Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little Brown & Company
Publication Date: September 27, 2011
Pages: 432
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, book one
Source: ARC from BEA and Anderson’s pre-pub event
About the Book: 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 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’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? (goodreads)
My Thoughts: How do I express my love for this book? Well, I typically have about five to ten lines of things I enjoyed when reading a book. I stopped jotting them down after three and a half pages for Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I might use a sticky tab two or three times if at all. My copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone looks like this:
 |
| And you can’t see the ones on the top! |
So yeah, I kinda liked it 😉 As I sit here writing this I am sad that I can’t include everything that I marked/noted. I honestly considered devoting a whole week to different aspects of the book. There were that many things I loved and want to discuss.
From line one this book will have you hooked. Not only is the story steller but the writing will floor you. The lyricism works flawlessly with the creative aspects of the characters to enhance the story. It creates such vivid mental pictures! I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever read something that I felt was so beautiful.
Taylor is a master at crafting a story. I loved so many of the different techniques she used. Some examples:
-Contrasting ideas to highlight and set the atmosphere.
One-liners that throw you for a loop and make you curious for
more
-Incredibly varied chapter lengths
-The repetition of certain scenes to highlight interactions
-Perception shifts (particularly the one on page 93 of the ARC!)
-Allowing the reader to go back in time and experience a scene… not just a retelling
All of these things really enhance the story and the way it flows. I think Daughter of Smoke and Bone may be one of the best examples I’ve ever seen of structure adding to the story. I can’t even express how incredibly beautiful I found it.
As far as the story itself goes, I loved the way the reader is gradually introduced to Karou’s more unique attributes. It wasn’t just a laundry list of “Things about Karou.” Instead I felt like I really got to know her. I found it interesting that Karou has no idea who or what she is. The reader knows that she isn’t human but she doesn’t (at least, she doesn’t admit it.)
Taylor really challenges the reader’s perceptions of the characters and life in general. There are a number of characters that lead lives that most people would agree are not upstanding. Still, many have noble and loyal undercurrents. Are they bad? Are they good? Do they have to be one or the other? What makes a “monster” and what makes an “angel?” Who decides? These are all questions that were running through my mind.
I was lucky enough to be able to attend a pre-publication event with Laini Taylor. Sitting with her and talking about this book was such a great experience. She shared that it came from something she wrote while “cheating” on another book. Basically it came from a scene with a blue haired teenage girl fighting with her father who wasn’t human. Karou was much more troubled and defiant originally. Taylor also said that it was so much fun to write every step of the way and included a lot of personal wish fulfillment!
Taylor has crafted a beautiful and poignant story that will transport the reader. The lyricism is out of this world. While reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone I felt like I was putting my heart on the line. It was racing with the story and breaking for the characters. Reading this book was an experience I won’t soon forget.
Random Things I Loved:
*The names! Especially Karou and it’s meaning!
*The setting
*Zuzana: The friend I want at my back
*Kaz: The guy you love to hate
*”Alas. I am not an option.”
*The “itchy” scene
*The idea of a door that leads someplace different when opened from within rather than without.
*Different denominations of wishes
*CHAPTER TITLES!!! Especially when they add to the story.
*Brimstone’s ideas about putting “inessential” things in your body 😉
*The way the chapter lengths vary
*”Was there another life she was meant to be living?”
*Izil’s thing about mustaches
*The pages that separate different sections
*”How much does your life have to suck to want the apocalypse?”
*Verklempt!
*Zuzana’s semester project
*”My life is blood because my world is beasts.”
*Narnia 🙂
*True Story
*Hope at odds with the fear of hoping
*The idea of truth and beginning
*Chapters 43-46
*”I could stay here with you.”
*”Hope has power. Don’t waste it on foolish things.”
Sidenote: I WANT ILLUSTRATIONS!!!!
*The names! Especially Karou and it’s meaning!
*The setting
*Zuzana: The friend I want at my back
*Kaz: The guy you love to hate
*”Alas. I am not an option.”
*The “itchy” scene
*The idea of a door that leads someplace different when opened from within rather than without.
*Different denominations of wishes
*CHAPTER TITLES!!! Especially when they add to the story.
*Brimstone’s ideas about putting “inessential” things in your body 😉
*The way the chapter lengths vary
*”Was there another life she was meant to be living?”
*Izil’s thing about mustaches
*The pages that separate different sections
*”How much does your life have to suck to want the apocalypse?”
*Verklempt!
*Zuzana’s semester project
*”My life is blood because my world is beasts.”
*Narnia 🙂
*True Story
*Hope at odds with the fear of hoping
*The idea of truth and beginning
*Chapters 43-46
*”I could stay here with you.”
*”Hope has power. Don’t waste it on foolish things.”
Sidenote: I WANT ILLUSTRATIONS!!!!
Liza Wiemer
Definitely looking forward to reading this one! Thanks for the great review.
Annette
I really don’t think I’ve read anything bad about this one (yet.) I can’t wait to read it, and your review is certainly the icing on the cake! To bad I don’t have a Borders close by anymore……I need to grab this one soon. Thanks!
April Books And wine
Plus 1 million to this review of Daughter Of Smoke And Bone, it’s definitely one of the BEST I have seen today. And I love how you convey your love. And if I had sticky flags when reading this book, it would TOTALLY look like your copy.
And omg yes to the ‘inessential’ dialogue ahahaha.
yabibliophile
Thanks April. I was floating in the pool with my 6 year old niece when I read the “inessential” part. I literally fell off the raft and in to the pool. I must have been a sight trying to gain my footing while holding the book out of the water!