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A review by selfmythologies
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
alrighty, i couldnt resist, i need to write this review :D
picking up hyped books is something i love to do, because there is a certain thrill in it. (i sound like jesper, lmao). there has to be something about the book that makes people gravitate towards it (excitement! anticipation!), but it's also super easy to be disappointed bc of high expectations. ive had a lot of examples of hyped books that i didnt care for in the slightest.
this is not one of them. this book deserves all the hype it can get. because... it just does everything right. it's like i wrote in my LOS review: it has all the elements i love about ya fantasy, and none of those i dislike.
things six of crows has:
-complex and intriguing worldbuilding
-characters with completely different motives, backstories and worldviews coming together to reluctantly form a family, you mean MY FAVORITE TROPE OF ALL TIME
-moral ambiguity isnt just a character thing, it's like the backbone of this entire book. it reminded me of a quote from the 100: 'who we are, and who we need to be to survive are two very different things.'. just by the very nature that youre basically rooting for a group of criminals, there is soooo much exploration of what makes a person do the things they do? how much choice do they have? if you have to choose between two evils which one would you pick? seriously, what else could i want.
-speaking of: my capitalism detesting heart loved the hell out of this entire book for how the True Enemy is Powerful Rich People ('we greedy assholes create criminals in the first place bc we give them no other chance but to become bad people to survive, and then we treat them like shit and exploit them, because thats profitable af!')
-internalized prejudice & hate portrayed realistically and overcome with some beautiful character development? sign me t f up
-honestly is there any theme in this book that is not super relevant, super real and explored super well? tell me when you found it
-the 'magical' element came so naturally to the story and was a nice extra touch
-the actual plot is suspenseful as heck
-plot twists that dont come out of nowhere but are tied into character development, aka My Favorite Thing
-the multiple POV chapters give each character time to shine and depth and perspective
-so much representation!!! disability rep, rep for different ethnic groups, trauma/ptsd, lgbt, and more. and it's not just merely described, it's tied into each characters' storyline.
(this is a good point to talk about characters i guess! SPOILERS from now on bc i need to discuss arcs)
so what about:
-the entire super cleverly interesting awesome thing where we are basically manipulated to believe The Myth of Kaz Brekker at the beginning bc of the awesome stuff that he does, and over the course of the book we get to realize more and more, that he is /just a boy/ after all, and not some badass ruthless bastard that you love bc he's so #cool, that it's all just a reputation he built for himself but he is so devastatingly human after all and he doesnt know how to get back to that humanity he once had before those in power destroyed it all GIMME THAT I LOVE IT, also his ptsd and the whole touch aversion thing is written so well and...it honestly breaks my heart when inej touches his cheek and he's like //internal war//, god i cant wait for this relationship in the sequel
-Inej!! her fetishization being portrayed as the horrible thing it is, (which is so relevant to irl readers), and her being trapped psychologically in that state of dehumanization*, and then finding her purpose and not taking shit from anyone but also genuinely being so nice and faithful and h o n e stl y inej i l ove you
-jesper is the Funny Sidekick .....until you realize he is deep af (and still hilarious.) honestly tbh he is to me the most relatable character and it surprised me?? like the whole trying to run away from responsibility and loving anything that gives you a sense of focus and purpose and thrill....m an.
honestly just let me take a break to say all the characters and their struggles / conflicts are so original??? and so good?
-wylan is my actual son, and i love the mix of kinda naivety on one hand and badass cleverness on the other. also, positive dyslexia rep!!!
-n i n a, ok first of all she has so many traits that people often complain are Annoying YA Heroine typical like brash, impulsive, etc, but Nina is so....like a subversion of those stereotypes almost because she is so genuinely likeable as well, and funny, and basically a big firework of wonderfulness. also the most heroic of them all?
-Matthias explores the whole internalized prejudice topic, and he's also such a great addition to the others bc of his fundamentally different sense of morality. it makes for great humor AND hella interesting dynamics where you can understand both sides awensfnegldngkldgxmdnl
I SHOULD GIVE UP BC IM JUST RAMBLING AT THIS POINT
buut waitwait the ending. i love it so much....i knew sth was gonna go wrong at the exchange, but this is So Good, it's like the old goal was difficult but manageable, but the new one is truly terrifying- to win over him they have to....basically tear apart the entire foundation their society is based upon?? kinda??
i am so thrilled. i know i sound like a 15 year old basic fangirl in this entire review but im so happy this took all tropes and stuff i love and turned it into an awesome novel, honestly it's like a dream.
