Six of Crows

Leigh Bardugo.  I'm not sure how I feel about her; I listened to Shadow and Bone, and it was fine--I liked the worldbuilding better than the plot, and certainly better than the characters.  I started the sequel, Siege and Storm, and just couldn't get into it. I wasn't invested enough in what was happening to want to go back and find out how anything ended.

But here I am listening to Six of Crows, because I just CANNOT resist a heist story.  Eccentric but super-competent people come together to do something impossible and pull one over on some version of The Man--you are in my sweet spot, with chocolate sauce.

Not very far in yet, but very much enjoying it.  It's got one big glaring flaw, which is that all the characters are 17 years old FOR NO REASON.  I mean, I guess it's so it can be a young adult book, but really it's nonsense, and they keep talking about it (don't condescend to me, we're the same age; he's young to run a gang). Each member is the best at what s/he does--the best sharpshooter in the Barrel is 17.  Not someone who's been to war and done a hundred things--this 17 year old kid.  Also the best thief--invisible, skilled, ruthless, reserved.  17.  And she was enslaved for a while and then worked for the Dregs for a while, and before that she was an acrobat with her family.  There literally aren't enough years for you to have had all these experiences.

It's ridiculous, especially with Kaz, the leader. He has all kinds of connections, long term plans, and the whole town wired.  He's 17.  And while his backstory has only been hinted at, he arrived in town just a while ago.  Practically speaking, it makes no sense.

Okay, so that's my nitpick.  Let me tell you one of my favorite things now, just to make up for it--the Dregs operate in the rough side of town, which is called the Barrel.  You get to know it--East Stave and West Stave; the Lid, down by the docks, where the rich folks come in and out to gamble away their money.  They come in costume, to disguise their identities, as characters from a famous opera.  I love this city--how it works, the flavor and feel of it.

But, as Sarah says, I just pretend they're all 35 and it's a great book. Only 17 year olds think 17 year olds know everything.