Uprooted by Naomi Novik - Book Review

Posted by The YA Book Traveler , Thursday, July 23, 2015 12:00 AM



Uprooted
by 

Goodreads Summary:
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

My Thoughts 3.75 Stars



I have mixed feelings about this book which is why I can't decide between 3.5 stars and 4. 
So I'll go with random 3.75 stars.

The Story:
Uprooted is about a world where a mysterious evil, referred to as The Wood (which is also actual woods with trees, scary animals and alike) keeps expanding. There is The Dragon, a sorcerer, in the town of Dvernik who ever 10 years comes and take away a girl from the village back to his tower.
Over the book, bad things start happening and you learn what The Wood is really after.

The Characters:
The Dragon. He was probably my favorite character of the book. He was sarcastic, blunt and rude, but I still enjoyed his character. 

Agnieszka. She's a character that starts off pretty naive in the beginning and learns a lot on her journey. She also will speak her mind and won't be shut out. I love to see characters who are true to themselves and act on it.

The Magic:
One of my problems with Uprooted is the mysterious Wood isn't explained very well. It kinda of reminds me of a math teacher I had in high school. He assumed we already knew everything in geometry and taught us as though we understood. There seemed to be an assumption that we understood what the Wood was. So, it was a bit confusing until the end when things get cleared up. I'm not sure if this was intentional to keep it a mystery factor, but I didn't like that the world building was assumed and not better explained.
I did enjoy the magic throughout. I love when characters just start to learn magic and over time come to realize just how powerful they are!
I LOVED how Novik explained and worded the spells. It was beautiful. This perhaps was my favorite part of the book. The writing is fantastic!

Overall:
Overall I enjoyed the book. It definitely has an old school style fantasy novel. I walked away liking it, but unfortunately not loving it like others I know. It took me WEEKS to read it, which I think contributed to my lack of passion for this book. It was beautifully written so that can't be argued against!

Side Note: This book isn't YA, so there is some very graphic sexual content. 

10 Response to "Uprooted by Naomi Novik - Book Review"

Sofia @ Bookish Wanderess Says:

I have never heard of this book, but I really like fantasy and I think I would enjoy it. You left me intrigued with your comment about spells, I definitely want to read it to see for myself. Thanks for sharing your opinion!

Pili Says:

Sorry to hear that although you really liked the book, you didn't love it.

I had a bit of a lull in the middle when they return to court and the pacing slowed down and I was meh for a lil bit, but then it picked up and I continued to love it to bits!

Unknown Says:

Agnieszka is was of my favorite female characters. I think she is well developed. I like she starts off naive but learns and grows into the woman that she was meant to be. I wish they would do this in YA more.

Although it wasn't your favorite glad you gave Uprooted a chance.

Unknown Says:

I am on a waitlist at my library to get this book. But really there's sex? I wasn't expecting that.

Unknown Says:

I started this last week but unfortunately I had to put it down to finish up some other arcs, but when I say I was loving it, I mean I was LOVING it girl! I loved how classic the fantasy elements seemed to be. The use of magic was pretty dope, and come on, the writing was absolutely fantastic. The Dragon was also my favorite character with his aggressive self, and I was really enjoying how snarky Aggie (my nickname for her) was becoming. I seriously can't wait to pick this back up!

Unknown Says:

I agree the Wood wasn't really explained but I was ok with it. I really enjoyed the writing too. And the spells so well done! I loved the romance but I wanted more! I'm a greedy reader, lol.

Unknown Says:

People have been buzzing about this book a lot so I thought I would wait a while before I start it. And I didn't know that it wasn't YA, I love sexy times so now I really want to read it lol.

~Karina @ A Reader Under The Sea

Anonymous Says:

I also took ages reading this book! I really loved it, but like you, thought a couple of things could have been fleshed out more. Great review!!

Aentee @ Read at Midnight

The YA Book Traveler Says:

It's VERY popular! I'd suggest it.

The YA Book Traveler Says:

It's a very small part. But it is fairly graphic.

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