How Six of Crows taught me that it was okay to not always feel fine
Since today is World Mental Health Day, I wanted to address a side of Six of Crows that has always been quite an important aspect to me. Ā
Mental illness and awareness is a huge topic in todayās society, and right of the top of my head, I can think of some brilliant YA novels that talk about the subjects; The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Itās Kind of a Funny Story, Turtles all the Way Down, and so on. The list is endless. But there seems to be a distinct lack of YA fantasy books that deal with mental health topics. I did a google search, and sure, you could argue that Harry Potter suffers from PTSD (controversial topic which Iām not going to express my opinion right here), or that Frodo Baggins suffers from depression (not a YA book, but you get the point), but the actual amount of YA fantasy novels where we can actually all agree that the protagonist or a side character suffer from a mental illness is incredibly small. Yes, it does exist, and a quick shoutout to all the fantasy authors who do write about mental health issues. Iām not gonna name any out of fear for forgetting any, but feel free to reblog this with any fantasy YA mental health awareness books youād recommend (my personal favourite apart from SoC would probably be the Raven Cycle).
But honestly, Leigh Bardugo shows us that it is very much possible. A couple of her protagonists suffer from actual mental illnesses, others are insecure, or non-conforming in some way. Their issues are smoothly integrated into the story and help advance the plot by creating problems and secrets. It makes the characters incredibly interesting and round. It creates the least-clichĆ© romantic side-plots Iāve ever read in a YA novel. And you know what? I think we, as readers, can learn something from every single one of the Crows.
Kaz Brekker teaches us that mental illnesses shouldnāt stop us from achieving our dreams. He teaches that you can not be able to touch anyone but still be powerful. That a horrible childhood doesnāt have to drag us down. Kaz teaches us how to be determined.
Inej Ghafa teaches us that faith can get us anywhere. She teaches us how to stand up to the people weāre afraid of, and that things that have happened to us in the past donāt have to define us. Inej teaches us how to be strong.
Jesper Fahey teaches us that itās sometimes okay to go off the rails. That people make mistakes (and sometimes make a lot of them). Jesper teaches us how to be human.
Wylan van Eck teaches us that we are not our parents. He teaches us that we have the right to be our own people and donāt have to follow in anybodyās footsteps if we donāt want to. He teaches us to not listen to mockeries and insults. Wylan teaches us how to be independent.
Like Jesper, Nina teaches us that sometimes, we make terrible mistakes. she teaches us how to make them right. But she also teaches us to not be ashamed of who we are, even if we are different or special, and that our body weight does not define us. Nina teaches us to be proud.
And Matthias. Matthias Helvar teaches us that the way we we were raised doesnāt define us. You donāt have to follow the morals and the values and the hatred that may have been burned into your head. He shows us that people have the ability to change. They have the ability to forgive and be forgiven. He shows us that sometimes itās okay to not know whether youāre doing the right thing. That sometimes, humans lose their way and have to find it again. Matthias teaches us how to develop.
Determination, strength, humanity, independence, pride, development. You know what? Those are some values I can get behind. And these six anti-heroic criminals teach us so much more. Of course, they teach us that itās okay to not be heterosexual.Ā They teach us that love isnāt always easy. That sometimes our pasts catch up with us. That we canāt always do what we want. But they also teach us that there are always people out there for us. A family. Friends. People who love us.
And I guess I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you to Leigh Bardugo, for creating such wonderfully human characters that I cried for and smiled for even though the real world was trying to drag me down. Thank you for creating characters who helped me understand that itās okay not to feel fine.
And I also wanted to say, to everybody who is reading this horribly long monologue of mine (thanks for that, by the way), that youāre an amazing individual and you too can be a total badass like our favourite criminals if you put your mind to it. Stay safe, folks. And stay strong.
Happy World Mental Health Day.
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