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A review by ashleysills
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I'm so glad I finally got a chance to read this one!
If you enjoy dark fairytales, beautiful prose, and being immersed in new fantasy worlds, I think you'll enjoy this one.
Agnieszka is unexpectedly chosen to be taken by the Dragon, an event that happens in her valley every ten years. The villagers go along with it because the Dragon protects them from the evil Wood, but no one really knows what happens to the girls he takes, besides the fact that when they come out, they always leave the valley.
I feel like I didn't have a very good idea of what this book would be about when I started it; the blurb on the back only covers the first couple chapters. I was intrigued from the start, though, and the depth of the story just built and built from there until I was making all kinds of connections I and couldn't put the book down! I'm willing to bet you'll feel a little breathless by the end, caught up in everything that's happening and thoroughly satisfied by the ending, like I was.
The characters: I loved Agnieszka and Kasia's friendship, and I loved Agnieszka and the Dragon's "rivalry" and his grumpy to her sunshine :)
Like a fairytale, this book was full of rich themes, like the fact that misery and fear can be poisonous, and hate creates monstrosities and can topple societies. I like deep themes, what can I say? 🤷♀️
A note about the pace: this book isn't fast-paced like a YA fantasy. The story takes its time, the writing style is rich and prose-heavy, and it reads like a fairytale. I thought it was so beautiful, but I tend to enjoy beautiful language. It took me a lot longer to read this one than most books, but in my opinion it was definitely worth it.
Uprooted was just about everything I could ask for in a fantasy novel. I highly recommend it to lovers of deep, rich fantasy and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
If you enjoy dark fairytales, beautiful prose, and being immersed in new fantasy worlds, I think you'll enjoy this one.
Agnieszka is unexpectedly chosen to be taken by the Dragon, an event that happens in her valley every ten years. The villagers go along with it because the Dragon protects them from the evil Wood, but no one really knows what happens to the girls he takes, besides the fact that when they come out, they always leave the valley.
I feel like I didn't have a very good idea of what this book would be about when I started it; the blurb on the back only covers the first couple chapters. I was intrigued from the start, though, and the depth of the story just built and built from there until I was making all kinds of connections I and couldn't put the book down! I'm willing to bet you'll feel a little breathless by the end, caught up in everything that's happening and thoroughly satisfied by the ending, like I was.
The characters: I loved Agnieszka and Kasia's friendship, and I loved Agnieszka and the Dragon's "rivalry" and his grumpy to her sunshine :)
Like a fairytale, this book was full of rich themes, like the fact that misery and fear can be poisonous, and hate creates monstrosities and can topple societies. I like deep themes, what can I say? 🤷♀️
A note about the pace: this book isn't fast-paced like a YA fantasy. The story takes its time, the writing style is rich and prose-heavy, and it reads like a fairytale. I thought it was so beautiful, but I tend to enjoy beautiful language. It took me a lot longer to read this one than most books, but in my opinion it was definitely worth it.
Uprooted was just about everything I could ask for in a fantasy novel. I highly recommend it to lovers of deep, rich fantasy and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
🌶️ not much romance throughout, but there are 2 open door scenes, easily skippable. Skip pages 158-159 and 353-355