Call number
JF TAY
Collection
Genres
Series
Publication
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (2017), 544 pages
Description
Fantasy. Romance. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML:From National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor comes an epic fantasy about a mythic lost city and its dark past. The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around�??and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was just five years old, he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the form of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever. What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? And who is the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams? In this sweeping and breathtaking novel by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage. The answers await in We… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member foggidawn
Lazlo Strange, penniless librarian, dreams of adventure. Specifically, he longs for what he calls the Unseen City, which lies across the desert from his home. He's heard stories of it all his life, and has even made researching its legends his life's work, but he knows that travel to the city is
Of course, that's only the very beginning of this magical tale, but I wouldn't want to spoil anything for you. Taylor excels at creating beautiful and detailed fantasy worlds, and this is no exception. There's also a lovely romance, and the plot is so carefully woven, with little details thrown in from the very beginning that become surprisingly significant at the end of the book. If you enjoy fantasy, this should certainly be on your radar. A word of warning, though: This is the first book in a duology, so be prepared to have questions left unanswered at the book's conclusion.
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impossible, and even if he were to get there, foreigners are executed on site. But when envoys from the city arrive, looking for help with an unnamed problem, Lazlo knows that his only chance has come, if he can only find a way to reach out and grasp it.Of course, that's only the very beginning of this magical tale, but I wouldn't want to spoil anything for you. Taylor excels at creating beautiful and detailed fantasy worlds, and this is no exception. There's also a lovely romance, and the plot is so carefully woven, with little details thrown in from the very beginning that become surprisingly significant at the end of the book. If you enjoy fantasy, this should certainly be on your radar. A word of warning, though: This is the first book in a duology, so be prepared to have questions left unanswered at the book's conclusion.
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
This is probably the best book I've read this year, the prose drew me in and kept me reading and wanting to be in the space that this story was in. I wanted it to continue and I loved it. I loved how Lazlo Strange drifted into working into the library and how he found a rabbit hole. I was incensed
I honestly enjoyed this story and would recommend it.
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when Thyon Nero stole his research and presented it as his own. The end broke my heart.I honestly enjoyed this story and would recommend it.
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LibraryThing member BethYacoub
"Some things, thought Sarai, were too lovely to devour, while others were too lovely not to."
It pains me...yes physically hurts me to give one of my all time favorite, beautifully minded, creatively unique and the current undisputed queen of poetic prose anything less than 4 stars...I feel like
Now it is true, for anyone who might not have read any of Mrs. Taylor's earlier works (though I doubt there are many of you out there especially those on my Friends list), her writting is usually very deep/evocative and many say "flowery". I personally LOVE how she sees and relates to the world and her imagination and skill are incomparable. Having said that, Strange the Dreamer was slow to start and once it began to pick up pace I found the direction of the plot as well as the major plot twists easily foretold. Also, that ending...that ending...how I LOATHE, how I DETEST that ending!! No spoilers here but be prepared to be disappointed. Laini (if I may be so bold as to call you that), I love you... I truly do...BUT this is nowhere near the callibre, grandeur, the resplendence of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Yes, both the character and world building were excellent! Yes, your imagination and vivid imagery are unparalled BUT the plot was slow to simmer and even harder to savour. The love story was lukewarm, the "Evil" was tame and the ending...I can't even bring myself to dignify that unsatisfying end with another mention...I promise, that's it.
You’re a storyteller. Dream up something wild and improbable,” she pleaded. “Something beautiful and full of monsters.” “Beautiful and full of monsters?” “All the best stories are.”
Read it if you want something Strange in your life but don't expect emotional resolution...see, I didn't mention the ending again. Go ahead and read it, you know you want to. After all, at the end of the day it still is a glimpse into the magical brain of Mrs Laini Taylor (so amazing my spell check names her after just 3 letters).
It pains me...yes physically hurts me to give one of my all time favorite, beautifully minded, creatively unique and the current undisputed queen of poetic prose anything less than 4 stars...I feel like
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Vizzinni...it's simply inconceivable!!Now it is true, for anyone who might not have read any of Mrs. Taylor's earlier works (though I doubt there are many of you out there especially those on my Friends list), her writting is usually very deep/evocative and many say "flowery". I personally LOVE how she sees and relates to the world and her imagination and skill are incomparable. Having said that, Strange the Dreamer was slow to start and once it began to pick up pace I found the direction of the plot as well as the major plot twists easily foretold. Also, that ending...that ending...how I LOATHE, how I DETEST that ending!! No spoilers here but be prepared to be disappointed. Laini (if I may be so bold as to call you that), I love you... I truly do...BUT this is nowhere near the callibre, grandeur, the resplendence of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Yes, both the character and world building were excellent! Yes, your imagination and vivid imagery are unparalled BUT the plot was slow to simmer and even harder to savour. The love story was lukewarm, the "Evil" was tame and the ending...I can't even bring myself to dignify that unsatisfying end with another mention...I promise, that's it.
You’re a storyteller. Dream up something wild and improbable,” she pleaded. “Something beautiful and full of monsters.” “Beautiful and full of monsters?” “All the best stories are.”
Read it if you want something Strange in your life but don't expect emotional resolution...see, I didn't mention the ending again. Go ahead and read it, you know you want to. After all, at the end of the day it still is a glimpse into the magical brain of Mrs Laini Taylor (so amazing my spell check names her after just 3 letters).
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LibraryThing member jnwelch
In Strange the Dreamer, Lazlo Strange is an orphan of unknown parentage, who at 20 years old is a lowly librarian. He's obsessed with legends of a lost city, cut off from the rest of the world by seraphim. He finds dusty volumes with which to learn all he can about it. That pays off when leaders of
Lazlo finds himself sharing dreams with one of the godspawn, the blue-skinned auburn-tressed Sarai, and starting to fall for her. Sarai is sympathetic to the humans below, but is countered by one of her sisters who hates and fears them. This young adult fantasy is more terrific storytelling by Laini Taylor, the author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone books. It ends on a huge cliffhanger, making the wait for the second, concluding volume, that much harder.
