Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

This book was SO GOOD!!!  I hate that I have to wait until September for the sequel!  A coworker of mine recommended this to me, and I'm glad I took her advice.  I was hesitant to try it, because I've never read any of the Grisha books.  Let me reassure you that you don't need to have read the Grisha books to fully enjoy this spin-off series starter.

This review may be boring- I found nearly nothing wrong with it.  This review will just be a fanfest.  :)  It's got everything from it's metaphorical head down to it's metaphorical toes!  First, the book design itself.  It's got an AWESOME cover graphic, incorporating the crow wing and the cityscape.  I love it.  Then you've got the page edges.  You know how many Bibles have gold page edges?  This book has got black page edges.  It looks very cool.  Then there are the maps.  Don't you love books with maps of their worlds?  Six of Crows has two maps:  one of the Grisha world in entirety (very helpful if you've never read a Grisha book) and a detailed one of the city where the heist takes place.  Further, the book is split into a few parts, and each part has a two-page spread that's a black-and-white celestial-feeling image.

But don't let me convince you to judge a book by it's cover!  Six of Crows has also got a ton of plot, setting, and character "meat."  The story is super engaging:  a sorta street urchin Robin Hood-type character puts together a fantasy team from the dregs of society to pull off a huge heist and, in a way, save the world.  Or, at least, society as they know it.  I didn't have to read too far to make the connection with the classic movie Ocean's Eleven.  The first part of the book consists mostly of introduction of the main characters, with a little insight into their back stories.  There is also development of the world in which they live, and the society in which they operate.  All of the teens who join Kaz's crew (the Robin Hood-type main character) live in "the Dregs," which is a slum area in the Grisha world.  These teens have very, very little to lose and much to gain and a ton of guts.  Their heist "assignment" isn't to steal money directly, but something that is worth lots of money.  If they pull it off, they will all receive payments that will set them up for life.  The catch?  This heist is super dangerous, and is widely considered (by others outside the group) to be totally impossible.  As I read the book, I kept thinking that the characters were going to fail after all.  Everything that could go wrong, did.  I couldn't put it down!  I was so nervous for them!  I won't spoil it, and won't tell you whether or not they do finally succeed.

Then there are the characters.  As the synopsis on the back of the book says, there's a criminal prodigy, a convict, a sharpshooter, a runaway, a spy, a Heartrender*, and a thief.  None of these are particularly "warm and fuzzy" sounding, right?  But they are!  By the time you've learned some of their backstory and their reasons for doing this heist, and see their devotion to each other, you'll love them.  There wasn't a single one I disliked!  Each chapter is told from a rotating point of view, so you really get into their heads (and hearts).  Yes, they're rough around the edges, but with reason.  I just wanted to bring them all home and give them warm cookies.

*Heartrenders are explained in this book, in case you're new to the Grisha world.  Turns out some characters in this world have the ability to manipulate matter and/or physiology.  Magic!

So just as my coworker said to me:  "You need to read this."  Heed her advice!

Posted by Tynga at 02:00

 Action amp; Adventure, Dregs, Fantasy amp; Magic, Grisha, heist, Henry Holt amp; Co., Leigh Bardugo, Library, Review, young adult  3 People left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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