more. for me, the pacing was a bit too inconsistent and i would have loved to see a bit more character development because at times it got a bit repetitive for me. i also wish that the heist and found family aspects of the book would have been elaborated upon more. that being said, i loved the themes presented in this novel and its portrayal of being part of the asian diaspora. the way the emotions of each of the characters was described was prose was poignant and vivid, and i'm excited to see what grace d li writes next!

“Art belongs to the creator,” Will said, his voice soft, “not the conqueror. No matter what the law says, or what treaties are signed. For too long, museums have held on to art that isn’t theirs to keep, bought more because they know they can.” A story about straddling both worlds as an immigrant/child of an immigrant and knowing that art belongs to your home long after the wars and conquering. The goal is to heist the art from various museums around the world and return them to China... can they do it?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an chance to review the book ahead of publication.