Posted on: March 18, 2024.
By: Eralba Hajdaraj.
4.5/5 stars. WARNING: Minor spoilers!
When I tell you I had about 13 mental breakdowns, threw the book, and screamed for about an hour after reading this book, I mean it.
Six of Crows is the one book I don’t regret picking up. This 465-page novel by the *genius* Leigh Bardugo epitomizes supremacy. The plot initially follows the stories of Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, and Jesper Fahey as they scheme a grand heist for the scientist of an incredibly addicting, incredibly illegal drug. They recruit Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar, and Wylan Van Eck for their mission. However, the book grew to be much more than teenage crime – it became the best read of my life! That might not mean much assuming I hardly ever read, but trust me on this one!
Firstly, Six of Crows has an immense depth to its characters. Leigh Bardugo did a fantastic job of creating a cast of diverse, morally grey characters. These characters are complex and written with such emotion and realism that I grew attached to them. Their development throughout the novel is beautiful, and the multiple layers these characters have are truly my favourite aspect of the book.
The worldbuilding in Six of Crows is almost tantamount to the brilliance of its characters. Leigh Bardugo created a fantasy world filled with magic. No, not those wands and unicorns, but a magical society with hierarchies, backstories, and discrimination. The book’s setting, the “Grishaverse”, is highly developed with countries, cities, cultures, religions, languages, stereotypes, and superstitions. The map itself at the beginning is so detailed it leaves you wanting more! Bardugo captured the essence of an inciting fantasy world where both real-world and magical elements blend.
I will stop spoiling the novel now. Though I would love to toss this book into a blender and ingest it as simply reading it isn’t enough, I must provide a few warnings to those interested. Six of Crows is rated 13+ because it has violence and swearing. It is a dark novel that follows a harsh storyline. Some scenes and backstories may be too much to handle, and I would not recommend this book to people who aren’t entirely comfortable with gore, abuse, violence, language, and sadness.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book and can guarantee you will learn something new from it! From the scheming to the character development, and from the worldbuilding to the heisting, it is almost certain your wallet won’t regret this buy. #notsponseredrealopinions