Common Sense Media Review
By Sandie Angulo Chen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Epic finale to enthralling '20s-set paranormal series.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
THE KING OF CROWS picks up immediately after the events of Before the Devil Breaks You, following the entire crew of Diviners: object-reader Evie; Sam, who has powers of persuasion and invisibility; fire-starter dancer Theta; poet and musician Memphis; his clairvoyant little brother Isaiah; lucid dreamers Henry and Ling; and superstrong, genetically modified Jericho. Sam is kidnapped by agents working with Jake Marlowe to track down Diviners. Characters are killed and the Diviners are blamed, so Marlowe convinces now-skeptical New Yorkers to consider the Diviners dangerous, offering a reward for their capture. The Diviners are forced to separate and go on the run, but they plan to meet up in the Midwest, where a young teen who has spoken to Isaiah in visions says she knows how to defeat the titular King of Crows. Along the way, the three groups of Diviners encounter various obstacles, including the Great Flood of 1927, the KKK, a nationwide hunt for them, and the King of Crows' army of ravenous undead.
Is It Any Good?
Libba Bray's sprawling finale in her decade-long Diviners saga is a massive epic full of emotional highs and lows, and a thought-provoking look at 1920s America. Readers shouldn't even think of picking it up until they've re-read 2017's Before the Devil Breaks You (or at last read a review or summary); it dives right in and goes nonstop for more than 500 pages. So much happens in each of the three subgroups (Sam, Evie, Theta, and Isaiah join the circus! Henry, Bill, and Memphis catch ride on a Southbound train thanks to the Pullman porters, and Jericho and Ling join Alma on the Chitlin' Circuit of African American entertainment venues), it's hard to believe the series will wrap up in the final act. But somehow Bray manages to delve into each character's arc and move the story forward to its propulsive end.
Be warned, reader, for you will need tissues. You don't need to be a Diviner to know there are sad times in store for some of our favorite characters. Bray isn't as brutal as George R.R. Martin, but let's just compare this to the Deathly Hallows in the sense that in a war for the future of humanity, not everyone gets a happily ever after. They do, however, each experience happiness, love (whether it's romantic, familial, or both), and, most of all, the unbreakable bond of friendship. This series has always promoted the idea that learning to befriend, trust, and love others who don't look like us, talk like us, or even believe like us is a beautiful, magical, and necessary part of life. In essence, America is made better by people of all backgrounds, heritages, and faiths. That's a reminder we could all use, no matter the decade.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the many history lessons in The King of Crows. What did you learn about the 1920s, New York City, and other parts of America?
What do you think of multiple-point-of-view narratives? Why does the author focus on some characters more than others in certain installments in the series? Does the narration feel more evenly spread out in this book?
This series features an incredibly diverse cast of characters, including characters who identify as LGBTQ, characters with disabilities, characters from various religious backgrounds, and racial/ethnic minorities. What did you learn about the history of disenfranchised groups from the books? How is it relevant to today and how we treat people who are different from us?
What did you think about the end of the series? Was the epilogue everything you hoped? Are the characters where and with whom you wanted?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Historical Fiction
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , History
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : February 4, 2020
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 18
- Number of pages : 560
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate