SIX OF CROWS

SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo

Let's talk YA books for a moment. The YA section at your local library or bookstore can be intimidating to navigate. I know there are Moms who skip this section all together and go from Middle Grade books to Adult. YA does tend to be filled with a lot of angst, situations that we moms pray our kids never encounter. Some consider YA to be a genre instead of the next level in the progression of levels of reading because of this. However, it is still targeted to a certain age, young adults, so while I understand it, I don't completely subscribe to this idea. I bring books home from this section, but if they push me too far, they're done. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is a YA novel that took me right up to the edge of not making it.

Set in the gutters and the alleys of the fantasy city of Ketterdam, Six of Crows is the story of an unlikely crew of 6 people who each have an underworld "specialty" who have agreed to take on an impossible job, break into the The Ice Court (an impenetrable castle) and steal the scientist who is responsible for creating jurda parem (a drug that will destroy lives and bring complete power to whoever controls it). If they finish this job, they will be rich beyond their wildest dreams. So what's the problem (besides the castle they need to break into has never been successfully breached before)? These six need to depend on each other. Being the street rats they are, there is a mix of being used to looking out for one's self, past love gone wrong, betrayal, races that hate each other, etc that will need to be overcome if there is any chance to successfully complete this heist. Six of Crows is a non-stop thriller that keeps you guessing the whole way through.

HEADS UP- Yes, there is a lengthy Heads Up section so you are aware! First off, there is a sprinkling of language throughout the book including 1 F-bomb. Second, you do flashback to scenes in the past of two members of the crew that came from different places that hated each other. These two end up saving each others' lives and falling in love. However, in the process of saving each others' lives from freezing to death, they both strip out of wet clothes and sleep next to each other naked. Remarks are made but nothing happens. Third, one of the members was taken from her family and worked in a brothel. No details are given. Fourth, there is some magic involved where certain races have gifts of being able to heal or take a person's life by controlling an organ in their body. Fifth, there is the hint of two male members possibly liking each other. There are extra looks sometimes and conversations that hint at it without ever coming right out and saying it. Sixth, there is a bit of a gory scene where info is needed and a person's eyeball is removed to encourage the person to share that info.

Overall, understand that this book is set in the underbelly of a world with teens that have all had and continue to have serious trauma in their lives. The settings are Gotham cityish, dark and foreboding. It is Book 1 of a two book series. I cannot comment on Book 2, yet.