Uprooted by Naomi Novik - Book Review
Posted by The YA Book Traveler , Thursday, July 23, 2015 12:00 AM
Uprooted
by Naomi Novik
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.
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.
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.
Side Note: This book isn't YA, so there is some very graphic sexual content.
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!