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the city unexpectedly show up, needing help, and he's taken on as secretary to the heroic Godslayer. Weep, as the lost city is known, has a tragic history, and now lies totally in shadow. The city populace wants its sky back, but isn't aware that there are five magic-wielding "godspawn" teens living above them who fear any change.Lazlo finds himself sharing dreams with one of the godspawn, the blue-skinned auburn-tressed Sarai, and starting to fall for her. Sarai is sympathetic to the humans below, but is countered by one of her sisters who hates and fears them. This young adult fantasy is more terrific storytelling by Laini Taylor, the author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone books. It ends on a huge cliffhanger, making the wait for the second, concluding volume, that much harder.
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LibraryThing member MickyFine
Lazlo Strange, war orphan turned junior librarian, has always dreamed an impossible dream: to go in search of the lost city of Weep. It doesn't matter to him that almost everyone else believes the city is a fairy tale, Lazlo desperately wants to see for himself. And so his entire world is turned
Such a gorgeous fantasy world in this one. While it took me a couple chapters to adjust to the world that Taylor has created, I then became swept up in it. Beautifully drawn characters, a complex conflict between different groups, but what really makes it compelling reading is the emotional journeys of our central characters. If you're a fantasy reader, definitely pick this one up although be warned that the ending is a bit cliffhanger-ish and there's no publication date for the next book just yet.
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upside down when warriors from Weep come to Lazlo's town to recruit individuals to help them with a mysterious problem that will completely shatter Lazlo's understanding of the world.Such a gorgeous fantasy world in this one. While it took me a couple chapters to adjust to the world that Taylor has created, I then became swept up in it. Beautifully drawn characters, a complex conflict between different groups, but what really makes it compelling reading is the emotional journeys of our central characters. If you're a fantasy reader, definitely pick this one up although be warned that the ending is a bit cliffhanger-ish and there's no publication date for the next book just yet.
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LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
Honestly, I'm afraid I wouldn't have finished this if it hadn't been an ARC I was expected to review.
And, really, I was so excited about this book. Even now, the concept of it sounds wonderful, like something I'd love. Unfortunately, there were some real problems here, and I honestly doubt I'll
Perhaps because there is so much crammed into this book, characterization is also a real problem. The two central characters, and some of the main supporting ones, are little more than stereotypes. They're interesting takes on the tried and true stereotypes, perhaps, but without any real depth. I didn't feel like I was getting any depth from either of them until the last few chapters of the book, and thus, I found it hard to really engage with or care about either of them as I moved through the work.
After the first 150 pages, the pacing did smooth itself out, but the lingering confusion from the jumble of information there made for less-than-smooth reading at various moments. And yet, still, things were predictable. A reader of fantasy is not only going to be predicting much of what will happen through the rest of this novel, from the halfway point on or so, but predicting what's to happen in the sequel--and that, of course, is the bigger problem in my mind. Why read the sequel when I'm not attached to the characters, and I have a good feeling for what's going to take place?
It's true that there are a lot of beautifully written passages here, and that things are clearly imagined and beautifully told at the sentence level, but the author would have been better served by spreading this into 2 or 3 books that could deal adequately with the beginning information and passages, offering real and developed characterization along with more stable pacing, or else by cutting the first 150 pages or so and allowing what information was important from them to be parceled out. I've often seen agents and editors remark that many beginning authors make the mistake of starting a story to early, and I've seen it in some unpublished manuscripts, but I don't think I've ever seen such a clear case of the problem in a published book by someone who looks to be an experienced author.
All told, this was simply an incredibly disappointing read. The story had a lot of potential, but the delivery was rushed and the characters offered without depth. Simply, it had a few too many major flaws for me to even consider reading the sequel, and I seriously doubt I'll ever pick up Taylor's work again, given the chaos of this read and the ultimate disappointment.
Obviously, I can't recommend this one.
And, really, I was so excited about this book. Even now, the concept of it sounds wonderful, like something I'd love. Unfortunately, there were some real problems here, and I honestly doubt I'll
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read anything more by this author after having read this work. First of all, the first 100 pages or so are incredibly hard to follow. With practically every other sentence, the author is throwing new characters and new details of the world at her reader, and there's just too much to keep up with. If the book had started later in the story, or if those first 100-150 pages had been expanded to be their own book (and thus have some impact), it might have been an ideal start to the series. As it was, I read the first few chapters twice, thinking perhaps I was just distracted... but no such luck. There's just too much jumbled together in those earlier chapters, and it makes for a lousy entrance into what's a wonderful concept.Perhaps because there is so much crammed into this book, characterization is also a real problem. The two central characters, and some of the main supporting ones, are little more than stereotypes. They're interesting takes on the tried and true stereotypes, perhaps, but without any real depth. I didn't feel like I was getting any depth from either of them until the last few chapters of the book, and thus, I found it hard to really engage with or care about either of them as I moved through the work.
After the first 150 pages, the pacing did smooth itself out, but the lingering confusion from the jumble of information there made for less-than-smooth reading at various moments. And yet, still, things were predictable. A reader of fantasy is not only going to be predicting much of what will happen through the rest of this novel, from the halfway point on or so, but predicting what's to happen in the sequel--and that, of course, is the bigger problem in my mind. Why read the sequel when I'm not attached to the characters, and I have a good feeling for what's going to take place?
It's true that there are a lot of beautifully written passages here, and that things are clearly imagined and beautifully told at the sentence level, but the author would have been better served by spreading this into 2 or 3 books that could deal adequately with the beginning information and passages, offering real and developed characterization along with more stable pacing, or else by cutting the first 150 pages or so and allowing what information was important from them to be parceled out. I've often seen agents and editors remark that many beginning authors make the mistake of starting a story to early, and I've seen it in some unpublished manuscripts, but I don't think I've ever seen such a clear case of the problem in a published book by someone who looks to be an experienced author.
All told, this was simply an incredibly disappointing read. The story had a lot of potential, but the delivery was rushed and the characters offered without depth. Simply, it had a few too many major flaws for me to even consider reading the sequel, and I seriously doubt I'll ever pick up Taylor's work again, given the chaos of this read and the ultimate disappointment.
Obviously, I can't recommend this one.
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LibraryThing member acargile
This fantasy novel intrigued me with its imagination and possibility. I really wanted it to be a stand alone, but it didn’t finish the story; so, stay tuned for another book.
