City News

Ketterdam is a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be traded for the

right price. There, criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker is offered the job of a lifetime. For

thirty million kruge, he was to rescue Bo Yul-Bayur, a scientist who developed a drug

called the jurda parem, out from a nearly impenetrable prison within the Ice Palace of

Fjerda. If he succeeds, he will become rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull

it off alone. He assembles a team of infamous teen criminals to join his deadly heist.

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that stands between the world and its destruction--if they

don’t kill each other first.

I rate Six of Crows a 8/10. Six of Crows is similar to tales like Percy Jackson where a

crew of different strengths and motives must work together to complete a quest.

Everyone is a thief, a monster in their own right, but each must conquer their

differences. My favorite character is Kaz Brekker. He is known to the world as the devil,

the criminal who took over a gang and seized authority, but beneath him is a heart as

soft as lavender.

There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong, and there

was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken.

He’s a cripple. He had lost his brother to the slums. He lost his family. But suffering only

made him stronger. He learned to pick up the pieces and keep walking.

What I love most about Six of Crows is the romance: a spy and her leader, a Grisha and

her hunter. There are some suggestions as to a brewing romance between Jesper and

Wylan, a sharpshooter and a runaway, but it is not made explicit. My favorite ship is

between Nina and Matthias. Matthias was a former Drüskelle from Fjerda whose sole

goal was to capture Grishas, humans with magical abilities, like Nina. After being

captured by the Druskelles, Nina was taken aboard a ship with the other Grishas. One

night, the ship experienced a massive storm. In the chaos, she escaped with Matthias,

and they became allies, until Nina turned Matthias in as a slaver who had captured her.

Nina turned him in to protect him, as there were other Grishas watching and had feared

they would capture Matthias, but Matthias didn’t know that. Ooh, drama!

Certainly it is a thrilling adventure ride, but there were parts that I felt dragged on a bit.

If you are planning on reading, I suggest you skim through the first few chapters of the

book. There are too many names that would only appear once in the beginning and then

become irrelevant. The real meat of the story would only begin the day Kaz receives his

deadly heist. But even then, sometimes comes parts of the story where I skipped to move

into the action. No matter, it is a brilliantly written fantasy book I would recommend to

rebel teens.