Book Review: “Daughter of Smoke and Bone”

By Laini Taylor
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2011

Reviewed by Catalina Bonati, 16
Chile

Blue-haired Karou, a young art student living in Prague, has only recently realized that her childhood in the strange and beautiful city was abnormal: she was raised by four monsters in an old shop with a door that opens to anywhere. She’s used to not knowing why or how things happen and always being kept in the dark. When her connection to her family of monsters is severed, Karou decides to find out the history behind her dramatic and fantastical life.

Laini Taylor’s novel Daughter of Smoke and Bone isn’t your typical angel-human-demon story. The book is filled with different sorts of mythological creatures, views of what’s right and wrong, and lots of romance and action. It’s written descriptively using expressive language. The characters seem very real and provoke empathy from the reader. This is a remarkably entertaining tale filled with art, magic, love, and the confrontation of three different cultures. The story even has a bit of Czech vocabulary!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is enthralling, fantastical, sad, and funny at the same time. It touches many themes and heavy questions about life, death, hatred, and human nature. But the underlying message is clear: hope.

This book is part of our Summer Book Buzz series. Click here to read more reviews and our summer reading recommendations!