Lazlo Strange is among many war orphans who are raised harshly by the monks. Lazlo’s fate is different from the other
One day the Godslayer appears. He, along with his warriors, the Tizerkane, come to town seeking scholars. They are from Weep. To ingratiate himself, Thyon uses Lazlo’s knowledge from his notes to impress the visitors. Never have foreigners been allowed into the city. This tradition is about to change. For two hundred years, Weep has been shadowed by darkness. They seek scholars and others to help them rid themselves of the dark and move forward. Thyon, the most famous of the scholars, is selected. As the group leaves, Lazlo raises his voice and requests to join them--speaking their language and referencing some magic he saw when the Tizerkane entered the city. He quickly becomes a favorite of the Tizerkane and is accepted as part of their group.
The Godslayer tells them nothing, explaining that what they need will be apparent upon arrival. They find other people in other towns and then travel to Weep where the battle between gods has tainted their town and allowed it to be erased from memory. It’s here in Weep where the story mainly takes place, but if I told you about Weep, it would ruin the novel.
I think I like fantasy because it’s an escape from the normal, but more than that, the worlds authors create are amazing. Human nature doesn’t change, but the resiliency, hope, despair, love, longing, and desires of mankind shine in these amazing places we get to visit because it isn’t our world. Like her trilogy Daughter of Smoke and Bone, the world is far different from our own--with gods and humans battling each other. Of course, there’s always the light of hope. I loved the novel--it’s for advanced readers, students who can read a very long novel and keep up with the characters and plot. Eighth graders can definitely handle it! Expect your heart to crack if it doesn’t break.
Lazlo Strange is among many war orphans who are raised harshly by the monks. Lazlo’s fate is different from the other
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orphans--he ends up in the library after being sent on an errand to the library and found after many days of disturbing resting books. Lazlo has dreamed of Weep--a mythical city. These books are old and Lazlo is able to find hints of Weep and the truths about this place, even the language. The real name has been forgotten, however. Like others, he knew the name, and then it magically disappeared--it was erased from the collective memory. Lazlo, the dreamer, hopes to find this lost place and learn its secrets. Instead, the truths he discovers are stolen by Thyon who is pressured to change matter--in other words, perform alchemy. He takes Lazlo’s books and his notes to advance his own future. One day the Godslayer appears. He, along with his warriors, the Tizerkane, come to town seeking scholars. They are from Weep. To ingratiate himself, Thyon uses Lazlo’s knowledge from his notes to impress the visitors. Never have foreigners been allowed into the city. This tradition is about to change. For two hundred years, Weep has been shadowed by darkness. They seek scholars and others to help them rid themselves of the dark and move forward. Thyon, the most famous of the scholars, is selected. As the group leaves, Lazlo raises his voice and requests to join them--speaking their language and referencing some magic he saw when the Tizerkane entered the city. He quickly becomes a favorite of the Tizerkane and is accepted as part of their group.
The Godslayer tells them nothing, explaining that what they need will be apparent upon arrival. They find other people in other towns and then travel to Weep where the battle between gods has tainted their town and allowed it to be erased from memory. It’s here in Weep where the story mainly takes place, but if I told you about Weep, it would ruin the novel.
I think I like fantasy because it’s an escape from the normal, but more than that, the worlds authors create are amazing. Human nature doesn’t change, but the resiliency, hope, despair, love, longing, and desires of mankind shine in these amazing places we get to visit because it isn’t our world. Like her trilogy Daughter of Smoke and Bone, the world is far different from our own--with gods and humans battling each other. Of course, there’s always the light of hope. I loved the novel--it’s for advanced readers, students who can read a very long novel and keep up with the characters and plot. Eighth graders can definitely handle it! Expect your heart to crack if it doesn’t break.
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LibraryThing member klarsenmd
Ooh I really wanted to love this so much more than I did! As always, ms Taylor is a master of beautifully written imagery and amazingly unforgettable characters. This had me hooked from page one and held me captive only to make me cringe at the end. I found the the back story to be slightly
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nauseating as well. Clearly this is the start of another series, but sometimes I just want a book that is a great stand alone story. sigh... Show Less
LibraryThing member jmoncton
Reading this book felt like something magical -- straight out of the Arabian Nights. Laini Taylor has created another amazing world of humans, gods, and monsters ... only it's hard to tell which are the monsters, the humans or the gods. The writing is beautiful and listening to this in audio was a
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complete treat with the lyrical cadence of the story. I loved everything about this book except for the ending. 'This story is not over yet. To be continued.' Arrgh! Thankfully this is a 2 book series because it's going to be hard enough waiting for the conclusion. Show Less
LibraryThing member titania86
Lazlo Strange grew up an orphaned nobody, first callously raised by monks and then callously raised by librarians. Since he was a child, the legends of a forgotten land called Weep have fascinated him. From then to adulthood, he compiled every scrap, every story, and every mention of the lost city
I was a bit doubtful going into this book because the beginning took a little bit to get started. As the story goes on, I was completely hooked. Lazlo is such a relatable character because he comes from so little and keeps his kind heart despite the way everyone above him treats him. His polar opposite is Nero, the privileged golden boy who is miserable, rich, and given every opportunity under the sun. Lazlo is happy despite his low standing and even goes out of his way to selflessly help Nero who works to steal everything Lazlo has worked for. He doesn't let rivalries or even his own frustration and anger get in the way of his kindness. In a rare moment of confidence, Lazlo convinces the Weep envoys to take him with them and his lifelong dream comes true. Unlike the others invited, he doesn't have special skills and isn't widely known, but he learned the language of Weep and everything he could about their culture and history.
Five teens live above Weep who are half god and half human known as godspawn. They all have magic abilities. Minya can command the souls of the dead. Sparrow has power in plants and nature. Feral influences the weather. Ruby can create and control fire. Sarai has the most unique ability to put her consciousness in a swarm of moths and enter the dreams of mortals to either observe or control the events. The people of Weep slaughtered the gods while Minya, the oldest of them, rescued as many babies as she could. The gods ruled tyrannically, kidnapping people for their whims and bringing them back with no memory. Both sides have legitimate grievances and committed terrible atrocities towards each other. Minya is filled with rage and literally stunted her own growth because she can't move on from the slaughter she witnessed. Sarai has done so many things against humans because of Minya coaching her from a young age, but she's beginning to doubt Minya's way after realizing that humans aren't that much different than her.
