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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Polish fantasy about an awkward, clumsy peasant girl taken by the local wizard to train her magic against the evil forest. It caught my interest at first, but quickly the book became immensely boring and I was fighting to finish so I could get to my other books. I might try Spinning Silver eventually as I’ve heard it’s quite different from Uprooted, but I’m not jumping to try another Novik book anytime soon.
im certainly late to the party but im glad all the same that i finally picked up this book. Novik is a great storyteller who knows how to conjure magic with words. I loved the fact that this book has so many layers to it, despite being a standalone. So many things happened in less than 500 pages and I'm even more amazed that nothing in the story felt rushed. Everything fell into place at a sensible pace. I also liked how fleshed out the characters are—all of them seemingly realistic in a fantasy world. This book definitely reminded me of Howl's Moving Castle (the movie). Maybe it's because I've been watching Ghibli movies lately but also because Novik weaves important underlying messages in her book (like human greed) as well as Miyazaki does. The Dragon also reminds me of Howl minus his warmth and charisma. Nieshka reminds me of Sophie with her resilience and bravery.
I'm not surprised why a lot of bookdragons claim Uprooted as their favorite. It's definitely one of the best standalones I've ever read and it's something that will stay with me for a long time.
I'm not surprised why a lot of bookdragons claim Uprooted as their favorite. It's definitely one of the best standalones I've ever read and it's something that will stay with me for a long time.
I'm glad a friend convinced me to give this a go after I never got past the first Temeraire book. I really liked this. It's a clever, interesting take on a familiar type of fairytale/folk story, with chosen ones, female friendships, magic, and enchanted woods. It really reminded me of bits of DWJ and Tamora Pierce (high praise!).
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I definitely had fun reading this book, which is why I'm giving it a high rating. That being said, I did have issues with it. Novik has very beautiful prose throughout the book, and I love her use of elaborate metaphors and imagery to describe things. However, I think she sometimes gets so into writing all these metaphors for magic and whatnot that it takes over the actual narrative. There were many points in the book with paragraphs and paragraphs of metaphors that I forgot what was actually going on.
I really like the plot for the most part in this book. I think the villain is very unique and is unlike any other fantasy I've ever read. I do think near the middle of the book once they left the tower the story started to drag a little. I think their time spent in the kingdom could've been shortened and still convey everything that needed conveyed for the narrative.
My biggest gripe with this book is the "romance" (if you can even call it that). First of all, the main character is 17 and the love interest is 100-something. Now, I get that aging is different for the main characters, and in this world it seems like in this world that 17 year olds are basically already treated as adults anyway. But I do wish the main character was at least a bit older for my own peace of mind.
Second of all, there really is no love or romance between the two characters. It's just lust. I literally had to put the book down and roll my eyes at the two (and there's really only two in the whole book) romance scenes between the two characters because it just came out of nowhere at felt like an afterthought for the author. I wish the characters (especially love interest guy, not saying because of spoilers) got more character development throughout the novel. That would've been nice in general, but it also would've helped readers see why the main character fell for the love interest. Honestly, it would've made more sense based on what I did see if she just ended up with Kasia instead.
I really like the plot for the most part in this book. I think the villain is very unique and is unlike any other fantasy I've ever read. I do think near the middle of the book once they left the tower the story started to drag a little. I think their time spent in the kingdom could've been shortened and still convey everything that needed conveyed for the narrative.
My biggest gripe with this book is the "romance" (if you can even call it that). First of all, the main character is 17 and the love interest is 100-something. Now, I get that aging is different for the main characters, and in this world it seems like in this world that 17 year olds are basically already treated as adults anyway. But I do wish the main character was at least a bit older for my own peace of mind.
Second of all, there really is no love or romance between the two characters. It's just lust. I literally had to put the book down and roll my eyes at the two (and there's really only two in the whole book) romance scenes between the two characters because it just came out of nowhere at felt like an afterthought for the author. I wish the characters (especially love interest guy, not saying because of spoilers) got more character development throughout the novel. That would've been nice in general, but it also would've helped readers see why the main character fell for the love interest. Honestly, it would've made more sense based on what I did see if she just ended up with Kasia instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
Naomi Novik is just the best: my ultimate comfort food. She always delivers a great story, intriguing historical setting, layered yet lovable characters, and just enough to think / feel about, all while executing the fantasy elements with a deft touch. I hope these standalones become a long phase for her. I think I liked this one even better than Spinning Silver! I was especially pleased by the (ahem) adult scene in this one. (Sorry, Mom).
I loved getting caught up in the vivid & imaginative style of Novik's writing. The story's world and its magic system felt deep and vast and lovingly constructed and explored.
Novik did not hold back with the plot; there was enough story here that I think most authors would have needed 2 or 3 books to do it justice, but somehow Novik managed it in one book that was immersive and detailed, but neither rushed along nor dragged. As the plot kept unfolding and unfolding, I found myself marveling (and rejoicing) that I still had a lot of book left after all that had already happened.
No book is without its flaws, but I thoroughly enjoyed and was inspired by Uprooted.
Novik did not hold back with the plot; there was enough story here that I think most authors would have needed 2 or 3 books to do it justice, but somehow Novik managed it in one book that was immersive and detailed, but neither rushed along nor dragged. As the plot kept unfolding and unfolding, I found myself marveling (and rejoicing) that I still had a lot of book left after all that had already happened.
No book is without its flaws, but I thoroughly enjoyed and was inspired by Uprooted.
I'm really not big into fantasy, but this book caught my interest. I definitely enjoyed it, thought the first 40% just felt like leaping from one life-threatening adventure to another. It needed some depth, some thought, some... Learning? She really glossed over ALL the magical learning. The MC just didn't get magic until *boom* she does it her own way? No, even naturals have to spend some time actually working on things and screwing up a bunch.
Big beef: love story is shallow, unnecessary and more than slightly abusive. Sex scene had no purpose whatsoever. When you get to the part where the MC is going to the Dragon's room just skip a few pages. He's really a jerk.
Big beef: love story is shallow, unnecessary and more than slightly abusive. Sex scene had no purpose whatsoever. When you get to the part where the MC is going to the Dragon's room just skip a few pages. He's really a jerk.