Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Lazlo Strange, an orphaned child raised in an abbey by monks, is a dreamer.  Even at a young age, he often misses prayer time to simply play.  He dreams of magic, fairy tales, and a lost city whose name is only known as Weep.  One day, he is sent on a journey to deliver some manuscripts to The Great Library of Zosma, and never returns to the abbey.

Lazlo works as a librarian, collecting stories, and recording his findings in books he makes on his own with leftover scraps of paper.  In his books is everything he has collected about the lost city.  He is obsessed with knowing all he can, and even though librarians tend to record the adventures of others, he yearns to seek, find, and explore Weep. Uncertain if the city is still even in existence, one day he actually gets the opportunity to go and help with a problem. 

When Lazlo arrives in the city, he is overcome with emotion when he realizes that the situation is dire.  He finds that the city has a history of slavery and cruelty that he cannot fathom.  He eventually meets Sarai, a godspawn left behind, hiding from the humans that would kill her if they discovered her.  Lazlo and Sarai develop an intimate relationship, and the focus of the book seems to shift, distracting the reader from the initial intrigue of learning about the city of Weep.

Taylor's writing is so detailed that I became bored at times and found myself skimming in some places.  There were lots of twists that helped it pick back up during the "down" times, and I was enthralled when Lazlo begins to find out about his own past.  The ending left me hanging, of which I'm not usually a fan. There is a second book, Muse of Nightmares, that I intend to read in search of closure.

This book could be used to discuss relationships and slavery, and the consequences of oppression.  It has some content that is inappropriate, and in my opinion, unnecessary and irrelevant to the story  Overall, I enjoyed the dynamics of the characters and the plot enough to finish it and look forward to reading the second book.