Sarai meets Lazlo in his dream and he can actually see her unlike any other person. They form a relationship and get to know each other, leading to the one of the sweetest Romeo and Juliet type romances ever. Although it is a trope, the interactions are so organic and the language is so lyrical and beautiful that it seemed like new. The world building amazed me. Taylor creates such mindblowing worlds that I have trouble putting her books down. The beginning goes a little slow to get to know Lazlo, but once the group heads for Weep, the pace takes off. This is the rare book that I want to read slowly to savor the world but I also want to devour it as fast as possible to find out what happens. The ending has so many twists and turns that I never saw coming. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what happens in the second installment, Muse of Nightmares. After this novel and the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, Laini Taylor has a lifelong fan in me.
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that everyone else think is a fairy tale. As an adult, Lazlo is a lowly librarian, but inadvertantly helps an enemy discover his beloved city. He seizes the opportunity to help Weep and its envoys with a unique problem that the envoys won't reveal until they get there. The problem is hugely obvious, puzzling, and the reason why the inhabitants of Weep have travelled the world so the smartest, most skillful, and most innovative people can try to solve it.I was a bit doubtful going into this book because the beginning took a little bit to get started. As the story goes on, I was completely hooked. Lazlo is such a relatable character because he comes from so little and keeps his kind heart despite the way everyone above him treats him. His polar opposite is Nero, the privileged golden boy who is miserable, rich, and given every opportunity under the sun. Lazlo is happy despite his low standing and even goes out of his way to selflessly help Nero who works to steal everything Lazlo has worked for. He doesn't let rivalries or even his own frustration and anger get in the way of his kindness. In a rare moment of confidence, Lazlo convinces the Weep envoys to take him with them and his lifelong dream comes true. Unlike the others invited, he doesn't have special skills and isn't widely known, but he learned the language of Weep and everything he could about their culture and history.
Five teens live above Weep who are half god and half human known as godspawn. They all have magic abilities. Minya can command the souls of the dead. Sparrow has power in plants and nature. Feral influences the weather. Ruby can create and control fire. Sarai has the most unique ability to put her consciousness in a swarm of moths and enter the dreams of mortals to either observe or control the events. The people of Weep slaughtered the gods while Minya, the oldest of them, rescued as many babies as she could. The gods ruled tyrannically, kidnapping people for their whims and bringing them back with no memory. Both sides have legitimate grievances and committed terrible atrocities towards each other. Minya is filled with rage and literally stunted her own growth because she can't move on from the slaughter she witnessed. Sarai has done so many things against humans because of Minya coaching her from a young age, but she's beginning to doubt Minya's way after realizing that humans aren't that much different than her.
Sarai meets Lazlo in his dream and he can actually see her unlike any other person. They form a relationship and get to know each other, leading to the one of the sweetest Romeo and Juliet type romances ever. Although it is a trope, the interactions are so organic and the language is so lyrical and beautiful that it seemed like new. The world building amazed me. Taylor creates such mindblowing worlds that I have trouble putting her books down. The beginning goes a little slow to get to know Lazlo, but once the group heads for Weep, the pace takes off. This is the rare book that I want to read slowly to savor the world but I also want to devour it as fast as possible to find out what happens. The ending has so many twists and turns that I never saw coming. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what happens in the second installment, Muse of Nightmares. After this novel and the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, Laini Taylor has a lifelong fan in me.
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LibraryThing member LongDogMom
This book was wonderful! The writing was just poetic and beautiful to read. Taylor's descriptions are so vibrant and full of emotion...very easy to visualize and feel as a reader. The story itself was like a modern fairy tale full of Gods and monsters, love and hate, fear and acceptance. So much
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food for thought. Lazlo Strange, is an interesting character, and through him we learn about Weep, or the Unseen City, as he likes to think of it, his obsession from stories that he heard as a child, creating a desire in him to somehow find this wondrous city that is filled with wonders, but has been lost for hundreds of years. Through a series of events, Lazlo finds himself in the place he has dreamed of his whole life, one of a group gathered to solve a strange problem that has plagued Weep and its citizens... a floating construction in the sky above them, an angel, with outstretched wings that sadly keeps the land without sunlight. This Citadel was home to cruel Gods and Goddesses that rules from on high, taking what they wanted from the people of Weep, destroying them from the inside out as they lived in fear and horror. But one man managed to slay the Gods and yet he cannot figure out how to rid Weep of their horrible construction in the sky, and so traveled to other lands to gather the best engineers and geologists and chemists...people who might find a solution and free his people from the dark shadow of their horrific enslavement. This is how Lazlo comes to Weep, as part of this gathering, albeit as an assistant to Weep's hero rather than someone with a specific skill for possibly destroying the Citadel. But Lazlo Strange is no ordinary man, and once in Weep he discovers that things are not exactly what they seem, and he finds himself caught between conflicting groups that all have a story to justify their hate and anger. He sees all perspective and feels all their feelings. I won't say any more because I don't want to spoil all the the amazing surprises that occur, both wondrous and horrible, as the book move along, but it's an amazing read and I highly recommend it! Can't wait for the next book to see what happens next! Show Less
LibraryThing member wildrequiem
Laini Taylor has to be one of the most overrated young adult writers... the insta-love isn't doing it for me. The romance is obnoxious, the plot is overly simplistic (and not quite different from her other trilogy). But man, her descriptive writing and world-building is just over the top fantastic.
LibraryThing member lilibrarian
Laslo Strange is a dreamer. Found when young as a war orphan, he has always lived in his imagination. Mostly he dreamt of an unseen city and his warriors, based on the stories of an elderly monk. Grown and a dedicated librarian, he has the chance to make some of his dreams come true, although what
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he finds and what he does are beyond anything he could ever have imagined. Show Less
LibraryThing member CarolynDenman
Took my breath away. Great imagery and vivid world-building. Laini taylor really is a superb story-teller. She just gets better and better.
LibraryThing member ragwaine
When an author decides to create a huge cliffhanger ending they're taking a chance. Some people will be pissed off and refuse to read more books from that author and some people will run out and buy the next book as soon as they can to find out what happens next to the characters they've
The book started off amazing. I really thought it was going to end up being one of my favorites. The writing was beautiful (and made more so by a great narrator), the theme seemed fresh and I couldn't wait to see where it led. When the plot split to the god-children I thought things got kind of boring. I liked their powers, but there situation wasn't very exciting. Later as more history came out I liked it more. Though there was one passage about kissing that I thought was utterly brilliant, the kissing topic went on and on and that brings me to my next point.
