Review : Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title :  Uprooted
Author : Naomi Novik
Publication Date : May 19th 2015
Publisher : Del Rey
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“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.

Personal Thoughts

Noami Novik's Uprooted wasn't a book that I had heard much about, but I took one glance at that summary after seeing Danielle tweet about the book and I knew I wanted to read it. I mean, how can you even resist all that talk about the Dragon and the Woods? Uprooted surpassed every expectation of mine and turned out to be one of my favorite YA fantasy of the year.

What makes Uprooted shine in the midst of all the other YA fantasy books out there is Naomi Novik's gorgeous writing. This author is clearly skilled at which she does and her writing was so easy to get completely immersed in. Add to that the wonderfully complex world building and I was head over heels in love. When it comes to a YA fantasy book, if there isn't solid world building, then the book is doomed. Thankfully, Naomi Novik did not fall prey to this and she took leaps and bounds with it. I loved how much effort she put into fleshing out this world almost to the point that I felt like I myself were part of the book and that's not something that happens to me very often. One of the major highlights of the book was the corrupted Wood, which is in itself a character of its own. The darkness and the deadliness surrounded the Wood made for a fascinating book. The vivid writing was truly stunning and it has convinced me to read more by this author. The magic was yet another favorite part of mine in Uprooted. I loved how the author was able to fuse the magical elements into the book to create an enchanting read. I will admit that there were times I felt like the pacing of the book was rather slow, but the slow pace was important for the reader to be really entrenched in the story and to have a good grasp of the world building.

Uprooted also had a fascinating cast of characters. Our protagonist, Agnieszka, was a character I bonded with immediately. She was a loyal girl willing to go to lengths to protect those she loved. She was also sassy and did not mince her words, which certainly amused the Dragon. Her feistiness aside, Agnieszka was a character that blossomed throughout the book. Her evolution was one of the focal points of the book. As she gained a better understanding of just how powerful she was, she grew to become a braver young woman I couldn't help but root for. Her dynamics with the Dragon was absolutely delightful. Because Agnieszka was stubborn and was always meddling with things, it made for some interesting moments between the two. The Dragon wasn't someone I connected with at first glance. He was so shrouded in mystery, but over the course of the book, he opened up to Agnieszka in small doses. By the end of the book, I was in love with this character and wanted nothing more than happiness for him. The romance between them was so antagonistic at first, which of course made me very happy. I loved the conversations that they shared and how the Dragon would be frustrated (not really) with her. It was so much fun and theirs was a romance that developed slowly, but still managed to be swoony. There was even one scene that had me fanning myself! Uprooted also had a phenomenal depiction of friendship through Agnieszka and Kasia's relationship. These two girls' bond was beautifully written and I loved the devotion that they had for each other.

Uprooted was a truly special little book that nearly flew under my radar. Not only does it have a stunning cover, but it's also book that holds an exciting story with beautifully written characters, enchanting world building and a romance that will make your heart flutter. This is a standalone that everyone needs to read.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

**Overall rating: 4.5/5**

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the e-ARC of Uprooted.