Book to Film… Six of Crows

“No mourners, no funerals”

I understand that not every reader prefers high action with a twist of betrayal and unrequited love mixed into the book… but on the off chance you do, let’s talk about Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone, both authored by Leigh Bardugo.

This franchise is finally being adapted into a live-action series, and selfishly I could not be more excited. April 23rd, 2021 expect to find season one of Shadow and Bone live on Netflix; an original series that follows the events from these two series of books that play into each other through different characters and plots from the respective books.

Set in “The Grishaverse”, mundane people are mixed amongst those who possess unnatural abilities. One of the best things about this series, however, is that those without abilities are as important as those with abilities. The core significance of Bardugo’s famed series being that anyone can accomplish anything, with a little thievery on their side.

I don’t even want to label this as a strictly “young-adult” series; this duology follows corrupt science as it influences and affects the normalcy of several street gangs and their leaders. Taking place in a dystopian version of Amsterdam, Six of Crows shows us what found family tropes are capable of accomplishing. A heist, or a revolution— the cards are never fully revealed.

Bardugo not only did a good job of writing an easily translated series with high action, mystery, and plot twists that personally had me throwing the books across the rooms— she also had her characters reflect the diversity found in everyday life. Be it LGBTQ+ representation, body positivity, or genuine diversity amongst her characters and their backstories, Bardugo created a world where chronic injuries and differences make you dangerous and special.

This series has such a special place in my heart and my hopes for this adaptation are sky high. This is one of the series where no scene, character, or tactic can be omitted for the sake of the adaptation. Everything Bardugo wrote is instrumental in the rest of the individual series, as well as the spin off series that utilize different characters.

Hopefully, this series does well and viewers can stay tuned to witness the final convergence of plots when Bardugo finishes her third series within the same world. Here’s to high hopes and accuracy for this production.