Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (InfoSoup)

In the slums of Ketterdam, you do anything you can to survive. The Dregs are a gang in the area, up and coming and led by Kaz Brekker, a teen who walks with a cane that can kill and has a ferocious personality to match. When he is offered a remarkably high sum to pull off an impossible heist, he knows just the group of people who can help him do it. The group of six teens from very different backgrounds don’t exactly get along perfectly. Some of them hate one another, others are drawn to one another for romance and still others are completely indifferent to the rest. But each of them has hidden talents that this heist will demand that they use, if they are going to survive at all.

Bardugo is a master storyteller. Here she continues the story of the Grisha world with a new cast of characters. Their world is the mix of danger, thrill and torment of the slums that are also dashed with fakery and glitter. It will take those harsh survival skills for them to pull off the gambit, but it will also take them each wrestling with their past and how they got to Ketterdam in the first place. Bardugo makes sure that we know each of the six intimately, allowing us to see how poverty, war and loss can turn someone to a criminal.

Set in the same world as her previous trilogy, this new series adds even more depth and breadth to an already rich setting. Bardugo makes the world of Ketterdam almost its own character, filling it with villains, rivals and all around bad people. One can hear the cacophony of the streets, the sounds of the gambling, the calls of the vendors. One can smell the sweat, dirty bodies, and desperation. Against all of that, you have these teens who are all unique and fascinating, each driven by something personal to them alone. It’s a beautifully built book.

Rivetingly written, richly drawn and filled with fascinating characters, this book will please fans of the previous series and create new fans too. Appropriate for ages 14-17.