Crooked Kingdom: A Sequel to Six of Crows

Published in 2016, Leigh Bardugo’s young adult novel Crooked Kingdom is the sequel to Six of Crows; the two form a duology set in Bardugo’s broader Grishaverse. The fantasy world takes its name from the Grisha, individuals with the power to control the elements of nature, the workings of the human body, and inorganic matter. Crooked Kingdom earned a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and was nominated for a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award in the category of Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction. The novel takes inspiration from heist fiction and alternates between the viewpoints of various Dregs, a crew of teenage criminals who enact daring schemes and fight for revenge and redemption in a gritty, fictionalized version of 19th-century Europe. The Dregs and the rest of the Grishaverse inspired the Netflix drama series entitled Shadow and Bone. The adaptation, which draws from both Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone Trilogy and the Six of Crows Duology, premiered in 2021. Citations in this study guide refer to the first edition hardcover volume published by Henry Holt and Co.

Content Warning: The source material contains depictions of human trafficking, sexual abuse, physical abuse, substance abuse, and ableism.

Plot Summary

Crooked Kingdom takes place in the city of Ketterdam in Kerch, a merchant-controlled country in Bardugo’s Grishaverse that is based on the Netherlands.