Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo, follows six dangerous outlaws living in Ketterdam, a lawless port city governed by greed and violence. Lead character Kaz Brekker, a young criminal prodigy and head of a street gang known as the Dregs, is given a proposition: an impossible mission to spring scientist and political prisoner Bo Yul-Bayur, a man who created the formula of a drug that could bring about the end of the world as they know it, from an impenetrable fortress called the Ice Court. With the promise of wealth beyond his wildest dreams, Kaz puts together a team of six of the deadliest criminals living in Ketterdam, and sets off with a half-formed plan and a desperate hope to pull off the craziest heist in history.
Six of Crows has easily been the best book I’ve read this year. With a well-defined setting, action-packed plot and compellingly complicated characters, the story had me hooked from the first page to the last. Six of Crows follows an incredible heist plot arc, and reveals several completely unforeseeable and unforgettable twists as it continues. Though there isn’t a person on Kaz’s team without a multitude of problems, least of all Kaz himself, it’s impossible to keep from falling in love with all of them as the story progresses. With a narrative perspective that shifts between chapters, delving into the backgrounds of the characters, you get a thorough understanding of what drives each of them and what makes them all so vital to the mission. While maintaining a high-speed plot-line that never slows down, the world emphasizes the lives of those not fortunate enough to be born into wealth and luxury, and the actions the characters take to survive as the lowly “canal rat” criminals of Ketterdam. Though Kaz’s team members come from different backgrounds and cultures, they all share one thing in common: none of them expect to be handed anything for free and all are willing to do whatever it takes to come out on top. I guarantee you will fall in love with this book’s cast of criminal characters, and due to the extensive world-building, beautiful writing, and breakneck plot-line, you won’t be able to put Six of Crows down until you’ve finished it.
-Samara, (Dusen)Berry Blogger and member of the River Teen Advisory Board
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