crooked kingdom, im waiting for you! we will meet in december, i promise! :D <3
*i am only now realizing that dehumanization is like such a big theme i n general as well? and it connects kaz and inej's backstories but in different ways ajfasdjfklsfjn i love this
picking up hyped books is something i love to do, because there is a certain thrill in it. (i sound like jesper, lmao). there has to be something about the book that makes people gravitate towards it (excitement! anticipation!), but it's also super easy to be disappointed bc of high expectations. ive had a lot of examples of hyped books that i didnt care for in the slightest.
this is not one of them. this book deserves all the hype it can get. because... it just does everything right. it's like i wrote in my LOS review: it has all the elements i love about ya fantasy, and none of those i dislike.
things six of crows has:
-complex and intriguing worldbuilding
-characters with completely different motives, backstories and worldviews coming together to reluctantly form a family, you mean MY FAVORITE TROPE OF ALL TIME
-moral ambiguity isnt just a character thing, it's like the backbone of this entire book. it reminded me of a quote from the 100: 'who we are, and who we need to be to survive are two very different things.'. just by the very nature that youre basically rooting for a group of criminals, there is soooo much exploration of what makes a person do the things they do? how much choice do they have? if you have to choose between two evils which one would you pick? seriously, what else could i want.
-speaking of: my capitalism detesting heart loved the hell out of this entire book for how the True Enemy is Powerful Rich People ('we greedy assholes create criminals in the first place bc we give them no other chance but to become bad people to survive, and then we treat them like shit and exploit them, because thats profitable af!')
-internalized prejudice & hate portrayed realistically and overcome with some beautiful character development? sign me t f up
-honestly is there any theme in this book that is not super relevant, super real and explored super well? tell me when you found it
-the 'magical' element came so naturally to the story and was a nice extra touch
-the actual plot is suspenseful as heck
-plot twists that dont come out of nowhere but are tied into character development, aka My Favorite Thing
-the multiple POV chapters give each character time to shine and depth and perspective
-so much representation!!! disability rep, rep for different ethnic groups, trauma/ptsd, lgbt, and more. and it's not just merely described, it's tied into each characters' storyline.
(this is a good point to talk about characters i guess! SPOILERS from now on bc i need to discuss arcs)
so what about:
-the entire super cleverly interesting awesome thing where we are basically manipulated to believe The Myth of Kaz Brekker at the beginning bc of the awesome stuff that he does, and over the course of the book we get to realize more and more, that he is /just a boy/ after all, and not some badass ruthless bastard that you love bc he's so #cool, that it's all just a reputation he built for himself but he is so devastatingly human after all and he doesnt know how to get back to that humanity he once had before those in power destroyed it all GIMME THAT I LOVE IT, also his ptsd and the whole touch aversion thing is written so well and...it honestly breaks my heart when inej touches his cheek and he's like //internal war//, god i cant wait for this relationship in the sequel
-Inej!! her fetishization being portrayed as the horrible thing it is, (which is so relevant to irl readers), and her being trapped psychologically in that state of dehumanization*, and then finding her purpose and not taking shit from anyone but also genuinely being so nice and faithful and h o n e stl y inej i l ove you
-jesper is the Funny Sidekick .....until you realize he is deep af (and still hilarious.) honestly tbh he is to me the most relatable character and it surprised me?? like the whole trying to run away from responsibility and loving anything that gives you a sense of focus and purpose and thrill....m an.
honestly just let me take a break to say all the characters and their struggles / conflicts are so original??? and so good?
-wylan is my actual son, and i love the mix of kinda naivety on one hand and badass cleverness on the other. also, positive dyslexia rep!!!
-n i n a, ok first of all she has so many traits that people often complain are Annoying YA Heroine typical like brash, impulsive, etc, but Nina is so....like a subversion of those stereotypes almost because she is so genuinely likeable as well, and funny, and basically a big firework of wonderfulness. also the most heroic of them all?
-Matthias explores the whole internalized prejudice topic, and he's also such a great addition to the others bc of his fundamentally different sense of morality. it makes for great humor AND hella interesting dynamics where you can understand both sides awensfnegldngkldgxmdnl
I SHOULD GIVE UP BC IM JUST RAMBLING AT THIS POINT
buut waitwait the ending. i love it so much....i knew sth was gonna go wrong at the exchange, but this is So Good, it's like the old goal was difficult but manageable, but the new one is truly terrifying- to win over him they have to....basically tear apart the entire foundation their society is based upon?? kinda??
i am so thrilled. i know i sound like a 15 year old basic fangirl in this entire review but im so happy this took all tropes and stuff i love and turned it into an awesome novel, honestly it's like a dream.
crooked kingdom, im waiting for you! we will meet in december, i promise! :D <3
*i am only now realizing that dehumanization is like such a big theme i n general as well? and it connects kaz and inej's backstories but in different ways ajfasdjfklsfjn i love this