Uprooted

Written by Naomi Novik (Pan Books)

Young Adult

A dark enchantment blights the land in the award-winning Uprooted – a captivating fantasy inspired by fairy tales and steeped in Slavic folklore.

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travellers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

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.

What follows is an epic tale of a land in the grip of a deadly enchantment and the people, misguided or evil, who battle it out for control.

Could not put it down

Oh how I loved this book! From the moment I started reading, I was hooked and read it in two days. The story picked me up and would not let me go. The characters, the deep magic – which felt more real than many other fantasy books, the enchanted wood and the Wood Queen, the female friendship, the language and the writing style, which created a world I could believe in, and more.

Yes, some of the characters annoyed me and I would have liked more penance from characters who were so flawed but just seemed to continually be forgiven, only to go on to do more harm – ie Prince Marek and the wizard Solya. And I did find Sarkan’s constant irritation about trivial things like cleanliness and appearance, a major character flaw. I also found it hard to believe there were no good people in the King’s court. But this is just nit-picking.

The writing took me on a journey into a make-believe world and I went along for the ride and wanted more! I was enchanted. The exquisite way Novik described the wood and the various forms of magic, the clever world she created all inspired from a Polish fairy tale, just blew me away. I’m inspired to look for more of her books and try them out. 

Is it X-rated fantasy?

No. Unlike many of the erotic fantasy books out there, there are no gratuitous sex scenes sprinkled through the book. The romance is a subplot so don’t read this for steamy scenes. However, I did think the passion build up was pretty good. It’s a from-enemies-to-lovers rift which is always a favourite.