By Leigh Bardugo

Published: 2015

AR level: 5.5

AR points: 21.0

Word count: 135,275

I suggest: 6th grade+

If you have watched the Netflix Shadow & Bone series, then you may have picked up Leigh Bardugo’s novel by the same name. And it’s good. Yep. I’ve even reviewed it here on my curated list of recommendations.

But you, like me, may have missed some favorite characters in the book that were featured on the show. Kaz and his crew (including the brave Inej and charming Jesper) offer some of the most entertaining segments in the series, and the book, although it takes a moment to wade into it, delivers this fascinating trio (and then some) right to its pages. It’s a little grittier than Shadow, but this unpredictable cast will keep you reading for sure.

Here’s the publisher’s description:

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.