Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Image courtesy of fatgirlreading.com

Goodreads.com Summary:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged srangers 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 otherworldly 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 is 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?

When I read the description of this book, and even throughout the first 150 pages, I thought that while this book sounded interesting, it also sounded a little trite. Perhaps a bit too Twilight-esque for my taste, especially in the midst of what can only be called a tsunami of paranormal romance. Holy guacamole, I was wrong. This book is so much more!

First of all, the protagonist, Karou, is absolutely endearing. She has a sarcastic tone to her narration, which I particularly appreciated. Furthermore, her struggle between her attraction to Akiva and her devotion to her "family" seemed realistic and understandable. Too often, I see characters chuck their family ties out the window in favor of some fateful love that they've only known for 30 pages. (I call this the Titanic effect. While Leonardo DiCaprio certainly is cute, three days would NOT be enough for me to float on some freezing door for any guy. Call me too practical). Not so with Karou. We get to see her fall in love, but we also see her loyalty to the family that has been all she has known for 17 years. As someone who is devoted to her family, I could really appreciate this.

As I said, this book was SO much more than just a run-of-the-mill paranormal romance. Without becoming preachy or obvious, the underlying theme of this book became an exploration of hatred, war, and discrimination. These weighty considerations took place within a plot that seamlessly transitioned between a realistic setting (Prague), and a fantastic "otherworld." The mystery of Karou's past kept me turning the pages and trying desperately to unravel the clues Taylor left. By the end of the book, I was left surprised, satisfied, and eagerly anticipating the second installment of the series!

One of the particular strengths of this book was the engaging writing style. The imagery that Taylor creates with some heartbreakingly beautiful writing is captivating, but approachable at the same time. To many of my students, this becomes incredibly important - if they feel they can't get through a book without a translator, they will quickly abandon it in favor of something a bit simpler. The cover art is also eye-catching without being over the top.

So, why have I not gone out and bought 50 copies of this book to mandate ALL of my kiddos read? Well... this book walked the very fine line between young adult literature and adult. The characters in the book are NOT Twilight chaste (which I always found a bit far-fetched for most teenagers anyhow), to which some parents might object. I personally don't have a problem with sex being mentioned in a book - like I said, completely abstinent teenagers just don't seem realistic - as long as it is PG-13 style. (You know, kiss kiss ... fade to black ... morning after!). This book was awfully close to taking the next step. However, I think that with the right student, this wouldn't be a problem.

In my world, I think this book will live a comfortable life on the particular classroom library shelf that is behind my teacher's desk. I know that there are some of my sweet, dreamy, romantic girls who will absolutely LOVE this book (sorry boys, it might be too sappy for you), but I wouldn't want it falling into just anyone's hands. For the rest of you YA lit fans I say - ENJOY! Books that are this heartbreaking are rare, and one that earns the hype that is has generated is even rarer.