Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Uprooted

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Uprooted by Naomi Novik

16 reviews

katyjoyjoy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I listened to the audiobook version and loved the narrator. Few stories have such wonderful endings. Uprooted by Naomi Novik is grounded in Eastern European folklore, part Sorcerer’s Apprentice, part Grimm’s fairytale. Told like a campfire story to girls with tangled hair and skinned knees and bare feet. There are the things deep in the wood, terrible hungry monsters that sometimes come out, hunting. But there might be worse things than monsters in the wood, if there is something in there making them.

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astoryofpages's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure what to expect other than a story inspired by Slavic folklore (which I don't know very well, so I couldn't dwell on it too much). I was very startled by Naomi Novik's writing. I felt like I was reading a fairy tale. Look out, not a children's story, and that I want to clarify quickly. I saw the book classified in YA, but for me, this book is Adult, or maybe New Adult. I had a little trouble with some very described scenes (I don't want to know how the blood is spurting). So even if the story seems gentle and soft, be aware of that.

I appreciated the worldbuilding: even if I'd have preferred to have a map because, without one, I couldn't locate the kingdoms, cities and towns. The magic system is interesting, with this mystery around Jaga, who is, in fact, Baba Jaga. I would have liked to know a little more about wizards in general, like Alosha, I think, from whom we could have learned a lot.

The plot was a little radical at times. Writers often have this "weakness" of wanting to kill their characters all the time to solve the problem (sometimes, I found myself not understanding some reversals). Nevertheless, this whole idea of The Wood, which is almost a living and threatening entity, was all fascinating, and I think it was rather well. It's an element that wasn't put aside, and I loved the end, which remains slightly open. I liked how Agnieszka's adventure ends.

The characters were enjoyable. I loved Kasia and her journey, which is quite incredible. She is truly a role model, very courageous and believes in her values. Agnieszka left me a little more unmoved. I struggled to grasp her personality at first. She seemed a little empty to me. I think she does become someone at the very end, which is a bit sad since I would have liked it done earlier. As for the Dragon, just like the other wizards, he lacked details and depth. Wizards remain very superficial, sadly. I don't have much to say about relationships other than maybe I would have preferred there to be no romantic relationship (if it's love) because I think it comes kind of out of nowhere. Or to get just a glimpse of it at the very end, just a suggestion for readers who wanted to see one, while the others had nothing since they didn't want to see anything between these two characters.

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