Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Pages: 532

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Fantasy

Notes for Parents: Contains some violence.

The Back Cover

Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep for as long as he can remember, 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 person 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? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream of her before he knew she exited?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This book is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book and a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2017).

What’s good?

This is a fantasy adventure that follows young Lazlo Strange as he joins a group travelling to the fabled city of Weep, a town he’s been fantasizing about since he was a child. The plot is simple with a few twists and turns that keep it interesting. The world building is complex and imaginative, and the supporting characters are well-drawn and likable. Points of view switch between Lazlo, the godspawn, and other characters, providing an innovative view of life on two sides of the same coin – the people of Weep and the children of the gods who are trapped in the tower above the city, both of whom view themselves as victims of the other. The ending was a cliffhanger, but satisfying.

Best Part: Lazlo

What isn’t good?

It’s so slow! The pace doesn’t really pick up until the last third of the book. The author is wordy and repetitive, making the story about twice as long as it should be. There are a lot of strange names of people, places, and things that make it hard to keep everything straight so it took a while to remember who everyone was. In fact, I didn’t really start caring about any of the characters until closer to the end. For me, the romance was a bust. Instalove is just not my thing.

Worst part: The pace.

Recommendation ☺☺☺ (3/5)

I think I read this with too many expectations. The novel came with a lot of hype and it just didn’t pan out for me. But it was still an interesting story with good characters and a solid plot that got really interesting at the end. If I had had the sequel when I finished the first, I probably would have started reading it. Recommended.

Taylor, Laini. Strange the Dreamer. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2017.

Everything Beautiful is not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman

Pages: 361

Intended Audience: Mature Teens

Genre: Contemporary

Notes for Parents: Contains mild language and mature scenes.

The Back Cover

Then: Ingrid traveled all over Europe with her opera star mother, Margot-Sophia. Life was beautiful and bright, and every day soared with music.
Now: Ingrid is on a summertime wilderness survival trek for at-risk teens: addicts, runaways, and her. She’s fighting to survive crushing humiliations, physical challenges that push her to her limits, and mind games that threaten to break her. Ingrid is never going to make it through this summer if she can’t figure out why she’s here…and why the music really stopped.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is a CBC Best Book of 2017; it was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award; and shortlisted for the White Pine Award.

What’s good?

Using a combination of narration and letter-writing, Ingrid recounts her less-than-ideal adventures on a wilderness trek for at-risk teens. In flashbacks, she slowly reveals what led up to her needing to join the wilderness survival group. Sarcastic humor infused with anger and grief gives life to the storytelling. The supporting characters are well-developed and have interesting stories of their own. The pace is good and the plot is intricate but easy to understand. The ending was unexpected and well-done.

Best Part: The dead mosquito count.

What isn’t good?

There’s a lot of telling rather than showing. It could have used a bit more dialogue and lot less description. I was bothered by the part where Ingrid is basically forced to share a tent with two boys and the adults had no qualms with Peace’s bizarre behavior. The romance was dull.

Worst part: Nothing was terrible.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺ (4/5)

This was an excellent story, told with humor and grace, about dealing with mental illness. While it wasn’t wholly unique, there was a rare quality about it that makes it stand out from the multitude of other “my mom is depressed” novels. There were as many heartwarming moments as there were heartbreaking ones. Definitely recommended.

Younge-Ullman, Danielle. Everything Beautiful is not Ruined. Toronto: Razorbill Canada, 2018.