Counterfeit
- Downloads：4273
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-09 06:52:41
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Kirstin Chen
- ISBN：0063266997
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
For fans of Hustlers and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia， the story of two Asian American women who band together to grow a counterfeit handbag scheme into a global enterprise--an incisive and glittering blend of fashion， crime， and friendship from the author of Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners。
Money can't buy happiness。。。 but it can buy a decent fake。
Ava Wong has always played it safe。 As a strait-laced， rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband， a young son， and a beautiful home--she's built the perfect life。 But beneath this façade， Ava's world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart， her expensive law degree hasn't been used in years， and her toddler's tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point。
Enter Winnie Fang， Ava's enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China， who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances。 Now， twenty years later， Winnie is looking to reconnect with her old friend。 But the shy， awkward girl Ava once knew has been replaced with a confident woman of the world， dripping in luxury goods， including a coveted Birkin in classic orange。 The secret to her success？ Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit scheme that involves importing near-exact replicas of luxury handbags and now she needs someone with a U。S。 passport to help manage her business--someone who'd never be suspected of wrongdoing， someone like Ava。 But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes once again， Ava is left to face the consequences。
Swift， surprising， and sharply comic， Counterfeit is a stylish and feminist caper with a strong point of view and an axe to grind。 Peering behind the curtain of the upscale designer storefronts and the Chinese factories where luxury goods are produced， Kirstin Chen interrogates the myth of the model minority through two unforgettable women determined to demand more from life。
Money can't buy happiness。。。 but it can buy a decent fake。
Ava Wong has always played it safe。 As a strait-laced， rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband， a young son， and a beautiful home--she's built the perfect life。 But beneath this façade， Ava's world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart， her expensive law degree hasn't been used in years， and her toddler's tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point。
Enter Winnie Fang， Ava's enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China， who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances。 Now， twenty years later， Winnie is looking to reconnect with her old friend。 But the shy， awkward girl Ava once knew has been replaced with a confident woman of the world， dripping in luxury goods， including a coveted Birkin in classic orange。 The secret to her success？ Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit scheme that involves importing near-exact replicas of luxury handbags and now she needs someone with a U。S。 passport to help manage her business--someone who'd never be suspected of wrongdoing， someone like Ava。 But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes once again， Ava is left to face the consequences。
Swift， surprising， and sharply comic， Counterfeit is a stylish and feminist caper with a strong point of view and an axe to grind。 Peering behind the curtain of the upscale designer storefronts and the Chinese factories where luxury goods are produced， Kirstin Chen interrogates the myth of the model minority through two unforgettable women determined to demand more from life。
Reviews
Debbie
，
This was a free book that I won from a Goodreads drawing。 The book was interesting and I'm glad I read it。 It took about 40 pages for me to really get into it and I'm still hazy about where we got into the detective interview， but it did hold my attention。 It s well worth the time to read。 This was a free book that I won from a Goodreads drawing。 The book was interesting and I'm glad I read it。 It took about 40 pages for me to really get into it and I'm still hazy about where we got into the detective interview， but it did hold my attention。 It s well worth the time to read。 。。。more
Rachel
，
This wasn’t my cup of tea at all。 It’s not poorly written or anything， I just found it boring。 It wasn’t the fun， lighthearted romp I was hoping for。
Julie
，
