YA Warriors Book Club discussion
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Six of Crows
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Six of Crows BOOKTALK!
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Ali
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rated it 5 stars
Apr 21, 2016 11:53AM
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I loved this book, I loved it SO MUCH!!!
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I have yet to finish it but I already love it too! Who's your favorite character?!
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And am I the only one who wanted something to happen between Jesper and Wylan like yesterday?!
Ali wrote: "Vanessa wrote: "I loved this book, I loved it SO MUCH!!!"I have yet to finish it but I already love it too! Who's your favorite character?!" You can't make me choose!!! Okay, I choose Inej, Kaz, and Nina! :D
Ali wrote: "OH MY GAWD! I finally finished Six of Crows and I COULD NOT PUT THE BOOK DOWN! That ending, and poor Nina, and Inez, AHHH INEJ! But mostly I cannot WAIT to see what shit Kaz comes up with to get ba..."Lol, I seriously did not pick up on the fact that they were flirting for so long XD. But yes, they are adorable.
I agree with Vanessa for top three characters! I wasn't sure if it was too late to discuss the book since it's may but since you guys are doing it, I'll just throw out a bunch of things I loved about the book, since it's no secret I loved it!First, I thought the pacing was amazing. Recently I've heard some people say they thought the pacing was too slow, and I can see where they're coming from, but I thought it worked great for me. It was the perfect balance of rich world building, so different from Ravka, you really feel immersed in Ketterdam. I thought it was a perfect balance of action, character development, and backstory. Sometimes, authors drag out backstories too much that you get frustrated, but Leigh gives us enough every couple chapters to be satisfying but also keep you dying to know what happened to make everyone they way they are. Deep character development and relationships is so important to me as a reader, that I didn't mind that the actual heist didn't happen until later. When bad things happened to the characters, I was already so invested in each one that it really made that emotional impact.
I thought the scene with Inej in the incinerator shaft was one of the most emotional scenes for me I've ever read in a book. The literal physical pain of climbing the burning shaft paired with all the emotional turmoil of her thinking about her pain suffered as a sex slave and her family, like dammit I cried. Then that line where she thinks of Sankta Alina? As a fan of the first series, it made me so emotional to think that Alina, who went through so much, has almost become a patron saint to other lost young girls.
Leigh kept enough of the heist hidden from the readers that we too were amazed and surprised when it was reveled, that the heist just seemed that much more impressive. Another random thing I noticed, that I commented to Leigh on Twitter and she thanked me so I assume it was intentional, is the language used to describe her PoC characters. A big problem in writing that has been a discussion in recent years is authors who use food terms to describe people of color, like "honey, caramel, chocolate" While usually not done to be offensive, it's fetishing and never done with white characters (mashed potatoes? egg shells?) When Leigh describes her characters, she just uses words like "tan, brown, dark, etc" EXCEPT when it's coming from the men who visit the brothels. They love Inej for her caramel skin, etc. In this sense, Leigh is commenting on how gross it sounds to refer to people like that. I thought that was very clever!
That was longer than expected, but let me know what your favorite parts were!! Favorite ship?
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As for Sankta Alina...I hadn't actually finished the Grisha trilogy (I have to read the last book) so when I read that I was like WHATTTT?!?!? Oh my god whaaaat? So now I want to finish the last book haha but I got chills when I read that, and it really made me take a step back from the book for a while.
YES! I love when authors don't just spill the plans to readers with the characters. I love when readers have to experience the twists and turns right along with the characters, because we don't know what's going on either. We have enough information to follow along, but part of the reason I loved this book is because I couldn't guess what happened next, which I normally can for a novel.
Wow. I didn't notice that about the skin color, but now it's making me question my writing PoC in my book haha thank you so much for pointing that out Sophie!
My favorite ship is Jesper and Wylan hehehehe because honestly, I don't like Kaz and Inej :X I mean...I can see it has potential, but I agree with Inej. She's strong, she knows what she deserves, and if Kaz can't lower his defenses for her, then she deserves better. Don't get me wrong, I love Kaz (he's the perfect combination of twisted, intelligent, and vulnerable) but that's my two cents on the issue.
I liked Nina and Matthias, but for some reason their relationship never resonated with me. It felt super toxic, and then out of nowhere it became healthy. I don't think Leigh did this intentionally, but when I see relationships like that it' just a turn off for me.
So yes, sweet, naive little Wylan and gambling Jesper are my ship haha. What about you?
