YA Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Karou is 17 and lives in Prague, where she is an art student. She has been raised by and works for Brimstone, a hard-working Wishmonger who Karou can't quite figure out. Brimstone has a workshop that Karou and others can only enter with permission through special portals throughout the world. Regardless of where anyone enters, the workshop is the same-- and leaving on errands can be just as mysterious, as the door might open in Morrocco, the U.S., or Italy. Karou runs errands for Brimstone, often collecting human teeth from dealers-- but Brimstone will never tell her what he uses the teeth for. On one of these errands Karou's life changes, as a seraphim appears and battles her in front of stunned tourists, shocked to see an angel whose wings drop fire. Karou can't help but think she knows this angel, named Akiva. Akiva has been burning handprints into the portal doorways around the world... and for some reason, Karou realizes he is now following her. Laini Taylor has written a charming, entrhalling novel with Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The only disappointment here is that the book, like far too many others, is the first of many. The story is well told and unfolds seemlessly despite its intricacy, and high school readers will line up to read this novel that is destined to be a monster hit. Despite the promise of more to come, the story wraps up and can be read as a single volume. Highly recommended.