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) NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF … review)
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY 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.
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
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I don’t know how I found out about this book, but I am so glad I did. What a wonderful read. I loved the fairy tale feel and the way the world and characters and story unfolded. It was a delight–and a perfect, can’t put it down, weekend read.
I don’t consider fairy stories particularly my Thing, such as it is, but I still very much enjoyed this one. The main characters are both extremely likeable, and the love story is sweet. I do adore a grumpy hero, of course I do, and there is a really good sex scene that is totally worth the wait. I liked the dichotomy of the Wood and its relationship to those living around it. As a reader, I felt (rather than was beat over the head by) the connection and love between the people who live near The Wood but also their fear of it. That sense of feeling a writer’s intent is rare and I found myself savoring it. I look forward to rereading this book again and again.
Currently reading Uprooted by Naomi Novik and was immediately sucked into such a vibrant and dangerous world I could not put it down!
I really enjoyed Uprooted because it was incredibly well-paced and I had a hard time stopping reading each night. While I wouldn’t say it was wildly original, it was felt fresh and there were a number of interesting plot developments and exciting scenes that made it a great read. I don’t read many fantasy books, but this was a worthwhile break from my usual sci-fi reading.
I’m not always a fan of fairy tale style fantasy because to me retellings can often feel too worn out and familiar, and I’d rather read something that feels new. This book is grounded in folklore, but grows into something fully alive, surprising and real. The world of the Wood that Novik creates is haunting, dark and beautiful and I was completely drawn in. Be careful when you start reading this because you won’t be able to tear yourself away until you’ve turned the last page.
You know when a book is so good that you can’t stop smiling for several hours after finishing it? Uprooted is one of those books.
You will get lost in these woods. This is the kind of book that will wrap its vines around your wrists and ankles, drag you in, and ensure that you completely lose track of your surroundings. This is a fairy tale that, at times, felt more vivid and tangible than the real world.
Novik took a classic folk tale concept — a village sacrificing a maiden to the mysterious dragon — and breathed life into its bones. Between depictions of the gorgeous, larger-than-life spell-weaving and dark, disturbing deaths, the Uprooted world is rich and scary and utterly captivating.
My only disappointment is that the book could have been much longer. There was a lot of room for character development — a lot of short threads that were mentioned but never elaborated upon. It seems the world Novik developed, rather than the people within it, was the story’s true focal point. Regardless, this is a breathtaking tale; a must-read for fairy tale lovers who have grown up and are looking for more.
I was itching for a fantasy book in the vein of Ella Enchanted or The Goose Girl and Uprooted was exactly what I needed! I recently had the pleasure of attending Readercon, where Naomi Novik was a guest of honor, and heard her speak on a panel about female friendships in fantasy. She talked about the importance of representing real relationships that real women have and not making every main character’s best friend just a mindless sidekick or a plot device, and how these were ideals she tried to bring to Uprooted. She certainly succeeded in my mind! It’s wonderful to see a female friendship carry so much weight and for a best friend to have her own agency.
I blazed through this book and it was an absolute delight.
I read this book for a book club I am in and enjoyed my time reading this. The ideas, world building, and characters were quite well done. I was sucked into the world and wanted to continue with it. There are definite predictable elements within the story, but even with those I was still immersed in the world and wanted to know more. I hope there will be more in the future.
I generally love fairy tale reboots, but I think what I loved most about this was its originality. I was not familiar with the Eastern European story this novel is based on, which made the material fresh. The writing is straightforward, the storyline compelling. Give it a look!
Utterly spellbinding. My first book by Novik, but definitely not my last!
I enjoy books with good, cohesive worldbuilding. Uprooted has that. While I struggled a bit with the premise of the wood being aggressive, the explanation at the end made sense. I would have liked it to show up in dribs and drabs, though, rather than a big infodump at the very end. There could have been foreshadowing of the kidnapped queen. (Not exactly a spoiler since no one will have any idea what I mean until they hit that point in the book, which is right at the end.)
There’s a lot of death in this book. A lot of violence. And a graphic sex scene or two. Unusual for high fantasy, but it felt like it fit and wasn’t gratuitous. Others have mentioned problems with the male lead, but I thought he was perfect and remained in character through the book. His character growth arc was small. Hers was huge.
I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.
I picked this up on a whim and it quickly became one of my favorite books of all time. Original and wonderfully written, I was riveted for the entire story. It’s a unique and different fairy tale with strong female characters and impressive world building. I can’t tell you how disappointed I was for it to come to an end, only because I wanted more! I can’t recommend it highly enough.
A book that gets better with every re-read. An original but somehow totally classic fairytale. I adore this story.
This is a great fantasy novel with unpredictable turns in the plot and very witty dialogue. Highly recommended!
My favorite of her two books. On a re-read though it didn’t impress me as much due to the tacked-in romance between the two characters. Still a great page-turner.
This novel is one of my favourites. Novik’s story offers something that is so beautifully different from your atypical fairy-tale. From the moment I opened this book, I found myself lost in the beautiful world Novik has nestled between its pages. One of the best things about Uprooted is the fact that our heroine is not what most stories depict their female protagonist to be. She is awkward, clumsy and by no means the most beautiful. Her relationship with the Dragon was so refreshing to read. It’s a love story like no other, that is born from supposed disdain, which makes the ending that much more wonderful!
Sometimes you are lucky enough to come across a book you want to swallow–as in ingest anyway you can. Read it. Hug it. Hide it so no one can ever snatch it away from you. Or tear each page into tiny bite-sized pieces so that it truly stays inside of you forever. Sort of.
I loved Naomi Novik’s book Uprooted with the enthusiasm of ten kids whacking away at a birthday piñata. And it was filled with just as many sweet surprises as one of those slightly worrisome birthday boxes.
Repeatedly, I felt like I was violently scarfing down the narrative of this fairy tale as it pulled me deep within the legends and magic that made it irresistible. If you are allowed only one book to gift to people from now until you shuffle off this mortal coil, then please consider doing the reading world a favor.
Yep. Uprooted nailed it.
One of the most innovative fantasies in a long time, written with a very sure touch. This author is one to watch out for!
This happens to be one of my all-time favorite reads. The world building was amazing, the plot line and story, too. Not to mention the cover is to die for, but definitely the interactions between Sarkan and Agnieszka were my favorite. 😉