Winnie Fang and Ava Wong are briefly college roommates at Stanford。 Ava， follows her college career on the stereotypical Asian American track -- lawyer， married to a successful doctor。 Winnie's career is more like what you'd expect from a character in Ocean's Eleven -- swindling， but on a luxe international scale。 What follows is a fast-pace tale of friendship and deception， with plenty of sarcasm。 This book touches on what could be much bigger themes -- common stereotypes of Asians in America， Winnie Fang and Ava Wong are briefly college roommates at Stanford。 Ava， follows her college career on the stereotypical Asian American track -- lawyer， married to a successful doctor。 Winnie's career is more like what you'd expect from a character in Ocean's Eleven -- swindling， but on a luxe international scale。 What follows is a fast-pace tale of friendship and deception， with plenty of sarcasm。 This book touches on what could be much bigger themes -- common stereotypes of Asians in America， immigration， and parenting。 Funny and sarcastically smart。 。。。more
Heather Baez
，
This was really interesting。 Ava is struggling at home。 She's a very bright attorney in San Francisco， married to a transplant surgeon who works at Stanford， but is "on sabbatical" while staying home with her 2 year-old son Henri。 Henri has some undiagnosed issues and just cries ALL THE TIME。 Adding to the fact that her husband works a zillion hours a week， Ava feels isolated， alone， and frankly - bitter。 She runs into Winnie， her freshman year roommate at Stanford， who left mid-year due to an S This was really interesting。 Ava is struggling at home。 She's a very bright attorney in San Francisco， married to a transplant surgeon who works at Stanford， but is "on sabbatical" while staying home with her 2 year-old son Henri。 Henri has some undiagnosed issues and just cries ALL THE TIME。 Adding to the fact that her husband works a zillion hours a week， Ava feels isolated， alone， and frankly - bitter。 She runs into Winnie， her freshman year roommate at Stanford， who left mid-year due to an SAT scandal。 Winnie figures out rather quickly that Ava is unhappy and unfulfilled， and eventually ropes her into working for her counterfeit bag business。 Winnie has a business connection to a factory in China that manufactures authentic， high-end bags。 They use those blueprints to then manufacture fakes that look very close to the real thing。 Winnie and her shoppers buy authentic bags from high-end department stores and even the boutiques， sell the real ones in her Ebay store， and return the fake using the original receipt。 That's basically their business model。 Winnie is waiting on her US citizenship so cannot travel to China until it's finalized。 So， Ava goes to China to inspect the bags and have a couple of business meetings。 Ava is not overjoyed by this arrangement， feels it is lying/cheating， doesn't know what she's looking for in the replica bags， and is still overwhelmed at home。 But， feels like she's in too far。 Winnie also manipulates her in other ways， such as smoothing over a martial problem， and making a call to get her son into a preschool when all the others rejected him。Half way through the book， we get some of Winnie's POV， whereas the first half was entirely Ava。 And that kind of flipped this story on its head， making it much more interesting。 And those parts way easier to read。 The author chose to not use quotation marks for any of the dialogue from Ava's POV and it made it really difficult to read。 I found myself rereading many sentences。 Winnie's POV dialogue did have quotation marks， which was odd。 All or nothing！ Overall， I enjoyed this book， despite the stylistic choices made by the author。 I don't want to read another book that doesn't use quotation marks again， but this book was short and a quick read regardless。 。。。more
Wendy
，
A Chinese-American lawyer on maternity leave， Ava， is drawn into a scheme involving high quality counterfeit designer bags。 An old Chinese acquaintance from college， Winnie， resurfaces in her life when she is on maternity leave and asks for help from Ava's husband who is a transplant surgeon and then business advice from Ava。 Ava is struggling with a perpetually crying and screaming toddler， a very busy and therefore rarely around husband， and a high demand job she doesn't really want to go back A Chinese-American lawyer on maternity leave， Ava， is drawn into a scheme involving high quality counterfeit designer bags。 An old Chinese acquaintance from college， Winnie， resurfaces in her life when she is on maternity leave and asks for help from Ava's husband who is a transplant surgeon and then business advice from Ava。 Ava is struggling with a perpetually crying and screaming toddler， a very busy and therefore rarely around husband， and a high demand job she doesn't really want to go back to。 These circumstances， a longing for independence and the influence of Winnie lead her to make some critical choices in her life。 Told mostly from Ava's point of view， but occasionally from Winnie's， I was hooked from start to finish。 。。。more
