Uprooted by Naomi Novik Published by Random House Worlds on March 1, 2016
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Fiction / Science Fiction / Action & Adventure
Pages: 464
Format: Paperback
Source: Bookstore
NEBULA AWARD WINNER • HUGO AWARD FINALIST • “If you want a fantasy with strong characters and brilliantly original variations on ancient stories, try Uprooted!”—Rick Riordan
“Breathtaking . . . a tale that is both elegantly grand and earthily humble, familiar as a Grimm fairy tale yet fresh, original, and totally irresistible.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, BuzzFeed, Tordotcom, BookPage, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.
Praise for Uprooted
“Uprooted has leapt forward to claim the title of Best Book I’ve Read Yet This Year. . . . Moving, heartbreaking, and thoroughly satisfying, Uprooted is the fantasy novel I feel I’ve been waiting a lifetime for. Clear your schedule before picking it up, because you won’t want to put it down.”—NPR
My Review:
I have only read one other book by Naomi Novik, but it is a book that I absolutely loved, and it is Spinning Silver. I decided to pick up Uprooted after hearing about it from Elliot Brooks on her YouTube channel ebnovels, and I am so glad that I did. When I chose this book, I was under the impression that it was inspired by Beauty and the Beast, but I was completely WRONG. It is nothing like that story. This got me wondering then what the heck this story was inspired by, so I went searching online and discovered it was inspired by Polish Folklore. Reader, I was seriously off base with my Beauty and the Beast thoughts. Oh well. I really enjoyed the story nonetheless. With all that being said, let me get into this review already.
In this story, we are following two friends, Agnieszka and Kasia. They have grown up together and are the best of friends. However, this bond is soon to be broken because The Dragon will be coming to the village to select a girl to go away with him for ten years, and everyone knows it will be Kasia. Kasia is so beautiful and talented that it would only make sense for him to take her over all the other girls. Wait, I am getting ahead of myself, Reader. Ok, so The Dragon is actually an Immortal Wizard, and every ten years, he comes to this little sleepy village and selects a girl to take back to his castle. Don’t think that it is because he wants to torture her and have her as some sort of slave. In fact, it is the complete opposite. He treats her well, and when she leaves him after ten years, she is a changed woman and will have a good start in life. The only problem is that she is a changed woman and finds that she no longer fits in with her family or the little village in which she grew up.
SPOILER AHEAD ON WHO IS TAKEN
As I stated above, everyone believes that The Dragon will be taking Kasia because that makes the most sense, but he actually chooses someone else. The girl he chooses is always covered in dirt, is adventurous, and manages to find things that no one else can. The girl that he takes is Agnieszka. Such an unlikely choice. Everyone is shocked by this development, especially her parents and herself. They have not prepared for this moment. Kasia has been raised and educated in a way to handle being taken, her family has prepared their hearts for it and Kasia has prepared her heart as well. She is devasted that it is her friend that is taken rather than herself. The Dragon, however, does not realize that the girl he has taken is a fighter and wants nothing more than to stay at home in her little village and be with Kasia, running through the trees and watching the stars in the night sky.
Once The Dragon has gotten Agnieszka back to his tower, he does not do much with her; she is left on her own to try and figure out what it is that he wants from her. She is fearful and heartbroken. When she is in her room, she cries and can’t help but think about leaving. Let me be clear, though, Reader: this does not make her weak; in fact, she is very heroic in this story, maybe even a little kickass. One day she finds a little note left by the previous girl explaining that he will not hurt her and also lets her know about some of the things that she is expected to do. Obviously, she finds this comforting, which sets her mind at ease.
It isn’t terribly long before Agnieszka begins to settle into a routine and take an interest in what it is that The Dragon does all day. This interest has led to him teaching her a bit about magic and spells. It turns out that Agnieszka has some magic in her, but it just happens to be a different kind of magic than what The Dragon has in him. The Dragon’s magic is much more textbook, I would say where, whereas Agnieszka’s is much more organic. He understands why his magic works but has no idea how she is able to use magic when her spells tend to be more sung rather than spoken. Either way, it does not much matter because as the story goes on, The Dragon is going to need both types of magic to be able to fight back The Wood. The Wood is full of evil magic with magical creatures. It takes people and land without rhyme or reason, or so the people think. No one, including The Dragon, understands what The Wood is and what fuels it. What kind of magic does it hold? The thing he does know is that Agnieszka will have a part in breaking it, or at least that is what he hopes. Things, however, are not always as straightforward and smooth as one would hope.
Amid The Dragon teaching Agnieszka magic and trying to figure out The Wood, he is summoned to go to another village and help out there for a time. While he is gone someone is taken from Agnieszka’s village by a Walker (a creature from The Wood), someone who is very special to Agnieszka. This leads to her escaping the tower and setting off on a rescue mission. What she does not understand at the time is that this rescue mission will ultimately change everything for her, The Dragon, the village, and the kingdom. Reader, this mission will not be all sunshine and roses. Agnieszka will face serious dangers, and the terrible things that will follow are what made me invested in the story. I could not put it down.
If you are looking for a story that is inspired by folklore and has magic, friendship, love, loss, and battles, then look no further because I think that this book could be for you. The story starts off slow, but the world-building is wonderful. I could really imagine myself in the little village along with Kasia and Agnieszka. I could feel the stress of The Dragon coming, the choosing process, and then the heartbreak and fear when the girl was chosen. As I said above, once the rescue mission begins, this book picks up, and I just could not put it down. Have you read anything by Naomi Novik, and if so, what did you read? Was it any good? If you decide to pick this one up, then please let me know your thoughts when you finish it because I am always game to talk about books. Until Next Time, Reader, Happy Reading.
Trigger Warnings:
- War
- Death of a Parent
- Violence
- Kidnapping
- Classism
- Animal Death
- Blood
- Attempted Rape
- Fire Injury
- Jealousy