Counterfeit

Ava's life choices keep driving me up a wall.

Quick and easy summer read that had a few plot twists to add to the interest for the book. I didn't find the characters likable, but they were interesting for sure.

Wonderful light read that takes a very satisfying if predictable turn

Good Girls meets Asian America
I really enjoyed the his boom especially the way it was written. The unique set up added to the intrigue and the reveal.
It brought up a lot of interesting conversations from the school admission service to the ethical questions around designer handbags.

Loved every minute of this one! The Devil Wears Prada meets The Hustle--this book manages to be thrilling and fun while using intersectionality to shine a light on the true harm of supporting black and gray market counterfeiters, who can use fake purse funds to counterfeit things like single-point-of-failure parts for airplanes. Great read.

just okay i thought, after finishing it. but i'll credit it for helping me along while i cleaned.

i will say that i thought the partial frame tale device(recounting to a detective) was handled poorly; just put the detective's dialogue into the text, rather than having the narrator repeat it all back before answering in a completely insane, unnatural way.

This fast-paced, con-game story (think “Ocean's 11” meets “Hustlers”), centers around two Asian women, former college roommates Ava and Winnie, and a money-making scheme involving counterfeit handbags. Told in two parts, Ava is the primary narrator as she recounts to an unnamed police detective how Winnie forced her to become part of this illicit plan. Along the way we also learn about Ava's marital strife, her struggles with motherhood, and how disconnected she feels from her family following the death of her mother. But is this truly a “conniving friend takes advantage while you're at your lowest” story... or is everything not as it appears to be?

I really had fun with this one and flew through it in one day. More than just a story about the scam the two women are running, this book also touches on topics such as being an American-born child of immigrants, the expectations put forth by parents, marital struggles, the judgment mothers face when they are not seen as “perfect,” and how the impossible standards put forth by the beauty industry (cosmetic surgery in particular) affect our own self-perception. While not an in-depth exploration of these topics, I was glad to see them included in a realistic way. Overall this was an entertaining novel and would make a great beach read.

Started off with a bang, but much like a counterfeit purse it didn't hold up toward the end. It was an easy read yet didn't deliver like I hoped it would. Even though Ava and Winnie are unreliable narrators and unlikeable characters, they're the portrait of modern scam artist. They ruthlessly used Asian/Asian American stereotypes to their advantage and weren't afraid to use people to get ahead.

I wanted more scam artist and less angry mother. I get that motherhood plays a big part in Ava's life, but the book leaned toward that side too much for my preference. There's a lot of telling not showing, which I think is due to the POV choice. The ending felt rushed and I think it was it a miss to not mention the scale of their operation.