“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they
tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers 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.
Uprooted surprised me. I started
this book not really knowing what was going to happen based on the vague
synopsis I read, but I was pretty excited because I kept hearing amazing things
about this book. It was only natural that I was excited to read Uprooted after
all the hype I heard.
One thing I loved about Uprooted
was the fact that it featured a heroine who was kind of the underdog. Agnieszka
(I'll admit I don't even know how to begin to pronounce her name) starts out as
this shy and quiet girl, but once she spends more time with the Dragon, she
begins to have a spark of attitude. We begin to see her slowly change from a
shy and quiet girl to a girl who fights for what she believes in and begins to
speak up. I could really relate to Agnieszka because her personality matched
mine perfectly. I can't really say any more about her because it would spoil
the book, but just know that she is a strong character that you will love. Then
we have the Dragon aka Sarkan. I have to admit that I wanted to beat him over the
head with a skillet throughout most of the book. He was just so arrogant and
rude. I was rooting for Agnieszka to give him a good kick in the pants, but
alas, she couldn't hear me. Anyway, he slowly began to grow on me. I am a
sucker for men who start off as arrogant and mean and then slowly start to turn
into a guy you could easily love. I could practically see his hard outer shell
melting as the story went on. Plus, he was a pretty badass guy. I mean, he was a
wizard and an immortal. Hello, can he get any cooler?! The answer is no. Not
only are Novik's characters relatable, brash, and stubborn, but they also prove
to add a lot of character to the story line of Uprooted.
The story line of this book is a mystery
from the synopsis so I will try to keep it spoiler free. One thing that might
turn people off to this book at first is the beginning. It is a slow beginning
that gives a lot of detail to set the scene for the rest of the book, but it
quickly picks up when Agnieszka and the Dragon go back to his tower. You don't
have to wait long for things to get more interesting that's for sure. The story
is a good one full of adventure, magical warfare, woods that devour people, and
strong characters that will have you cheering for them. One thing I liked about
the story was how magical it all seemed. The concept was one that I hadn’t
heard before and it was really intriguing. However, I couldn't help but be
disappointed in this book in the end. I felt like it didn't have enough romance
for me. I know some people will roll their eyes but a book with romance in it
is guaranteed to make me happy. In Uprooted there was a dash of romance or
maybe even a smidgen of one, but not enough for me to love it. I liked the story
fine because it features a strong heroine who was ready to save the world or at
least her village, but I would have loved it if there had been more romance. In
the end, I felt like the book was a little anti-climactic. I don't know what I
was looking for in the end, but I know that Uprooted left me wanting. I just
felt like the book was lacking in some way.
However, if you love adventure,
magical themes, a headstrong heroine, and a great plot then I think you will
love this book. I believe that readers of Graceling and Fire by Kristin
Cashore, Defy by Sara Larson, and In the Time of Dragon Moon by Janet Lee Carrey
will love this book for sure. It lacked
the spark I needed to love a book so I will have to give Uprooted 3 out of five
stars.
