Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Title: Strange the Dreamer
By: Laini Taylor
Published: 2017
Call #: YA Fiction Taylo.L

Junior librarian, Lazlo Strange, knows many stories, but only one story fills his dreams both at night and every spare waking moment. This is the story of Weep. A city not only lost to the desert for over 200 years, but a city that has also lost its very name. Nobody can remember its true name and only knows it as Weep.

Lazlo dreams of one day unraveling the mystery of what happened to the city and why its name was plucked the minds of every person in the world, but he knows that as penniless junior librarian he will never get the chance. Everything changes when myths come to life and a warrior from Weep called the Godslayer visits Lazlo’s library looking for the best and the brightest. He needs the help of outsiders to remove a mysterious “shadow” from his city. Lazlo finally has the chance to make his dream come true in ways even he has never imagined.

Laini Taylor is a gifted storyteller. She has created a magical and highly original world. It pulled me in from the first chapter, and as I read more, the more I started to share Lazlo’s dream. I wanted to know what happened to Weep and the shadow that still haunts it, and every answer you get leads to even deeper mysteries in the best possible ways. This is one of those books you kind of regret reading right when it comes out because now you have to wait for the next book in the series. Highly recommended for teens and adults who enjoy fantasy, mysteries, and suspense. Also, highly recommended as an audiobook.

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