~ Dragon
The story of Uprooted takes place in the country of Polnya and mentions the neighbouring country -Rosya. Sound familiar? Well; it should, Poland and Russia have amazing mythology and history which are the deepest roots of this book. Since the first line to the last, you feel the culture and the influence of the polish origin of the author, and it is magnificent! It is charming and magical.
Main character Agnieszka is an ordinary young village girl who reminded me, in her insecurities and clumsiness, of Bella. I hate Twilight so I was a little bit annoyed at first but as you continue reading you find out that Agnieszka is so much more... She is exactly what I want to be; what you want to be an essentially what all of us want to be. She struggles through the life and as you finish the last chapters you will look back and realize how much she has changed since the first chapter. It will make you stop and wonder... When did this all happen?
And for me, this is the most beautiful part of the book. This book is like life; tiny change happens from one page to another and you don't even notice until you look several chapters back.
I fell in love with the main male character sooner then Agnieszka did. I have a weakness for this type of men. They are like pineapple; they look dangerous and rough on the outside but you know that under that unfriendly looking skin is a good sweet soul that is worth all that trouble.
Let me also mentioned the unusual character... The Wood. It is a dangerous place full of magical creatures that come from your worst nightmares. This Wood acts as the main evil that has it's own nature and takes action which makes it believably real! I had nightmares for a few nights after reading before the bedtime. I am telling you this Wood has power beyond the pages and you'll find yourself thinking that maybe you can travel to Poland to see this Wood before the logic comes back and you realize it is just a book.
The very essence of this story is magic. It starts with the wizard in the tower who takes a young girl from the village and it goes through the whole story like a thread in a fabric. The magic is weaved in an incredible way and it comes out as easy as breathing. I really enjoyed the type of magic in this book. (Don't get me wrong, I love Harry Potter books and the spells and all of that) This was such natural magic that came from nature and was connected to the wizard's soul and heart. It really made me feel the magic as I was reading and I found myself taking deep breaths so the witch in the book had enough power for the spell... it fell like I was connected to it.
The writing style that Naomi Novik used in the book wasn't making it easy for me. She is using vocabulary that I (not native English speaker) struggled with. I found a lot of sentences that seemed unusual to me in their structure and I was not sure if it was the editing mistake or different type of literary language. I got used to it after several chapters as the plot of the book dragged me in. What I really enjoyed were the descriptions of the magic and Agnieszka's internal monologues.
I really enjoyed this book. I feel that the Slavic influence was a fresh air into the fantasy and the story as a whole felt easy and smooth. I would love it if this book had chapter thirty-three as well. I missed some kind of a promise of the future for the main characters... what will happen next? Did they live happily ever after?
Here is the synopsis:
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.
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.
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