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siglerbooknook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Where to begin? This book is as close to a unique story as I've ever read. It's hard to describe because it feels quite original.
The underlying tones are definitely Beauty and the Beast but in very much its own way.
Our heroine, Nieshka is instantly loveable for her clumsy, messy, confident self. I've never read a hero quit like her and it was very enjoyable.
Her sunshine to the Dragon's grumpy was delightful.
Perhaps one of my favorite things about this book was the themes of friendship and individuality seen side by side without being pitted against each other. Nieshka and her best friend Kasia have a beautiful friendship that acknowledges their flaws but never stops them from loving each other. We see hints of real human jealousy, grief, annoyance, and love in both girls even though their personalities couldn't be more different. I don't know if I've ever seen such a wholesome and believable friendship in literature before.
I enjoyed the story over all, though for a while the plot did get terribly confusing and difficult to follow. Once we were given answers they were mostly satisfying.
While I will never completely enjoy the "undefeatable villain" trope, the reasoning behind this one was at least understandable.
Even the ending was quite unique. I enjoyed the less-than-perfect end. I think everything neatly wrapped in a bow would have betrayed the overall feel of the story.
Over all I definitely liked Uprooted, and am likely to read it again.
The underlying tones are definitely Beauty and the Beast but in very much its own way.
Our heroine, Nieshka is instantly loveable for her clumsy, messy, confident self. I've never read a hero quit like her and it was very enjoyable.
Her sunshine to the Dragon's grumpy was delightful.
Perhaps one of my favorite things about this book was the themes of friendship and individuality seen side by side without being pitted against each other. Nieshka and her best friend Kasia have a beautiful friendship that acknowledges their flaws but never stops them from loving each other. We see hints of real human jealousy, grief, annoyance, and love in both girls even though their personalities couldn't be more different. I don't know if I've ever seen such a wholesome and believable friendship in literature before.
I enjoyed the story over all, though for a while the plot did get terribly confusing and difficult to follow. Once we were given answers they were mostly satisfying.
While I will never completely enjoy the "undefeatable villain" trope, the reasoning behind this one was at least understandable.
Even the ending was quite unique. I enjoyed the less-than-perfect end. I think everything neatly wrapped in a bow would have betrayed the overall feel of the story.
Over all I definitely liked Uprooted, and am likely to read it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Body horror, and Confinement
Minor: Toxic friendship, Rape, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and War
eleanora's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Blood, Body horror, and Animal death
Minor: Death of parent
julesadventurezone's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Murder, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual content, Drug use, Confinement, Death of parent, Vomit, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Blood, Animal death, Medical content, Body horror, and Alcohol
Minor: Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Genocide, Child death, Rape, Slavery, and Colonisation
madisongturner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
It’s a little weird at points, but very beautiful in the end. It was almost too complexly written for my personal taste, but the main plot was captivating.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Sexual assault, War, and Violence
alliecat1915's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Violence, War, Body horror, Animal death, and Mental illness
lizzie24601's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
For the vast majority of it, this book was a slog to get through. Until Agnieshka flees the capital , the book is written very episodically. Agnieshka is hanging out at the tower, learning magic, until someone arrives! And they do something. Then she goes back to her studies until... someone arrives! The plot doesn't progress evenly forward - it moves in fits and starts like this, and it's hard to tell what the story is supposed to be about. (Especially when the description on the back of the book only describes half of the first chapter.)
I did not find any of the characters to be particularly well-developed, and there isn't much character growth. Sure, Agnieshka's skills and power grow, but her personal character doesn't change much from the beginning to the end.
I was most upset by Kasia in this vein: she is hyped up at the beginning as being such a charming, brave, and wonderful person, but despite being by Agnieshka's side for the majority of the book, she is largely silent. In so many scenes she just serves as a tool to silently protect Agnieshka from some danger. The book emphasizes their friendship over and over again, but they never even really have a conversation.
