Scan barcode
laurence19's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Death, Racism, Murder, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Child death, Child abuse, and Violence
samnotwise's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Child death, Death, Blood, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Racism
Minor: Rape and Murder
kathrynleereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
As a human, mysteries intrigue me. As a person who devoted years to the study of anthropology, mysteries of culture consume me.
So a story about a city, mysterious from the beginning, but suddenly lost, disappeared from the world? It felt like magic to have stumbled upon it.
Right from the prologue, Strange the Dreamer grabbed my attention and refused to let go.
The story, the characters, the settings, the dreams, they all just kept getting better and better.
Watching the history of Weep unfold bit by bit in tiny little shards of knowledge was mesmerizing.
Other than the gods themselves, there were no characters that I didn’t like.
The only two who came close were Minya and Thyon, but even the two of them weren’t evil, they just lacked compassion.
And the dreams.
Laini Taylor’s writing truly encompasses and deserves the word “art.”
I have long wished that I could dive into the worlds I read about, and then there I was, reading about a world I wanted to dive into, and within that world they were doing the same thing.
The connection I felt to Lazlo and Sarai as they dove into dreams together and made their stories was one of the strongest I’ve ever felt with a character (or characters in this case).
I’m both excited and terrified to learn where the story, and the unseen city of Weep itself, go from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Child abuse
Minor: Homophobia
grets_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death of parent
Moderate: Xenophobia, Murder, Grief, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Genocide
Minor: Pregnancy and Rape
aksmith92's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is how you write a YA novel that also appeals to 31 year old :)
In these first 10 pages, I was the most confused I've ever been about a book, but thankfully, that passed, and I was swept away in this novel.
We follow a couple of different characters throughout this book - Lazlo Strange, Sarai, Feral, Sparrow, Eril-Fane, Azareen, and Thyon. However, primarily, it's told from a third POV of Lazlo and Sarai. The book is broken up into parts, and the first part is exclusively for Lazlo, a timid and shy librarian who is fascinated with a distant land called Weep. Weep was called something else years ago, but no one can seem to remember the name. So Lazlo buries his mind into other aspects of the land besides the name - its history, the language, and the culture. Suddenly, he finds himself in an opportunity where he can go to Weep and immerse himself even further.
Sarai is a godling(like) who has a power where she can immerse herself in peoples' dreams. She lives in Weep but at the Citadel, which is high up in the sky. Without spoiling anything, the only thing you know about Sarai and four other godlings is that they are kept a secret from Weep citizens due to a slaughter of the gods fifteen years prior. Sarai and the others must keep their identities secret, but they stumble upon an obstacle when Weep citizens and others brainstorm ways to remove the Citadel from the sky.
The only way I can describe the writing is gorgeous, and I absolutely loved the plot and premise. This is a fantastical world that just had me dreaming like those in this novel. The adjectives were vivid, and the characters were beautiful and never perfect in the best way possible. As typical in YA novels, the main characters were a little angsty. I wished Taylor portrayed them as a little bit older (my common qualm, per usual), and I think the love story was a tad bit rushed, but overall, I absolutely loved it. I cannot wait to read the next one in the series/duology!
In these first 10 pages, I was the most confused I've ever been about a book, but thankfully, that passed, and I was swept away in this novel.
We follow a couple of different characters throughout this book - Lazlo Strange, Sarai, Feral, Sparrow, Eril-Fane, Azareen, and Thyon. However, primarily, it's told from a third POV of Lazlo and Sarai. The book is broken up into parts, and the first part is exclusively for Lazlo, a timid and shy librarian who is fascinated with a distant land called Weep. Weep was called something else years ago, but no one can seem to remember the name. So Lazlo buries his mind into other aspects of the land besides the name - its history, the language, and the culture. Suddenly, he finds himself in an opportunity where he can go to Weep and immerse himself even further.
Sarai is a godling(like) who has a power where she can immerse herself in peoples' dreams. She lives in Weep but at the Citadel, which is high up in the sky. Without spoiling anything, the only thing you know about Sarai and four other godlings is that they are kept a secret from Weep citizens due to a slaughter of the gods fifteen years prior. Sarai and the others must keep their identities secret, but they stumble upon an obstacle when Weep citizens and others brainstorm ways to remove the Citadel from the sky.
