Six of Crows - Leigh Barduga

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by KathleenQ)

You guys it's a HEIST STORY set in a magical world inspired by 17th-century Europe! Coooooooooooool.

What a delightful YA fantasy novel! The genre has been disappointing me over the last few years, with a procession of mediocre stories with forgettable characters,* so that I was starting to wonder if I'm really a big fan of the genre after all. So I was delighted to finally come across a fresh, surprising, and well-written story.

A gang of nine criminal misfits is offered the job of breaking a scientist out of a high-security prison. (The scientist has developed a dangerous drug that can super-charge the powers of Grisha -- people born with various magical abilities.) They have to work together in spite of their complicated histories. I actually loved all the characters and was rooting for them hard as they faced one impossible obstacle after another. It was thrilling and action-packed, but well-paced. (Other than the first two chapters. Those first two chapters are terrible and very deceiving. Don't judge the book based on them alone.)

When I was first introduced to Kaz, the hardened leader of the gang, I thought for sure I was never going to like him. But Barduga did it -- she made me care about him. I want only the best for him.

My two complaints are:

1) The characters are supposed to be aged 16-18, but they act/think/talk like they're in their late 20s

2) I would have liked some more description of the settings. The only reason I could vaguely place the era was because they used horses but had gunpowder. What are the characters wearing? What do the ordinary buildings look/smell like? I have no idea.

A warning: the main arc of the novel is more-or-less resolved by the end, but it introduces a new cliffhanger at the very end so now I need to read the next book.

*Basically, if the title follows the pattern of "___ of ___ and ___," it's been a disappointment. ("Court of Mist and Roses," "Daughter of Smoke and Bone," etc)