I had no idea this was listed as a YA novel. It seemed like normal fantasy to me and maybe that's why I got bored and also maybe why Mrs. Taylor chose to talk so much about kissing. :) Finding this out changed my rating from 2 to 3 stars, because I think it filled the qualifications of a YA novel and also kids are probably less likely to get angry about a cliffhanger ending and more likely to go out and buy (or get their parents to buy) the next book.
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(hopefully) become invested in. Unfortunately I'm more in the first category of readers. I don't like being "forced" to read the next book and so I'm a firm believer in each book (even those in a series - which is pretty much everything in fantasy/sci-fi) having closure of some of the minor plot threads and part of the overall story arch of the series. So for me this was bad.The book started off amazing. I really thought it was going to end up being one of my favorites. The writing was beautiful (and made more so by a great narrator), the theme seemed fresh and I couldn't wait to see where it led. When the plot split to the god-children I thought things got kind of boring. I liked their powers, but there situation wasn't very exciting. Later as more history came out I liked it more. Though there was one passage about kissing that I thought was utterly brilliant, the kissing topic went on and on and that brings me to my next point.
I had no idea this was listed as a YA novel. It seemed like normal fantasy to me and maybe that's why I got bored and also maybe why Mrs. Taylor chose to talk so much about kissing. :) Finding this out changed my rating from 2 to 3 stars, because I think it filled the qualifications of a YA novel and also kids are probably less likely to get angry about a cliffhanger ending and more likely to go out and buy (or get their parents to buy) the next book.
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LibraryThing member NeedMoreShelves
O.M.G.
Heart broken. Mind blown. Total book hangover. All I want is more Lazlo and Sarai.
Heart broken. Mind blown. Total book hangover. All I want is more Lazlo and Sarai.
LibraryThing member emeraldreverie
I am sadly conflicted on this book. In some ways I *adored* it. A fascinating magic system, compelling world-building, some great characters with believable motivation and development. On the other hand, the strain of sexuality made me uncomfy. I am sure that most of this is very much a me issue
All that being said, I will most likely read the sequel bc this book ended on such a fantastic cliff-hanger. I won't be surprised if I am ruminating on Strange the Dreamer for a bit.
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wrt to where I am and what I'm wrestling with personally. There was, however, a strong strain of inevitability and heteronormativity about it that never sat well, above and beyond my own kneejerk reactions.All that being said, I will most likely read the sequel bc this book ended on such a fantastic cliff-hanger. I won't be surprised if I am ruminating on Strange the Dreamer for a bit.
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LibraryThing member Smiler69
This was pure magic. I wonder now how long I can hold out before jumping into the sequel? I spend so much time trying to sort my lucid dreams from reality that I was bound to fall in love with a story in which dreams and reality collide and coexist. Dreams that are eventually shared by two
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individuals, one of them being a beautiful blue girl born from a terrible goddess, the other an orphaned librarian who long ago dreamt of this very girl, who happens to come from a land that was long thought to no longer exist. Laini Taylor is now at the top of my list of favourite Fantasy writers; so next comes the follow up story, “Muse of Nightmares”... I’m already hoping there’s a third book in the works! But in the meantime there’s the “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” trilogy to partially reread to refresh my memory and finally finish. Show Less
LibraryThing member Herenya
Laini Taylor’s last book was called Dreams of Gods and Monsters, and it is interesting to see how she explores those elements - dreams, gods, monsters - here, weaving them together into a different story.
Lazlo Strange is an orphan obsessed with the mystery of the vanished city of Weep. Sari lives
Strange the Dreamer is slow but gorgeously written - I particularly liked the descriptions of the library. The heartbreaking way many of the minor characters are dealing with the history of trauma reminded me of Melina Marchetta’s Lumatere Chronicles. By the end of the story, I realised it wasn’t just Lazlo and Sari I had become invested in.
However, the close of the story also brought a couple of twists. Twists that are unexpected yet fit all the pieces, which are usually the best kind, but these are rather bleak and cliff-hangery, and managed to squash all my enthusiasm. I can’t tell if I like the direction the story is now heading in; I won’t be able to answer that until the sequel comes out.
Shelves rose forty feet under an astonishing painted ceiling, and the spines of books glowed in jewel-toned leather, their gold leaf shining in the glavelight like animal eyes. The glaves themselves were perfect polished spheres, hanging by the hands and emitting a purer white light than he’d ever seen from the rough, ruddy stones that lit the abbey. Men in grey robes rode upon wheeled ladders, seeming to float through the air, scrolls flapping behind them like wings as they rolled from shelf to shelf.
It was impossible that he should leave this place. He was like a traveller in an enchanted wood. Every step deeper bewitched him further, and deeper he did go, from room to room as though guided by instinct, down secret stairs to a sublevel where dust lay thick on books undisturbed for years. He disturbed them. It seemed to him that he awoke them, and they awoke him.
Lazlo Strange is an orphan obsessed with the mystery of the vanished city of Weep. Sari lives
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in an unusual household with unusual abilities, hiding in a citadel. These two stories gradually unfold and then collide, and this collision is all the more complex and fraught because we’ve been exposed to more than one perspective and can see that there are no easy answers.Strange the Dreamer is slow but gorgeously written - I particularly liked the descriptions of the library. The heartbreaking way many of the minor characters are dealing with the history of trauma reminded me of Melina Marchetta’s Lumatere Chronicles. By the end of the story, I realised it wasn’t just Lazlo and Sari I had become invested in.
However, the close of the story also brought a couple of twists. Twists that are unexpected yet fit all the pieces, which are usually the best kind, but these are rather bleak and cliff-hangery, and managed to squash all my enthusiasm. I can’t tell if I like the direction the story is now heading in; I won’t be able to answer that until the sequel comes out.
Shelves rose forty feet under an astonishing painted ceiling, and the spines of books glowed in jewel-toned leather, their gold leaf shining in the glavelight like animal eyes. The glaves themselves were perfect polished spheres, hanging by the hands and emitting a purer white light than he’d ever seen from the rough, ruddy stones that lit the abbey. Men in grey robes rode upon wheeled ladders, seeming to float through the air, scrolls flapping behind them like wings as they rolled from shelf to shelf.
It was impossible that he should leave this place. He was like a traveller in an enchanted wood. Every step deeper bewitched him further, and deeper he did go, from room to room as though guided by instinct, down secret stairs to a sublevel where dust lay thick on books undisturbed for years. He disturbed them. It seemed to him that he awoke them, and they awoke him.
