Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fiercely imaginative, lushly told fantasy for mature teens.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
In STRANGE THE DREAMER, a boy named Lazlo Strange first gets his Dreamer nickname as an orphan in an abbey. He's caught too many times skipping out on his duties to play make-believe and often listens with rapt attention to stories from one of the bedridden, senile residents, Brother Cyrus. Brother Cyrus' stories introduce Lazlo to a magical and mysterious city called Weep on the other side of a vast desert. For years traders came from Weep with tales of its magnificence that foreigners were never permitted to see -- they were killed on sight. Then, 200 years ago, the traders just stopped coming. Lazlo is captivated by the stories, and when he's sent to the city's library on an errand and sees all the books he hopes hold more amazing mysteries, he begs to stay. As a junior librarian, Lazlo discovers a dusty basement full of works the other librarians discard as simple fairy tales. He knows better and begins to translate them and learn a new language. It's a language he hears spoken for the first time when foreign soldiers march into town begging for help. They're looking for the best scientists and scholars to accompany them back across the desert to Weep on a secret assignment. As a simple junior librarian, Lazlo knows he doesn't qualify, but it's his dream and he'll do anything to get there.
Is It Any Good?
Here's every fantasy lover's dream: a fiercely imaginative, lushly told story with fantastic and complex characters full of yearning. The biggest success of many in Strange the Dreamer is how palpable main character Lazlo Strange's yearning is -- for knowledge, for adventure, for connection, for a foreign land he has never really seen. His yearning is so palpable that when he works up the courage to make his dreams a reality, to find a way to visit the fabled city of Weep, you can't help but cheer out loud. (Maybe don't read that part in public if you embarrass easily.)
From there the story is still full of surprises we won't spoil here. Taylor even keeps the foreign adventurers in the dark about what they will find on the other side of the desert and why they are summoned to help the city of Weep. It builds some fabulous tension and is far from the last surprise of this story. As readers reach the twisty ending, they'll be full of yearning for the sequel.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about discrimination in Strange the Dreamer. What causes people to hate?
How does Lazlo change on the journey?
Will you read the sequel? What must be overcome for a peaceful resolution? Do you think it's possible?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic , Fairy Tales ) , Adventures , Animals ( Bugs )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : March 28, 2017
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 15 - 18
- Number of pages : 544
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Award : ALA Best and Notable Books
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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