If we didn't know any better, we'd think Laini Taylor worked some magic on her own hair. Like Karou, the heroine of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, she has some supernaturally striking locks. Anyway, Karou's hair just scratches the surface of the deep world of magic in this book. We get eased into it along with Karou, learning about wish magic first, and then other species of supernatural best. The originality of Taylor's mythology sets it apart from other supernatural young-adult novels. There's nary a vampire or werewolf in sight. (Although it does have the YA anti-hero du jour: the angel.)
Questions About The Supernatural
- Magic isn't all fun and games and blue hair. What are the consequences of wish magic?
- What aspects of the real world seem supernatural to Akiva?
- Why does the supernatural world of the chimaera and the seraphim have some of the same problems as our world (prejudice, war, slavery, etc.)?
- Why doesn't Zuzana believe Karou when she finally tells her the truth? Would anyone believe Karou without proof?