Uprooted

by Naomi Novik

[ibeforem]

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley.”

It’s been a long time since I read a true fantasy novel. I had heard a lot of buzz about Uprooted over the last year, and all of it was positive. It was one of the few fantasy novels that I’d see people recommend over and over. And for once, all of the hype is richly deserved.

Agnieszka is a young girl growing up in a village at the edge of the corrupt Wood, which would absorb her village and turn everyone in it into raving, evil lunatics if given half an opportunity. The only thing keeping the Wood at bay is the Dragon. The mysterious wizard appears every 10 years and takes away with him a single girl. She will return 10 years later, unharmed yet never the same. Everyone believes the next girl to be taken will be Kasia, Agnieszka’s best friend.

Except it’s not. The next girl is Agnieszka. It turns out, she has a gift, and that gift is magic.

What follows is part coming-of-age, part quest, and part fairy tale. And it’s all fantastic.

Agnieszka is a compelling lead character. She is timid, but grows more bold. She is unsure, but grows more competent. She is steadfast in her loyalty. Her heart is open, even when it shouldn’t be. And it turns out that she’s not the hero anyone wanted, or ever expected, but she’s exactly the one they all need.

My only complaint about this novel is that there isn’t more of it. I wish it was going to be a series. Or at minimum, a trilogy!