Sharla
，
A really enjoyable read！
Jenn Kurrie
，
#74/2022
Christy
，
This story had potential but ultimately was boring。 The one interesting part came way too late and should have been the rest of the book。
Jhanna Even
，
Fun book that flips the American Dream on its head。
Carol Theisen
，
3。5 stars creative and engaging story
Maya Raman
，
Fast paced and fun， good book to lose yourself in for a few days。
Mellissa
，
3/5⭐️’s//Fun chick-lit book。 Light with just enough mystery。 Great beach read or if you need something light。 （72/105）#readlist2022
Allison Stoker
，
My favorite book I’ve read so far this year。 Absolutely loved it！
Elisha
，
3。5 it was good。
Lime Slice
，
This was a fun read。 The writing was articulate and concise。 The characters were well developed and interesting。 The story moved at just the right pace and didn’t stop to dwell on long descriptions。 Read from start to finish in an afternoon。
Maria G
，
The way it’s narrated helps make it interesting but it’s too similar to hustlers without adding anything crazy/special。 Still happy to have read it！ It also kicked off my reading again which has been a rare occurance
Sonia Gawryluk
，
3。5 stars。 The characters are not likeable at all but the story kept me intrigued。 Not bad。
Dede
，
I really enjoyed this book！ I was surprised at the ending！ I couldn’t put it down， I had to know what happens！ I would definitely recommend this book！
Rhonda
，
This was an educational story about a complex scam in the Luxe purse industry。 Winnie and Ava， college friends， narrate their lives and their involvement in a scam。 It was fast paced and twisty。Who do you believe and who did what？ no spoilers but it is an engaging read/listen。
Amy P
，
People really spend thousands of dollars on handbags？？？ I kind of understood some of the moral defense of the counterfeit scheme。 Some interesting parts ， but for the most part just ok for me。
Angie
，
2。5/5 stars
Ashley Anderson
，
It’s fairly predictable， but fun nonetheless。
LC Berry
，
Audiobook: this was a quick book to get through。 I didn’t much care for the characters but the storyline was good & easy to follow。 Nothing particularly thrilling or exciting。
Noreen
，
This is another Reese Witherspoon selection， and like many of her other books， this was enjoyable and very readable。
Cynthia
，
Not intriguing， characters seem very one dimensional so I wasn’t intrigued by them so it’s hard to keep yourself motivated to keep going。Does get better once you get to the second half of the book but it didn’t make me curious to know what will happen。 This book basically fails to create suspenseSomeone in the comments said you shouldn’t take this book seriously and I agree。 The very base of how the counterfeit scheme works isn’t realistic。 It’s not a spoiler but there’s no way luxury brands wou Not intriguing， characters seem very one dimensional so I wasn’t intrigued by them so it’s hard to keep yourself motivated to keep going。Does get better once you get to the second half of the book but it didn’t make me curious to know what will happen。 This book basically fails to create suspenseSomeone in the comments said you shouldn’t take this book seriously and I agree。 The very base of how the counterfeit scheme works isn’t realistic。 It’s not a spoiler but there’s no way luxury brands wouldn’t notice that for one sold bag， multiple of them are returned （because I’m guessing that the factory isn’t making only one copy of the stolen bag。 It doesn’t seem efficient at all）。 Those companies clearly limit their production and so they know how many are produced in a year。 You can’t have 100 more Gabrielle Chanel bags produced worldwide and returned in their stores and them not noticing。。。 Impossible。 。。。more
Jaclyn
，
Maybe 3。5 stars
Cathy
，
Pretty fun but didn’t love the ending。
Jane
，
***2。5***I was expecting some big twist/gotcha for the finale。Catherine Ho was ok。
Desiree
，
This was such a fun listen with a great twist！ It’s like Catch Me If You Can with a spin and I loved the way the ending played out。
Alisha Linehan
，
“Fun” may be a dark way to describe this book。 But it’s so fun。 Bored， discouraged upper middle-class， first generation American mother falls into an illicit plot in the dubious underbelly of luxury goods。 It’s going to make a great miniseries。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Counterfeit
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Counterfeit&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Counterfeit&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0