The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Taylor, Laini. Strange the Dreamer. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.

In the Prologue, a girl with blue skin fell from the sky. Then Part I followed Lazlo Strange, a foundling who had lost his real name along with his parents in the war of Zosma. Lazlo grew up in the Zemonan Abbey. Brother Cyrus, one of the monks who raised him, told Lazlo stories about the mysterious city of Weep. Lazlo would pretend to be one of Weep’s fierce Tizerkane warriors. When Lazlo was 13 years old, he went to the Great Library of Zosma on an errand and the head librarian Master Hyrrokin took Lazlo in as an apprentice. For the next seven years, Lazlo read book after book, earning him the title “Strange the Dreamer.” Thyon Nero, a famed alchemist, requested the book that Lazlo had been writing, documenting his life’s studies and musings. Lazlo had already helped Thyon years ago by giving the alchemist a storybook that held the secret to transmuting golds. After fulfilling the unappreciative alchemist’s request, Lazlo spotted a great white bird and a legion of Tizerkane warriors arrive in Zosma.

Eril-Fane, the leader of the Tizerkane bestowed with the title of “Godslayer,” told the people of Zosma that he was searching for scholars to join his delegation to fix a problem in Weep, a city that had always forbid outsiders. On the day the delegation, including Thyon Nero and several other scholars, was about to depart, Lazlo expressed his desire to accompany them on their journey to Weep. Eril-Fane agreed to make Lazlo his secretary if he would tell them stories during their trip. The six-month journey to Weep transformed Lazlo and he felt like he finally got to see the world beyond the stories he read about in books.

Part II introduced the five blue godspawn, Sarai, Minya, Feral, Ruby, and Sparrow, who lived in the citadel. Ruby and Sparrow fought about kissing the ghosts who lived with them in the citadel as Sarai woke up from the lull that kept her nightmares away while she slept. Ruby kissed Feral, who used his godspawn gift to summon a cloud to rain on Ruby. Ruby used her godspawn gift to set herself on fire and remarked that the godspawn would never run out of slip dresses to wear anyway. At dinner, Minya introduced the godspawn to the ghost Ari-Eil, who she had summoned using her godspawn gift. Sarai returned to her bedroom and used her godspawn gift to scream out hundreds of moths, which flew down into the city of Weep below the citadel. Sarai’s moths landed on the humans’ sleeping bodies, allowing Sarai to enter the sleepers’ dreams and manipulate them as she chose. After Sarai had her moths return to her mouth, she slept and woke from a nightmare. Ari-Eil told the godspawn that Eril-Fane was on his way to Weep. The delegation arrived on the outskirts of the city. Eril-Fane explained that the problem in Weep was that the citadel floated above the city and left it in shadow.

In Part III, the godspawn worried about the Godslayer’s arrival in Weep. Sarai released her moths into the city and visited the dreams of the outsiders. When she visited Lazlo’s dream, Lazlo saw her, even though no other sleeper whose dream Sarai had visited had ever been able to see her. Sarai returned her moths and told her godspawn companions about the flying machines that she had seen the humans building. In Weep, Eril-Fane’s mother Suheya told Lazlo the story of the god Skathis who stole humans from their homes in Weep to serve the gods in the citadel. He had taken Eril-Fane for three years and then Eril-Fane slew the gods once Skathis brought Azareen, Eril-Fane’s wife and fellow warrior, to the citadel too.

In the citadel, Minya showed the other godspawn the army of ghosts she had gathered. Back in Weep, Lazlo saw a mural of the six Mesarthim gods in the citadel and recognized Sarai from his dream through the painting of Sarai’s mother Isagol because they both had blue skin and red hair. Sarai entered Lazlo’s dream and found that Lazlo had already been dreaming of her, but he thought that she was Isagol. Sarai took the place of Lazlo’s dream of Isagol. Lazlo showed Sarai the Great Library of Zosma and his favorite books. Sarai inquired about Eril-Fane’s plans and warned Lazlo not to fly up to the citadel. The following morning, Eril-Fane, Azareen, a pilot, and Lazlo boarded a silk sleigh and flew up to the citadel. Despite Minya’s wishes, Sarai showed herself to the four humans. Minya’s ghosts attacked the silk sleigh and the humans retreated back to Weep. They decided not to tell anyone else in Weep about the godspawn in the citadel.

In Part IV, Minya yelled at Sarai for exposing the secret of their existence to the humans and had her ghosts isolate Sarai in her room. Sarai visited Lazlo’s dream that night and they temporarily changed their skin colors so that Lazlo looked like a godspawn and Sarai looked like a human. Sarai told Lazlo that Eril-Fane had killed all the godspawn he found in the citadel nursery 15 years ago and the humans of Weep hated her kind and would kill her on sight. Sarai fell asleep in the citadel with her moth still on Lazlo’s brow, so that she could share Lazlo’s dream. They kissed as the sun rose in Weep and made them wake up.

The following night, Sarai entered Lazlo’s dream. They kissed and found wings so that they could fly. Then, Thyon Nero threw pebbles into Lazlo’s room, scaring off the moths and waking Lazlo up. Thyon discovered an irregularity in Lazlo’s spirit, which the alchemist had used in an experiment. Thyon threatened Lazlo then left. Lazlo went to the anchor made of the impenetrable element mesarthium, which held the citadel in place. Drave, an explosionist from the delegation, lit a fuse causing an earthquake to erupt across Weep. The anchor capsized and the citadel tilted. Sarai fell down to the city and died. Lazlo transformed into a godspawn and used his new power to control the mesarthium so that the citadel would not fall. Then, he found Sarai’s body and brought her up to the citadel to beg Minya to catch her spirit. Minya made Sarai into a ghost, but controlled Sarai’s actions and threatened to release Sarai’s spirit if Lazlo did not obey Minya.