Uprooted

This book is very, very close to perfect. Novik's prose is stunning. Reading Uprooted felt like watching the Howl's Moving Castle movie again. In fact, this book felt very similar to Howl's Moving Castle, with a bit more of the plot happening outside of the tower.

The characters in this book were stunning. I thought Sarkan was goofy in the best way possible (he's the most serious character ever, lol), and adored Kasia. Even the villain was written so beautifully I felt her connections to the valley in the way I feel connected to my own home. There are so many themes of love and connection in this book that reading it filled me with so much joy. It was genuinely difficult to put down, that hasn't happened to me in ages.

I've read some other reviews for this book (the one-stars seem popular) and I definitely see where they're coming from with Agnieszka being a mary-sue and annoying. She definitely wasn't the best character in the story, but I consider this book like a sweet guilty-pleasure read. If you let yourself get lost in it then those nit-picky details aren't so glaring that they ruin the story. I know they didn't ruin it for me. :) My one complaint is that sometimes the pacing of the book would rush forwards. This was most notable right when Agnieszka is taken by the Dragon. I had to flip back and forth between pages for a moment wondering what happened. I did enjoy all of the twists and turns the book took. Novik kept me on my toes the whole time.

4.5/5 rounded down simply because I need to chew on this book a little bit more before giving it five stars. I recommend this book for people who enjoyed Howls Moving Castle and other fairy tale romances, those who enjoy magic and nature, and books that tie up nicely with the theme of love and community.

I added Uprooted to my TBR list two and a half years ago when a now-defunct book blog raved about it. I was intrigued by the synopsis and their enthusiasm, but promptly got distracted with other books and forgot all about it. What a mistake! When I finally got to reading Uprooted this week, I absolutely loved every page. Essentially a young adult/adult fairytale, Uprooted is set in a richly detailed land of witches and wizards, malevolent forests, and tiny village communities. Its era is that any-time of Grimm fairy tales and Novik's story, although newly written, has a wonderfully timeless quality.

Agnieszka is a refreshingly different female lead - untidy and clumsy, talented and self willed. I appreciated seeing her mature throughout the novel, but growing in to her own woman - not becoming a painted clone of idealised femininity! Despite men holding the positions of power in this patriarchal society, it is women who drive the story and every one felt authentic to me. I happily lost myself in Novik's gorgeously imagined scenes. She expertly imparts her imagined world so that it leaps from the pages. The battles and near-escapes are breathtakingly exciting and I loved the intensity of the spellcastings too. Uprooted might just be my book of the month!