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LibraryThing member pennma05
Oh my gods... I am completely blown away by this book! I had a feeling when it came out that I would end up loving this book but I had no idea that it would become one of my new favorite books! The writing is absolutely magical and so visual. I adored Lazlo Strange from the beginning. A quirky
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oddball who is also a great lover of books. Definitely can't go wrong there. So many feels in this book, especially towards the end! Absolutely one of the most stunning books I have ever read. I can't wait to read this book again and I've only just finished it. Show Less
LibraryThing member cathishaw
This was a fascinating book. Full of mystery and surprise, I was captivated by the story.
Lazlo Strange is such an engaging character. He is smart, loyal, and, in the end, not anything you expect him to be.
I also loved Sarai. At first when the point of view shifted to her world above the city of
Having said that, I found the romance of the book a bit over the top. I love a good romance but in this book I found it a bit distracting from the overall story.
Strongly recommend this one from Laini Taylor!
Lazlo Strange is such an engaging character. He is smart, loyal, and, in the end, not anything you expect him to be.
I also loved Sarai. At first when the point of view shifted to her world above the city of
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Weep, I was actually annoyed because I was so into Lazlo's story I resented the fact that I was being wrenched from his mind and thrown into that of a godspawn. It took some time before Sarai grew on me but soon I was just as engaged with her story as I was with Lazlo's and particularly so when their worlds collide.Having said that, I found the romance of the book a bit over the top. I love a good romance but in this book I found it a bit distracting from the overall story.
Strongly recommend this one from Laini Taylor!
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LibraryThing member bookandsword
The more I think about it the less sense it makes, but I am still going to try and be objective. Also I am thinking that maybe I am done with hyped up books, I am just so tired of being let down. Not that this is a bad book, it just didn't work for me.
What is up with the cliffhanger? How dare I
At a first glance the plot for Strange the Dreamer seems very unique and interesting, but take away the whimsical and weird writing - and it's really nothing new. I figured the ending when I was about 80 pages in.
A guy goes on a quest, finds out that the hero he's been worshipping is not who he seems he is, there is a girl, they fall in love and the main character takes girl's side and then it's them against the world. That is the premise of this book (more or less), plus few very interesting twists and turns.
Speaking of the whimsical and weird writing. I am all for that! I love dreamy, beautiful prose. But it has to make sense. And more often than not, in Strange the Dreamer it doesn't make any sense.
'The timbre of his voice sent a thrill through Sarai. It was deep, low, and raw - a voice like woodsmoke, serrated blades, and boots breaking through snow.' - I'm sorry, WHAT? How is the voice compared to the boots breaking through snow? Sure it is a beautiful sentence, but it doesn't make any sense. There were many, many eye rolls while I was reading.
Lazlo Strange is one of the main characters of this story. I liked Lazlo for the sheer notion that Lazlo LOVED books.
'The books were his, and they were all that was his. He'd made them, and he loved them in the way one loves things that come of one's own hands, but even that wasn't the extent of it.'
Lazlo was a librarian's assistant and for the most part his journey was a beautiful one. I also adored the simplicity of things he wanted from life. His dreams were bigger than big, but he had no notion for material things.
'Not luxury, which was beyond his ken, but simple comfort: a wash, a shave, meal, a bed.'
And one of my favorite lines of the whole book:
'He didn't need to be told that "dreamer" was not a qualification. It wasn't enough to want it more than anyone else.' - I really LOVED this part. And I loved even more that for him it was enough to be a dreamer. How much better life would be if "just a dreamer" or "just a reader" were full pledged qualifications.
So I enjoyed Lazlo. For half a book. But then he abandoned all he was after he met a girl. One glimpse of girl's bare collarbones and Lazlo has forgotten all about his books, his dreams and his duties. There was only one mention of his love for books after he met his "love", and it wasn't nearly enough. It's like the librarian-Lazlo we knew for 300 pages of a book just vanished. I say love with quotation marks, because the romance was quite ridiculous. It was beautifully written, goodness YES! But it was ridiculous nonetheless. More on the romance later.
Sarai is the second character whose point of view we read through. I liked Sarai. I felt for Sarai - trapped and manipulated, with a gift that felt like a curse. I also thought that her gift was very original - I loved the aspect of it.
Her story was a tragic one, even more so at the end.
'And that's how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts. The more dark parts the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can.'
Feral, Ruby and Sparrow. I group them all together, because to be honest if they were absent from the story nothing would have been different. They were just there. They didn't seem to have minds of their own, and were so easily controlled. Just talking props. Even more so in the end, which ENRAGED me so much! If you read this book already you know what I am talking about. How could they have nothing to say? How could they just stand there and take it?
Feral was the worst of them. So bland and so uninteresting. Unable to make easiest of decisions for himself.
Sparrow I liked. I felt for Sparrow, such a gentle and innocent soul. She alone seemed to be Sarai's friend. Also I wouldn't have minded having her gift. Maybe that's why I love her so much, because in my eyes she is just a little garden girl.
Ruby, a little spitfire, so completely opposite of Sparrow, and I liked her too. She brought some needed fire to the blandness of it all. I didn't think I would have liked her sexual explorations, but I did. If there was nothing else to do - I would have chose kissing as well. At least for her it made sense.
Minya was a very hard character to judge. Every time I was ready to hate her with passion a reason was brought up and I was pitying her, feeling bad. And it just went on and on, in circles. To be honest it was like that with all of the characters. I kept looking for the evil, bad character, but there was none. Well, not truly evil. Because every time something horrid was revealed about somebody - a reason as to why they did those horrid things was brought up immediately, so I would feel bad for them. Which is good, because it showed that nobody is truly good or bad, but in the end I felt like - well if nobody is bad, what are we even doing here??
That changed in the last 10 pages though.
I also should mention that it took me ages to read this book. For about 280 pages nothing really happens. I just kept slugging through, not able to read more than 30 pages in one sitting. It was the weirdest thing. I was liking what I was reading, but I didn't care about it at all.
The only thing that gave me life was the BANTER! The dialog was truly magnificent in this book.
'I didn't like to mention it last night, but today is your new beginning. Ten silver every time you say you're sorry."
Lazlo laughed, and had to bite his tongue before apologizing for apologizing. " It was trained into me," he said. "I'm helpless."