And my favorite part of the novel, like you kind of hinted at, was Kaz's brilliant freaking mind. The fact that I couldn't think two steps ahead of him (he was two steps ahead of EVERYONE! well, almost) really made the book enjoyable, and keep the on the edge of my seat.
Jesus, and you thought your post was long? XD sorry guys
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Andddd I forgot to click the reply button lol whoops.
Don't worry too much about the Grisha trilogy hints, only half of them are true, and half of them are intentional misdirections ;) Honestly I'm enjoying all the ships so far, but I'm such a sucker for Inej/Kaz. I absolutely agree with you though, that Kaz needs to get his act together if he ever hopes to deserve the goddess that is Inej. I understand that part of his struggles come from his childhood trauma and there's a lot of PTSD symptoms and it's going to take time, but some of it is just him being an ass, but at least he's starting to realize that! I kind of liked that the stereotypical roles were reversed. Everyone always thinks the girl is going to give up everything for the boy, but really at the end Kaz was hopeless without Inej and Inej was like, "??? Boy you cute but I got shit to do!" I do enjoy Jesper and Wylan, I just am a little less invested ONLY because Wylan didn't have a POV, while all the other couples had both characters describing it. I'm so pumped for Wylan to have a POV in CK! Also for noncanon ships, I'd totally be ok with Nina and Inej, but as it is I looove their friendship! Also I wonder if Kaz ever realized that Jesper had feelings for him, and if he didn't, if it'd ever come up in the next book. I feel like for as smart Kaz is, he had no idea because he's obviously terrible at feelings. I'd love to see that brought up in Crooked Kingdom.
Ali wrote: "Honestly? Ketterdam felt more real to me than Ravka, so I completely understand what you mean. The word building was exquisite, and I didn't find the pacing slow at all (I just hit a weird reading ..."also forgot the reply button!
I also ship Inej and Kaz IF Kaz can get over his childhood trauma and fear of honest human emotions. Otherwise I feel like he'd be the most annoying boyfriend in the world, and Inej doesn't need to deal with that. No one needs to deal with that. I agree with Ali, that I just didn't really "get" Nina and Matthais. Clearly they had something when they were freezing to death in the snow, and because of that they're bonded by trauma, but I really can't stand Matthais.
I also noticed the skin-tone thing. In one of my books I have a character who is a mix of Asian and Hispanic, though this is a fantasy world on a dimension where those countries don't even exist...so I just described her skin as "dark tan" and hoped that was enough XD. It's very stressful trying to describe characters in a way that won't offend anyone, and I think Leigh Bardugo does a really good job at that!
Is it just me who thinks two books can't possibly be enough? I feel like Crooked Kingdom won't be enough to tie all loose ends. I wish Leigh could make it a trilogy. If it becomes a trilogy, we would see the relationships develop more, especially in the case of Kaz/Inej because they'd have to overcome a lot of hurdles in order for them to work. I am honestly worried that we won't see their relationship grow after (if) they save Inej. On the bright side, we get a Wylan pov and my favorite ship Wesper will probably get a lot of attention so I'm happy!!! Also Inej is my favorite character and I'd like to see her kick some slaver-ass. Crooked Kingdom isn't even out yet and I'm already dreading the end of this series...What's wrong with me?
BookWorm101 wrote: "Is it just me who thinks two books can't possibly be enough? I feel like Crooked Kingdom won't be enough to tie all loose ends. I wish Leigh could make it a trilogy. If it becomes a trilogy, we wou..."I had no idea that there were only going to be two books. Now I'm sad.
But on the other hand, I hate it when authors drag out the plot unnecessarily...so it'll hopefully be action-packed and awesome!
Yeah, hopefully it IS a trilogy! Although, we can all trust Bardugo to execute it pretty well whatever she decides to do with the series.
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Most definitely! I have to say I like that it's a duology -- the amount she covered in the first book was perfect, and I feel like (hope) she won't disappoint. But I'm also being TOTALLY selfish because I don't think my heart can handle another cliff hanger at the end of the second book. :X I am worried about Inej and Kaz's relationship though. It makes me wonder if they don't end up together. I honestly think that would be a bold move by Leigh, and I would respect the hell out of it.
As for Wesper, YASSSSS! I didn't know we get a Wylan POV in Crooked Kingdom, so I'm super excited for that.
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I never considered Inej and Nina for non-canon, but now that you mention it, I like the idea! It would be another bold move by Leigh, and it's something I really want to see. (If I get published, it will CERTAINLY be in my second book!)
