Uprooted
By Naomi Novik
- Release Date: 2015-05-19
- Genre: Epic Fantasy
Description
NEBULA AWARD WINNER • HUGO AWARD FINALIST • “If you want a fantasy with strong characters and brilliantly original variations on ancient stories, try Uprooted!”—Rick Riordan
“Breathtaking . . . a tale that is both elegantly grand and earthily humble, familiar as a Grimm fairy tale yet fresh, original, and totally irresistible.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, BuzzFeed, Tordotcom, BookPage, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly
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.
Includes the new bonus short story “The Lake Witch”
Praise for Uprooted
“Uprooted has leapt forward to claim the title of Best Book I’ve Read Yet This Year. . . . Moving, heartbreaking, and thoroughly satisfying, Uprooted is the fantasy novel I feel I’ve been waiting a lifetime for. Clear your schedule before picking it up, because you won’t want to put it down.”—NPR
Reviews
A lovely fairy tale that keeps its sharp edges cutting
5By Heather (Ama) KGloriously written to keep moving through the magic that is coming to get you and the role our roots play in helping us fight evil and selfishness through community.Wood or Would Not?
3By FISHXMARKETAn interesting dive into fantasy fueled storytelling that felt fresh, but ultimately couldn’t hold my attention or meet expectations. I wanted to enjoy it more than I did, and although key plot points kept me coming back for more, it was a struggle to want to keep reading. World building is difficult, and although accomplished in many ways, I found myself confused on different villages, people, and important magical items throughout my time with uprooted. It is a solid fantasy, and I think the first half is actually stronger than the latter. B The ending left me unsatisfied and questioning whether or not it was worth the read.perfect
5By Whim1954I picked up this book Saturday morning and then let the chores pile up the rest of the weekend. If you love a good story, you won’t be disappointed. PS this is a FAIRYTALE. Set in centuries past. Of course there may be some old world associations. Don’t be silly.👍
5By Basque69Great storytelling!Felt like 3 books in one
5By cadewoA great story and loved that the heroine had to struggle for her victoryI am moved!!
5By MonasaderskincareAn exceptional novel, forever a fan🫶🏼❣️Expected More
3By Delirious owlI went into this book with high expectations, and sadly to say I was let down a bit. I’ll start with the positives first; I absolutely loved the world building and the writing. The descriptions of the Wood and how the characters interacted with it always left me uneasy; I felt as if I was there and struggling to understand it’s mysteries with the characters. I was completely immersed whenever I picked up reading this book, and could understand the scene the main character was describing. I enjoyed reading about the politics as well as the magic mechanics in this world, as they were completely different and unique to what I’ve read in the past. There was loads of ideas and thought put into creating this world and the magic system. To the negatives I have about this book, some of the characters were forgettable and the relationships were not well-developed. Agnieszka and Kasia as characters and their strong bond was lovely to read, while others were left to be desired. The Dragon/Sarkan, for example, never had any sort of character development and remained the same throughout the entire novel. He felt very bland and forgettable, while also being extremely rude to Agnieszka for no reason. Their romantic relationship had no development or build-up, I felt I had just been smacked across the face when the first the “romantic”scene occurred, because it came out of left field completely and made absolutely no sense. There was no chemistry or “playful” banter whatsoever, it was just Sarkan being overly cruel even after being saved multiple times by Agnieszka (never even said thank you??). I don’t understand what Agnieszka could ever see in him after how he treated her. I felt I would’ve been more satisfied if there had been no romance at all and more time was spent on developing characters. Overall, I did enjoy the book and I am glad to have finally read it. I just think it could’ve been greatly improved in certain areas.Beautiful story, Relatable Heroine You Want To Root For
5By ...ZzAI love the way the story is written, as though you’re an observer peeking in on this section of time. There are subtle threads of romance but the story is really about a woman coming into her own during a tough adventure. 10/10 would recommend！Horrors, Wonders, Magic, and… but that would be telling
5By xaxnarNaomi Novik has taken tales from Polish mythology and crafted an engrossing world. It is a hero’s journey; the hero is a young woman - Agnieszka - coming into her own as she discovers her own powers and the responsibilities that go with them. Growing up with the ever present threat of The Wood, a source of malevolent magic, she is selected at age 17 to fulfill a tribute of 10 years of service to the powerful wizard whose task is to defend against it. She never expected to be chosen, nor did she know why she was - because the wizard realized she had magic ability of her own and needed to be trained. The title of the tale is “Uprooted” because that is a recurring theme throughout. Agnieszka is uprooted from all the expectations she had had growing up as a peasant, but as she progresses through the story, a comparable overturning happens to all who come in contact with her. Not least of all is the effect on her wizard mentor who finds both his understanding of magic and his own life overturned by her. And without giving away too much, the ultimate confrontation with the villain of the tale also defies expectations . Novik has crafted a fine story with rich characters living in a well-realized world. It is a wonderful stand-alone work. There are - so far - no sequels and no prequels, although there is plenty of potential for more stories from the world Novik has put together. Enjoy!Fantastic
5By rcbdogloverI really got attached to the characters.Fairytale for grownups
5By Cher1959Love good fairytale with a strong female character.Can I return this?
2By CSReadsBooksThe concept is interesting and that’s about as nice as I can say about it. The writing style is very frantic, making it difficult to read. The characters could have been flushed out a bit more, and the development was lacking. Romance should not have been on the table for the two main characters, because it didn’t fit. It was awkward and felt like it was thrown in there for fun. This could have been done so much better. I’m very disapointed i spent money on this.Loved it!
5By mmarcone912I wish this was a series! I would love to read more books in this world and with these characters. Agnieszka was awesome, I loved her magic. I kinda wish the romance was a little spicier, but I thought they developed a really cute dynamic and I was smiling at the end.Mary Sue loves to be abused
1By NFTSMary Sue gets in an abusive relationship but wins over her abuser. I can’t remember the last time I hated a book so much I put it in the recycling rather than give it away. I thought the premise and setting were intriguing, but the story was just “problem appears, protagonist tries to solve it, everyone tells her it’s too dangerous, she solves it anyway” over and over again. Bad enough but just poor writing, but then the one person who is unrelentingly mean to her turns out to be the love of her life. Way to model strong self-sufficient behavior. The love story is flat-out offensive and the reason this went in the bin.Reads like a weird fan-fiction off of Reddit
1By Rhett r...I was really excited to read this book, but sadly the style, story, and suggestion of cuckolding, didn’t really jive with me. Definitely seems like some weird fetishy-tumbler-esque story.Sweeps you up immediately
5By cbm1731I couldn’t put this book down. Wonderfully written prose combined with a fast-moving adventure. A pleasure to read. The descriptions are amazing. The story is unique and original.Best read in ages
5By KelEddyHomesI loved this book! Different from every other “fairy tale” or fantasy story I’ve read recently. Still lots of fun, exciting, and surprising.A bit slow at first, but blossoms into a page-turner.
5By BluesHarpistMy rating system: 5 stars are reserved for books that totally blow me away, or classics that I believe would have when they were new. I don’t give too many of these out, because it’s the highest rating that you could ever possibly give any book on here. 4 stars for books that I would recommend to just about anyone, or, at least, to someone who doesn’t dislike the genre. 3 stars for books that I would only recommend to someone who is fond of the genre. 2 stars for books that I would be hesitant to recommend to anyone at all, but the book was not a total disaster. 1 star for books that I found so terribly ridiculous, or poorly written, that I wish I had not spent time reading to begin with.The best
5By cfox326My favorite book ever other than P&P
