Crooked Kingdom: Six of Crows, Book 2

Name: Crooked Kingdom: Six of Crows, Book 2
Item: Crooked Kingdom: Six of Crows, Book 2
Rating: 5
Author: Carrie R. Wheadon

Book review by

Carrie R. Wheadon, Common Sense Media

Crooked Kingdom: Six of Crows, Book 2 Book Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 14+

(i)

Another impossible mission, another mature, riveting read.

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Parents say

age 14+

Based on 1 review

Kids say

age 13+

Based on 3 reviews

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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

Educational Value

This resourceful gang of thieves relies on careful planning for their nearly impossible missions, and each member of the team is relied upon for his or her particular talents. In Crooked Kingdom, we get a lesson in high-wire walking/fighting and the myriad ways thieves launder money. Budding psychology students get an up-close look at both drug and gambling addiction here and what each addicted person is up against while working toward recovery.

Positive Messages

Just like in Book 1, there's a lot about overcoming loss and suffering and fighting for survival. Greed, power, and revenge drive much of what happens on the surface, but a longing for connection and loyalty are the underlying motivators that keep the six main characters together. Crooked Kingdom also focuses heavily on managing fear and shame and how not repeating the same mistakes and not continuing to do harm is better than simply apologizing.

Positive Role Models & Representations

Characters are driven by revenge and the fight for their own survival but also driven to protect each other and those preying on the powerless. Kaz worries that his soft spot for Inej will get in the way of his abilities to protect his team, but he discovers how much he needs that connection and begins to nurture it. Matthias and Nina both work to overcome their prejudices to be together; Nina's struggles with an addiction to a drug and the loss of her abilities make her an even more resilient character in the end. Wylan overcomes his shame of a disability to find his own voice and power, while Jesper overcomes his fears of facing the father he's wronged to make amends.

Violence

Some gory moments, the worst being a gunshot in an eye socket: "[T]he blast didn't just take her eye but most of the top of her skull." An important character is shot and killed. A torture scene includes a mallet that almost shatters a leg. Main characters take some truly bloody beatings (killing some in the process, including a man with broken nails in his windpipe). They are also shot at repeatedly and pelted with knives and throwing stars (one time on a high wire with no net). Explosions injure people, and a pandemic causes panic. Corpses turn zombie-like or are taken out of morgues. A woman falls to her death with talk of another dangled over a ledge, then killed for information. Plenty of stories of the misfortunes of the main characters in their past include nearly being strangled to death, watching family members die, being beaten working in a brothel and losing connection to your own body while working there, being psychologically tortured as a young soldier, being sold as a slave.

Sex

Kissing, innuendo, and flirting between older teens, both straight and gay.

Language

One "f--king" and a few uses of "ass," "damn," "hell," "son of a bitch," "bitch," and "bastard."

Consumerism

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

One character works on recovering from a serious drug addiction and asks for the drug often. They're all teens from the underbelly of society who have had hard lives, so there are plenty of mentions of bars and drinking until drunkenness, especially during gambling. People drink champagne at a gambling house, and there's some whiskey and brandy drinking.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Leigh Bardugo's Crooked Kingdom, the follow-up to the riveting Six of Crows, is related to her Grisha trilogy, but you can read Six of Crows and this sequel without reading the other series first. As with Six of Crows, the content is consistently mature and a better fit for mature teen readers -- high schoolers, not middle schoolers. Characters are complex, flawed, and sometimes responsible for some of the worst violence. While there's no arena fighting in this one, there are a few jarringly gory moments, the worst being a gunshot in an eye socket: "[T]he blast didn't just take her eye but most of the top of her skull." An important character is shot and killed, a torture scene includes a mallet that almost shatters a leg, and main characters take some truly bloody beatings (killing some in the process, including a man with broken nails in his windpipe). They are also shot at repeatedly and pelted with knives and throwing stars (one time on a high wire with no net). Explosions injure people, and corpses turn zombie-like or are taken out of morgues. Other mature content includes kissing and flirting, both straight and gay, and some drinking and drug and gambling addiction among teens. Strong language is pretty infrequent, with only one use of "f--king." Characters are driven by revenge and the fight for their own survival but also by a need for connection. They work to protect each other from those preying on the powerless.

User Reviews

Parents say
Kids say

Adult Written byChristina H. September 21, 2017

age 14+

One of the best books I've ever read

On the surface, the characters all seems shallow. Most of them seem to live selfish, greedy lives. But through the course of the story the reader gets to know t... Continue reading

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Teen, 16 years old Written byAdrianais17 October 1, 2016

age 14+

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Teen, 13 years old Written byTbrslayer May 20, 2018

age 13+

Amazing

Their is violence but nothing a 13 year old wouldn’t be able to handle unless their parents have kept them under a rock their entire lives.

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What's the story?

In CROOKED KINGDOM, Kaz and his crew are still reeling after being double-crossed by the very crooked merchant Jan Van Eck. Not only did they not get their money for breaking into the Ice Court and retrieving Kuwei, a Shu who can make the dreaded drug jurda parem, but also Inej has been kidnapped and held as leverage. Of course with control over the manufacture of a powerful drug that turns Grisha into unstoppable soldiers on the line, there are plenty more enemies to make -- whole countries and gang bosses alike. Kaz's team's difficult rescue of Inej is just the beginning. Then Jesper's innocent father is lured to town -- more leverage -- Grisha such as Jesper and Nina are hunted down in the streets, and their faces turn up on wanted posters all over Ketterdam.

Is it any good?

Like the amazing Inej on a high wire, this satisfying sequel is both incredibly exciting and well balanced. Crooked Kingdom may have a bit less action than the nonstop Six of Crows, but readers who feel invested in these fascinating and flawed characters won't mind fewer gladiator-style prison fights in favor of a better grasp of Wylan's fear of his evil father or Jesper's fear of his good one and his gambling addiction. Between plotting and scheming to stay ahead of absolutely everyone -- gang bosses, merchants, police, whole foreign kingdoms -- readers are treated to a real understanding of these characters, of the nature and power of addiction and PTSD, and even of the damaging effects of slavery, prostitution, and prejudice.

And then we get back to the action. Yes, Kaz stays one step ahead even though it always looks as if he's not. But were it not for Nina's frightening new gift, Inej's ability to dodge knives at unspeakable heights, Jesper's unerring shooting accuracy, and the astounding talents of the rest of the crew, all of Kaz's uber-complex plans would go nowhere. It's a nail-biting joy to watch it all unfold and to see this ultimate team of underdogs best an entire city of enemies.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about the two addicted characters in Crooked Kingdom. How are gambling addiction and drug addiction similar? How are they different? Do you have more empathy for those struggling with addiction after feeling invested in the lives of the characters in this book?
Nina and Matthias both struggle with prejudice, each against the people of the other's country. How do they work to begin to overcome it?
What do you think is next for these characters? Will you keep reading about them? Why, or why not?