Portrait of a Thief
Emotional
Refreshing
Vibrant

Portrait of a Thief

Grace Li2022
This was how things began: Boston on the cusp of fall, the Sackler Museum robbed of 23 pieces of priceless Chinese art. Even in this back room, dust catching the slant of golden, late-afternoon light, Will could hear the sirens. They sounded like a promise. Will Chen, a Chinese American art history student at Harvard, has spent most of his life learning about the West - its art, its culture, all that it has taken and called its own. He believes art belongs with its creators, so when a Chinese corporation offers him a (highly illegal) chance to reclaim five priceless sculptures, it's surprisingly easy to say yes. Will's crew, fellow students chosen out of his boundless optimism for their skills and loyalty, aren't exactly experienced criminals. One is a public policy major at Duke who can talk her way out of anything; another is pre-med with steady hands and dreams of being a surgeon. One is an engineering student who races cars in her spare time; and Will is relying on an MIT dropout turned software engineer to hack her way in and out of each museum they must rob. Each student has their own complicated relationship with China and the identities they've cultivated as Chinese Americans, but one thing soon becomes certain: they won't say no. Because if they succeed? They earn an unfathomable ten million each, and a chance to make history. If they fail, they lose everything . . . and the West wins again.
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Photo of ash
ash@smokedshelves
3 stars
Nov 18, 2024
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Apiecalypse Jen@chippedfang
4 stars
Sep 24, 2024
Unique
Repetitive
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Ally Perkins@luchalibro
2 stars
Jun 14, 2024
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Cloudface@cloudface
3.5 stars
May 6, 2024
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Maria@nocturnes
2 stars
Apr 2, 2024
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fatru tamzil@fatrutamzil
2 stars
Jan 10, 2024
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✧˖°.@traitorously
4.5 stars
Jan 8, 2024
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nuélle@cardanivy
2 stars
Jan 7, 2024
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chloé@chlomo
2 stars
Nov 6, 2023
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Suzanne@macaronouioui
4 stars
Oct 30, 2023
Daring
Unique
Charming
Refreshing
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Teeeeeesha@slytherinreads_s
4 stars
May 14, 2023
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Beatrice@bookforthought
4 stars
May 5, 2023
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Kimmy Hobden@kimmyhobden
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Jawahir M@jawahirthebookworm
3.5 stars
Jan 30, 2023
Dry
Insightful
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Jamieson@jamiesonk
2 stars
Jan 23, 2023
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Katelyn Caillouet@hellokatelyn
3.5 stars
Jan 6, 2023
Playful
Easy read
Refreshing
Page turning
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Minnie Mazuera@pearltheforestcreature
2 stars
Jan 4, 2023
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oberon vortigern@oberon
2 stars
Jan 1, 2023
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Ruthie C@ruthiereads
3 stars
Dec 29, 2022
Dry
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tina@folklorde
2 stars
Dec 19, 2022
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4 stars
Nov 20, 2022
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(Bre)anne✨@breanne
4 stars
Nov 3, 2022
This review contains a spoiler
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Claudia Ganea@claudcloud
4 stars
Oct 30, 2022
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Joyce@j_k
2.5 stars
Oct 3, 2022
This review contains a spoiler

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