"I accept the challenge of retraining you."'
'You don't" she returned. "Did you forget to sleep?"
"How dare you, he said mildly, taking a seat at her table. "Are you suggesting that I look less than perfectly fresh?"
"I would never be so uncivil as to suggest imperfect freshness."'
Now onto the thing that truly bugged me - the romance. As I mentioned above it was beautifully written. Incredibly so.
'Tonight she and Lazlo had sought solace in each other and found it, and they had hidden in it, blocking out reality and the hate they were powerless against. They had no solution and no hope, and they'd reveled in what they did have - each other, at least in dreams - and tried to forget it all.'
I could not buy this 'romance'. Even if they have truly fallen in love in a dream, they fell in love with their dream-versions, which were not really themselves. They were both bold, and direct and adventurous in dreams. They even said that if this wasn't a dream they would have never approach each other so directly in a real life. So this is basically an internet romance turned into fantasy! As I said before, at first the idea of this novel seem different and new, but once you strip the sugar coating it's just two people hitting it up in a google chat room.
However, Strange the Dreamer did have a romance I could get on board with. The love story between Azareen and Eril-Fane. Now that is LOVE, that is romance, that is real LOSS and real PAIN. They were together for 18 years, even if they got to only enjoy 5 days of it. She survived him being abducted. He heard her being raped, while being a powerless sex-slave to a cruel 'god'. He did unspeakable things for her. She was the push he needed to break free from Isagol. My heart really broke for them. Their side story was my favorite thing about this book.
And in the end when Eril-Fane dropped down to his knees and wept... My eyes finally welled up from all the feelings I felt for them.
Will I read the second one when it comes out? Maybe. There were many interesting questions left unanswered and I would like to know how it would play out. I am also hoping that the second one would be better paced, and maybe less weirdly written.
Would I recommend Strange the Dreamer? I would say yes. A lot of people adore it, and I see the reasons for it. Just because it didn't work out for me, it doesn't mean it won't work out for you. I had a lot of issues with the book, but I also had many things that I really liked. Eril-Fane's life story and the conversational banter alone are good reasons to read it.
What is up with the cliffhanger? How dare I
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even hope for a standalone novel?! I should have known that this was going to be series. I wasn't prepared for the end with no ending.At a first glance the plot for Strange the Dreamer seems very unique and interesting, but take away the whimsical and weird writing - and it's really nothing new. I figured the ending when I was about 80 pages in.
A guy goes on a quest, finds out that the hero he's been worshipping is not who he seems he is, there is a girl, they fall in love and the main character takes girl's side and then it's them against the world. That is the premise of this book (more or less), plus few very interesting twists and turns.
Speaking of the whimsical and weird writing. I am all for that! I love dreamy, beautiful prose. But it has to make sense. And more often than not, in Strange the Dreamer it doesn't make any sense.
'The timbre of his voice sent a thrill through Sarai. It was deep, low, and raw - a voice like woodsmoke, serrated blades, and boots breaking through snow.' - I'm sorry, WHAT? How is the voice compared to the boots breaking through snow? Sure it is a beautiful sentence, but it doesn't make any sense. There were many, many eye rolls while I was reading.
Lazlo Strange is one of the main characters of this story. I liked Lazlo for the sheer notion that Lazlo LOVED books.
'The books were his, and they were all that was his. He'd made them, and he loved them in the way one loves things that come of one's own hands, but even that wasn't the extent of it.'
Lazlo was a librarian's assistant and for the most part his journey was a beautiful one. I also adored the simplicity of things he wanted from life. His dreams were bigger than big, but he had no notion for material things.
'Not luxury, which was beyond his ken, but simple comfort: a wash, a shave, meal, a bed.'
And one of my favorite lines of the whole book:
'He didn't need to be told that "dreamer" was not a qualification. It wasn't enough to want it more than anyone else.' - I really LOVED this part. And I loved even more that for him it was enough to be a dreamer. How much better life would be if "just a dreamer" or "just a reader" were full pledged qualifications.
So I enjoyed Lazlo. For half a book. But then he abandoned all he was after he met a girl. One glimpse of girl's bare collarbones and Lazlo has forgotten all about his books, his dreams and his duties. There was only one mention of his love for books after he met his "love", and it wasn't nearly enough. It's like the librarian-Lazlo we knew for 300 pages of a book just vanished. I say love with quotation marks, because the romance was quite ridiculous. It was beautifully written, goodness YES! But it was ridiculous nonetheless. More on the romance later.
Sarai is the second character whose point of view we read through. I liked Sarai. I felt for Sarai - trapped and manipulated, with a gift that felt like a curse. I also thought that her gift was very original - I loved the aspect of it.
Her story was a tragic one, even more so at the end.
'And that's how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts. The more dark parts the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can.'
Feral, Ruby and Sparrow. I group them all together, because to be honest if they were absent from the story nothing would have been different. They were just there. They didn't seem to have minds of their own, and were so easily controlled. Just talking props. Even more so in the end, which ENRAGED me so much! If you read this book already you know what I am talking about. How could they have nothing to say? How could they just stand there and take it?
Feral was the worst of them. So bland and so uninteresting. Unable to make easiest of decisions for himself.
Sparrow I liked. I felt for Sparrow, such a gentle and innocent soul. She alone seemed to be Sarai's friend. Also I wouldn't have minded having her gift. Maybe that's why I love her so much, because in my eyes she is just a little garden girl.
Ruby, a little spitfire, so completely opposite of Sparrow, and I liked her too. She brought some needed fire to the blandness of it all. I didn't think I would have liked her sexual explorations, but I did. If there was nothing else to do - I would have chose kissing as well. At least for her it made sense.
Minya was a very hard character to judge. Every time I was ready to hate her with passion a reason was brought up and I was pitying her, feeling bad. And it just went on and on, in circles. To be honest it was like that with all of the characters. I kept looking for the evil, bad character, but there was none. Well, not truly evil. Because every time something horrid was revealed about somebody - a reason as to why they did those horrid things was brought up immediately, so I would feel bad for them. Which is good, because it showed that nobody is truly good or bad, but in the end I felt like - well if nobody is bad, what are we even doing here??
That changed in the last 10 pages though.
I also should mention that it took me ages to read this book. For about 280 pages nothing really happens. I just kept slugging through, not able to read more than 30 pages in one sitting. It was the weirdest thing. I was liking what I was reading, but I didn't care about it at all.