The characters all felt so flat that the pace felt even slower, because there was no one I wanted to root for. And don't get me started on the romance... (Theteenager + centuries old magical being romances either work or they don't, and this one just didn't for me.)
All that being said, the pace and excitement picks up immensely in the final third of the book, and the ending really is so good. I finally got what the author was going for, and what the book was about. Sure, there are other scenes that stand out (whenKasia and Agnieshka have to deal with their unspoken animosity toward each other and any scene with Alosha - loved her). I just wish the first 2/3 of the book had been as enjoyable!
I did not find any of the characters to be particularly well-developed, and there isn't much character growth. Sure, Agnieshka's skills and power grow, but her personal character doesn't change much from the beginning to the end.
I was most upset by Kasia in this vein: she is hyped up at the beginning as being such a charming, brave, and wonderful person, but despite being by Agnieshka's side for the majority of the book, she is largely silent. In so many scenes she just serves as a tool to silently protect Agnieshka from some danger. The book emphasizes their friendship over and over again, but they never even really have a conversation.
The characters all felt so flat that the pace felt even slower, because there was no one I wanted to root for. And don't get me started on the romance... (The
All that being said, the pace and excitement picks up immensely in the final third of the book, and the ending really is so good. I finally got what the author was going for, and what the book was about. Sure, there are other scenes that stand out (when
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, and Death
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Sexual content, War, Body horror, and Confinement
the_bees_books's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
If you like creepy forests, grumpy wizards, and female characters who are just a general hot mess, then you should totally read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Animal death
Minor: Death of parent, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
cloudbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
A girl from a small village is whisked away by a dragon. When it turns out she's a witch and she can perhaps turn the tide in the ancient war against the cursed woods that constantly seek to devour, things change. When her best friend is taken by the woods, she's suddenly no longer just a village girl with a small gift for magic.
This was such a good read! I really loved the setting of the story. A sentient wood as the villain? Yes please!
The bad:
There wasn't much bad in this book. The other wizards the main character meets are all annoying and that never changes. I also disliked the sudden angry sex scene. The weird romance going on between Agnieszka and the Dragon seemed unnecessary. Agnieszka as a main character feels a little flat too but at this point I'm sure it's the format of the narrator that makes it so. First person narration almost always somehow causes me to feel like the main character is flat.
The good:
There's so much good but I mostly enjoyed the woods. We've heard about dark woods and evil woods and it's always just an invisible enemy just acting through plants. This one has a story behind it and it acts with purpose other than accidental kills.
I also loved Agnieszka and Kasia's friendship. The way platonic relationships matter as much as romantic ones, if not more, really eased my dislike for the odd romantic relationship going on too.
Overall, this book is so good. It's a book I'll definitely pick up again!
This was such a good read! I really loved the setting of the story. A sentient wood as the villain? Yes please!
The bad:
There wasn't much bad in this book. The other wizards the main character meets are all annoying and that never changes. I also disliked the sudden angry sex scene. The weird romance going on between Agnieszka and the Dragon seemed unnecessary. Agnieszka as a main character feels a little flat too but at this point I'm sure it's the format of the narrator that makes it so. First person narration almost always somehow causes me to feel like the main character is flat.
The good:
There's so much good but I mostly enjoyed the woods. We've heard about dark woods and evil woods and it's always just an invisible enemy just acting through plants. This one has a story behind it and it acts with purpose other than accidental kills.
I also loved Agnieszka and Kasia's friendship. The way platonic relationships matter as much as romantic ones, if not more, really eased my dislike for the odd romantic relationship going on too.
Overall, this book is so good. It's a book I'll definitely pick up again!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and War
jnichols's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, War, Violence, Sexual content, Animal death, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault
september_red's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I expected something very different out of this book when I decided to pick it up, but what I ended up getting was so much better. This book is perfect for fans of Howl’s Moving Castle who wish it was tailored more for adults.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content