kettlehewer 's review for:

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

4.0

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Yes, the protagonist is a Mary Sue - but if you can get past that, you have a compelling, at times scary page-turner ahead of you. I had some issues with this story, but its saving grace is that it's so folkloric. Agnieszka's Clumsy Girl Mary Sue issues, the Dragon's incessantly stony demeanour, and the supporting cast's 2-dimensionality become archetypes, and the somewhat opaque international relations become abstract fantasy kingdoms at war. I did feel like I was reading a different book for the entire middle, which was jarring and made me feel a little disappointed, and the ending didn't feel satisfying for some reason - perhaps too much exposition too late to feel justified. Overall, though, I haven't stayed up FAR too late several nights in a row to read a book for YEARS, so thank you Naomi Novik for that.