OCTOBER 2011 - AudioFile
Khristine Hvam portrays a confident, inquisitive, and grounded young woman who lives an ordinary life by day but a far from ordinary life at night. What does Karou, a 17-year-old girl with naturally blue hair and tattooed palms, do when she’s not in art school in Prague? She travels through portals, running errands for the chimaera (half-human, half not) she calls family. As Karou confronts her heritage, Hvam presents the story’s adventure, romance, and humor with a smooth grace. Hvam maneuvers her way through the fantastical characters smoothly, sharpening the contrast between ordinary and extraordinary events. As the first installment in a young adult urban fantasy series, this book introduces a host of characters and mysteries for further exploration. J.E.M. 2012 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults
A New York Times Notable Children's Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A KirkusReviews Best Teen Book of the Year
A JuniorLibraryGuild Selection of the Year—-
*"Exquisitely written and beautifully paced...."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "Rarely — perhaps not since the author's own Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer (2007)—does a series kick off so deliciously."—Kirkus, starred review
* "Fans of torturously star-crossed lovers a la those in Marr's Wicked Lovely and Black's Tithe will find much to enjoy here, but those who flock to innovative, character-driven fantasy with thematic depth will be equally enthralled."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
"Author Taylor has created a variety of worlds, time frames, and creatures with such detail and craft that all are believable.... Readers will look forward to the suggested sequel to this complex, exciting tale."—Booklist
"Wow. I wish I had written this book."—Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Wise Man's Fear
* "Lush description of a gothic and ghostly Prague beckons readers from the first page and fulfills its promise, leading to a star-crossed romance that spans worlds and transcends death...[Leaves] the reader both satisfied and eagerly anticipating a forthcoming sequel."
—The Horn Book, starred review
"Daughter of Smoke and Bone is that rare beast: a novel that takes the familiar and makes it appear startling and new. Taylor has embraced the mythology of angels and reworked it in an extraordinary form, so that by the end of this lyrical, haunting book, I wanted to believe in the existence of these violent, tormented beings. I can hardly wait for the next installment."—John Connolly, author of The Book of Lost Things
"Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a lush, sweeping, romantic marvel of a book. Taylor's writing is a revelation, masterfully blending an intricate fantasy world into our own, with an artist's flair for exquisite details. Funny, devastating, delightful, unforgettable. Pure storytelling perfection."—Kiersten White, author of the Paranormalcy series
* "The suspense builds inexorably, and the philosophical as well as physical battles will hold action-oriented readers. The unfolding of character, place, and plot is smoothly intricate, and the conclusion is a beckoning door to the next volume."—School Library Journal, starred review
"[A] breath-catching romantic fantasy about destiny, hope and the search for one's true self"—The New York Times Book Review
"Thrillingly fresh and new"—Entertainment Weekly
"An adventurous story of self-identity, "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" is written with high-stakes flair and a touch of humor...[It is] well-told and well-paced, raising intriguing questions about notions of identity, expectation, trust, betrayal and belonging."—The Los Angeles Times
OCTOBER 2011 - AudioFile
Khristine Hvam portrays a confident, inquisitive, and grounded young woman who lives an ordinary life by day but a far from ordinary life at night. What does Karou, a 17-year-old girl with naturally blue hair and tattooed palms, do when she’s not in art school in Prague? She travels through portals, running errands for the chimaera (half-human, half not) she calls family. As Karou confronts her heritage, Hvam presents the story’s adventure, romance, and humor with a smooth grace. Hvam maneuvers her way through the fantastical characters smoothly, sharpening the contrast between ordinary and extraordinary events. As the first installment in a young adult urban fantasy series, this book introduces a host of characters and mysteries for further exploration. J.E.M. 2012 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