The only way I can describe the writing is gorgeous, and I absolutely loved the plot and premise. This is a fantastical world that just had me dreaming like those in this novel. The adjectives were vivid, and the characters were beautiful and never perfect in the best way possible. As typical in YA novels, the main characters were a little angsty. I wished Taylor portrayed them as a little bit older (my common qualm, per usual), and I think the love story was a tad bit rushed, but overall, I absolutely loved it. I cannot wait to read the next one in the series/duology!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Child abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Rape
Minor: Sexual content
Rape is regularly talked about, but it's most inferred, and the recuperation of it, as opposed to it being on page and in detail. That is why it is in Moderate as opposed to the Graphic. Sexual content is minor (PG-13-like) and also semi-inferred (but well-done!)metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Rape, Blood, War, and Child abuse
nyree42's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Beautifully written, magical and hopeful yet challenging and dark story about mysterious people with otherworldly and dangerous powers, and the city who fears them. Glad I read it when the second book is available to pick up immediately, since it ends on a cliffhanger.
On the negative side:
Note that the adult/minor relationship tag refers to a 20-year-old in a romantic relationship with a 17-year-old, which I personally think is close enough in age to be acceptable in the world of this story, although other readers may not agree, as in our real world it seems rather sus for a 3rd year college student to be dating an 11th grader in high school.
There are also descriptions of a sexually active 15-year-old with their teenage lover, plus mentions of another young couple who are sleeping together. All the teenage sex, despite not being graphically described but only alluded to artistically, was rather off-putting because an adult writer should not be encouraging her adolescent readers to engage in sex - it leads to consequences like STDs/STIs, unwanted pregnancies, and emotions that are too complicated for most young people to understand.
This inevitably results in broken hearts and emotional trauma in the majority of cases, which then leads to some (or many) people having difficulty finding love as adults because their teen romances ripped a hole in their heart they've not been able to repair so far. For real, I know people in their 50s who still haven't recovered from their adolescent entanglements and that's why they are single today... and that's why their would-be partner is also single. These are consequences that resulted in the unhappiness of two people (much like Eril-Fane and Azareen in this book, although in their case they had no choice in the matter).
So if you're a teenager reading this review - don't be inspired by the exploits of the young lovers in this book, and instead wait until you're older to chase... "that." You'll have more of a chance to mature and develop so that you also meet somebody mature who can give you the true love you'll want to receive and give in return.
On the negative side:
Note that the adult/minor relationship tag refers to a 20-year-old in a romantic relationship with a 17-year-old, which I personally think is close enough in age to be acceptable in the world of this story, although other readers may not agree, as in our real world it seems rather sus for a 3rd year college student to be dating an 11th grader in high school.
There are also descriptions of a sexually active 15-year-old with their teenage lover, plus mentions of another young couple who are sleeping together. All the teenage sex, despite not being graphically described but only alluded to artistically, was rather off-putting because an adult writer should not be encouraging her adolescent readers to engage in sex - it leads to consequences like STDs/STIs, unwanted pregnancies, and emotions that are too complicated for most young people to understand.
This inevitably results in broken hearts and emotional trauma in the majority of cases, which then leads to some (or many) people having difficulty finding love as adults because their teen romances ripped a hole in their heart they've not been able to repair so far. For real, I know people in their 50s who still haven't recovered from their adolescent entanglements and that's why they are single today... and that's why their would-be partner is also single. These are consequences that resulted in the unhappiness of two people (much like Eril-Fane and Azareen in this book, although in their case they had no choice in the matter).
So if you're a teenager reading this review - don't be inspired by the exploits of the young lovers in this book, and instead wait until you're older to chase... "that." You'll have more of a chance to mature and develop so that you also meet somebody mature who can give you the true love you'll want to receive and give in return.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Racial slurs, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, War, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
intoshadows's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Loved the MC in this and the conflicts. The cliffhanger ending was a little disappointing, but as the next book is available it’s not so bad. I immediately needed to start reading the other and it was refreshing, even though this is young adult and I had no idea, to read a book so well thought out. It has mysteries, history that your curious about and she slowly introduces other characters without overwhelming the reader. Very, very well done book. The romance in here is not the best I have read, but as it is young adult, I can’t be too harsh. Still high on my favorite list.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Rape
The content warnings are very implied and the R word is mentioned. Thankfully this author does not feel the need to describe any of these incidents. They are easily deduced though. So tread carefully if this is a sensitive subject for you. Big hugs and wishing you all the best.nofy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide
Moderate: Child abuse and Rape
littlecake's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Child abuse, War, and Child death