The only thing that gave me life was the BANTER! The dialog was truly magnificent in this book.
'I didn't like to mention it last night, but today is your new beginning. Ten silver every time you say you're sorry."
Lazlo laughed, and had to bite his tongue before apologizing for apologizing. " It was trained into me," he said. "I'm helpless."
"I accept the challenge of retraining you."'
'You don't" she returned. "Did you forget to sleep?"
"How dare you, he said mildly, taking a seat at her table. "Are you suggesting that I look less than perfectly fresh?"
"I would never be so uncivil as to suggest imperfect freshness."'
Now onto the thing that truly bugged me - the romance. As I mentioned above it was beautifully written. Incredibly so.
'Tonight she and Lazlo had sought solace in each other and found it, and they had hidden in it, blocking out reality and the hate they were powerless against. They had no solution and no hope, and they'd reveled in what they did have - each other, at least in dreams - and tried to forget it all.'
I could not buy this 'romance'. Even if they have truly fallen in love in a dream, they fell in love with their dream-versions, which were not really themselves. They were both bold, and direct and adventurous in dreams. They even said that if this wasn't a dream they would have never approach each other so directly in a real life. So this is basically an internet romance turned into fantasy! As I said before, at first the idea of this novel seem different and new, but once you strip the sugar coating it's just two people hitting it up in a google chat room.
However, Strange the Dreamer did have a romance I could get on board with. The love story between Azareen and Eril-Fane. Now that is LOVE, that is romance, that is real LOSS and real PAIN. They were together for 18 years, even if they got to only enjoy 5 days of it. She survived him being abducted. He heard her being raped, while being a powerless sex-slave to a cruel 'god'. He did unspeakable things for her. She was the push he needed to break free from Isagol. My heart really broke for them. Their side story was my favorite thing about this book.
And in the end when Eril-Fane dropped down to his knees and wept... My eyes finally welled up from all the feelings I felt for them.
Will I read the second one when it comes out? Maybe. There were many interesting questions left unanswered and I would like to know how it would play out. I am also hoping that the second one would be better paced, and maybe less weirdly written.
Would I recommend Strange the Dreamer? I would say yes. A lot of people adore it, and I see the reasons for it. Just because it didn't work out for me, it doesn't mean it won't work out for you. I had a lot of issues with the book, but I also had many things that I really liked. Eril-Fane's life story and the conversational banter alone are good reasons to read it.
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LibraryThing member electrascaife
Lazlo Strange is an orphan who nearly became a monk but was rescued into a life as a librarian by a batch of slightly-off fish, and he has no idea where he came from or who is parents may have been. He spends his days in the dusty parts of the library, reading all he can on the Unseen City, a place
Gah. I can't do this one justice in a summary without giving stuff away (or probably even if I did give stuff away). I both loved it (it's beautifully written; the story is amazing and inventive; the characters fascinating and wonderful and sharp) and hated it (and loved hating it, both for reasons I can't indicate here). It's one of those books with certain pages that make you (or maybe it's just me) race to read to the bottom all while trying very hard not to glance down at the shocking spoiler you *know* is probably down there somewhere. So, yep, it's a good 'un, even if it did make me furiously frustrated.
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no one can to get to and the name of which no one can quite remember. It all seems like fairy tales and myths until the day that the people of that city appear looking for scholars to follow them home. Lazlo is an unlikely candidate, as he's just a librarian, but he strikes their leader - known as The Godslayer - as, well, striking, and he's invited along. What he finds in that forgotten city is beyond all his imaginings, and the most surprising thing among them, a beautiful girl, who happens to be blue.Gah. I can't do this one justice in a summary without giving stuff away (or probably even if I did give stuff away). I both loved it (it's beautifully written; the story is amazing and inventive; the characters fascinating and wonderful and sharp) and hated it (and loved hating it, both for reasons I can't indicate here). It's one of those books with certain pages that make you (or maybe it's just me) race to read to the bottom all while trying very hard not to glance down at the shocking spoiler you *know* is probably down there somewhere. So, yep, it's a good 'un, even if it did make me furiously frustrated.
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LibraryThing member infjsarah
A very enjoyable read. The two main characters were interesting as was the fantasy concept. My sense of impending doom proved to be correct and I have ignored my usual rule of waiting until something is complete to read it, so will have to wait for the next book.
LibraryThing member bell7
Lazlo Strange is an orphan, living with the monks in a drab city in a drab life where his only joy is to get one of the brothers to tell him stories of a city. This city figures in his hopes and dreams, but one day its name is lost and only "Weep" remains in its place. When Lazlo, a little older,
It's really hard to explain what this story is about without giving, well, everything away. The story unfolds slowly - a bit too slowly occasionally - as Lazlo begins to untangle the mysteries of Weep and a second point of view is also introduced. The world-building is phenomenally well done, with a glimpse into history and religious systems and folklore without completely overwhelming the characters and story. This is definitely not going to be a standalone, and I found the ending particularly maddening.
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becomes a librarian he spends all his free time researching stories of Weep or, as he likes to call it the "Unseen City," never dreaming that he might one day become part of its story himself.It's really hard to explain what this story is about without giving, well, everything away. The story unfolds slowly - a bit too slowly occasionally - as Lazlo begins to untangle the mysteries of Weep and a second point of view is also introduced. The world-building is phenomenally well done, with a glimpse into history and religious systems and folklore without completely overwhelming the characters and story. This is definitely not going to be a standalone, and I found the ending particularly maddening.
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Awards
BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (Fiction — 2017)
Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee — High School — 2020)
Oregon Book Awards (Winner — Leslie Bradshaw Award for Young Adult Literature — 2018)
Grand Canyon Reader Award (Nominee — Teen — 2020)
Arkansas Teen Book Award (Nominee — 2019)
The Flume: NH Teen Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — 2020)
Printz Award (Honor — 2018)
Oregon Spirit Book Award (Honor — Young Adult — 2017)
NPR: Books We Love (2017)
Christian Science Monitor Best Book (Fiction — 2017)
The A.V. Club best books (2017)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Top Ten — 2018)
Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Children and Teens (Audiobooks — 2018)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Teen — 2017)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Teens (Fiction — 2017)
OYAN Book Rave (2018)
Pages
544
ISBN
0316341681 / 9780316341684
Lexile
L