Daughter of Smoke and BoneAuthor: Laini TaylorPublisher: Brown Books, 2011
Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
My Review:
Karou leads a secret life. A life filled with otherworld creatures called chimaera, and a part time job of collecting teeth. Keeping her two lives separate has gotten harder lately, and when a collecting job goes horribly wrong due to a mysterious angel with fiery eyes and wings, Karou knows she needs to learn the truth about her past and who she really is. But then the portals are closed off and Karou is cut off from the only people who know the truth about her. She will do anything to find a way back to them, even if it means consorting with the enemy. An enemy who, by some unknown force, she is finding harder and harder to resist.
The story starts with Karou’s “normal” life. She lives in Prague, where she’s currently an art student. At first we’re not quite sure if her drawings are real or not, but soon we find out they’re part of her secret life. A life where carried knives and knows how to use them, kicks ass in karate, knows more than twenty languages, and collects teeth for Brimstone (father-like figure) all over the world. Oh and her hair really grows out blue, thanks to a wish made with her magic bead necklace.
I really enjoyed the changing POV’s between Karou and Akiva, which I think were exceptionally done. One would end a sentence and the other one would pick up as if in answer. The descriptions of the Elsewhere were quite enchanting, and the creatures though bizarre weren’t without their own eerie beauty. Though the last part of the book got really heavy with the flashbacks and backstory I didn’t mind so much because I did want to know how Karou came to be the daughter of smoke and bone. The ending, though it pained me by the turn of events, was shocking enough that I loved it.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone is made of richly descriptive and enthralling prose, an incredibly unique Elsewhere world, and a set of characters that you’ll never forget. It is the story of Karou, a mystifying tale of wishes and hope, of anger and regret, of war and love. When I picked up this I never imagined the potential contained within its pages. It’s a great start to a series, and after reading it I know it can only get better after this.
Favorite Quote and best lesson of all time.
“I don’t know may rules to live by,” he’d said. “But here’s one. It’s simple. Don’t put anything unnecessary into yourself. No poisons or chemicals, no fumes or smoke or alcohol, no sharp objects, no inessential needles—drug or tattoo—and…no inessential penises, either.”
“Inessential penises?” Karou had repeated, delighted with the phrase in spite of her grief. “Is there any such thing as an essential one?”
