"Uprooted" - Full Discussion *Spoilers*

[Sarah]

So, what did you guys think of Uprooted? Was it as fantastic as everyone keeps saying?

[YouKneeK]

I loved this book. I was a little worried at first that the story would be too familiar and cliché, since it started off with what appeared to be a beauty-and-the-beast theme. But it really wasn’t anything like that. Different aspects of the story reminded me of things I’ve read in various other fantasy books, but nothing ever felt too predictable or tiresome.

I think Agnieszka is what made this book so much fun for me. She was quirky and clumsy and outspoken, and not so great at adapting to unfamiliar situations. Kasia was more along the lines of a typical heroine, but a character like Agnieszka makes for a much more interesting heroine. I liked the Dragon also. I liked that he was cranky, and not the more stereotypical kindly mentor. He also wasn’t that stereotypical guy who’s miserable and lonely and then meets a girl and suddenly his entire personality changes. He was still cranky straight through to the end. Kasia, on the other hand, seemed a little more wooden to me. Figuratively and literally. :)

Regarding some of the romance discussions in the “spoiler-free” thread… I didn’t have any problem with the romance. In most books I either feel mildly annoyed that yet another author felt the need to shoehorn a romance into a story that didn’t need one, or I feel strongly annoyed than an author tried to shoehorn a romance into a story when they have no skill whatsoever in writing a believable or enjoyable romance. There are very few books I could point to and say, “I liked that romance.” But I actually like the one in this book pretty well.

I liked that Agnieszka and the Dragon pretty much stayed the same people after the attraction developed and didn’t suddenly change and become sappy and/or obsessed. I thought there was very, very little focus on the romance, and they continued to focus on the issues at hand with minimal angsty mooning. I think some people may have read romance into scenes that weren’t intended to be romantic, like the scene where they fell down the stairs. She was terrified and he was royally pissed off. I saw no romance there, no matter what their body positions were. Although there were several scenes where they held hands to cast spells, those scenes didn’t really have a romantic aspect in my eyes, with a couple exceptions – the first one, and the one that led to the first explicit scene. The rest of the time, they were focused on the magic and on the urgent goal they were trying to achieve. Holding hands was a means to an end. I hate it when there’s a life-and-death situation and a character’s thoughts are devoted to mooning over their love interest, and I was glad this book didn’t have that.

All that said, the more explicit scenes did surprise me. I wasn’t bothered by them, but I thought the tone of the rest of the book had a more innocent feel so the explicit scenes felt jarring by comparison.

Sorry for writing so much! And apologies also if anybody responds to me and I don’t respond back for a couple days. I have to attend some family events, so I’m going to be pretty busy and have less computer time than usual.

[Adeline]

Ha, it's interesting how different reading experiences are! ;D

For one, I thought Dragon was a terrible character. He was an asshole and the story didn't explain at all why he was that way other than apparently because he's ~lonely~!? Pfft.

And the romance felt not only shoehorned in but IMO was also problematic. To me it was the equivalent of a middle aged teacher dating a high school student. Yikes. Also, I honestly don't know why they even like each other. O.o

Another gripe I had was how Agnieszka's magical abilities were developed. I liked that she had a different approach but was it really necessary to have her be ~uber-special~ and use a magic spell that apparently *hundreds* of other wizards & witches hadn't discovered before her? I would have maybe bought that if she'd been practicing magic for a hundred years but she went from not knowing anything to "impossible" spells in only a few months. :/

[Melanie, the neutral party]

I don't know.... I neither loved or hated this book.

The opening built off the Beauty and Beast theme and the world grew easily from there. The evil forest was well portrayed, especially when it extended beyond the forest and into the heart of the country's capital. The ending was a bit too easy given the pervading nature of the antagonist, but since I'm a sucker for a happy ending, I didn't mind.

I thought the Dragon was at least consistently a jerk which is good writing. I don't think he was a jerk because he was lonely. I think he was heart broken once and decided to dedicate his life to good and forgo any action that would allow him to be vulnerable in that way again. Also I very much enjoyed the opposites attract aspect of their relationship.

What made this book not amazing wasn't the presence of the sexual scenes, but that they always seemed randomly placed. It hurt the story's pacing in a way. The only one that worked for me was during the siege, but instead of building on that intimacy, the characters were immediately separated. Plot-wise I understand, but my inner romantic didn't like it.

I too have issues with the magic system, but maybe I am being over critical because too many people referred to it as unique and special, which I did not find to be true. I read a lot of fantasy books and I'm particularly fond of dragons and magic. In fact I was a little disappointed that the Dragon wasn't really a dragon after all...I had hoped.

It's a good book, just not a great one.

[David]

Adeline wrote: "I thought Dragon was a terrible character. He was an asshole and the story didn't explain at all why he was that way other..."

Whenever the Dragon was on the page I kept thinking of Kenneth Branagh/Professor Lockhart in the second HP movie. This gave their sex scene an EWWW factor something like the Professor bumping nasties with Hermoine.

[Amber]

I think the reason the magic in this story appealed to me so much was because it felt more surreal and magical and fit so perfectly into that fairy tale tone. The magic systems in many fantasy books are nearly a science. There are clear rules and limitations. No explanations were really given on how the magic worked here, and while the other magicians followed a more formulaic path, Agnieszka's magic was literally musical. I just really enjoyed that.

I also felt that the friendship between Agnieszka and Kasia was a greater focus than any romance, which was another reason I loved the book so much. Kasia seemed to remain her priority at all times, and the strengths and weaknesses of their friendship felt honest and real, especially for their age.

As far as the romance, I felt it was expected from the beginning, but it played out differently than I predicted, so that's always a nice turn. I LOVE that Agnieszka went her own way, away from the Dragon, at the end and did her own thing for awhile with her little cottage and everything. As far as the ick factor of him being so much older...I honestly read him as fairly ignorant of the world and young in experience, to a degree, so his age didn't feel "real" to me. For example, his only real romance had been with a woman who used and betrayed him, and he reacted by shutting himself away for decades. Isn't that how you would expect a sullen teenager to react? He was young, got his heartbroken, and then just stopped growing. He never felt old to me, so it never bothered me. I will definitely agree though that the one explicit scene felt jarring and out of place.

[David]

I liked it that magic carried an internal cost, but thought that its cost should created a plot barrier.

[Silvana]

I gave this book four stars at the beginning because of the world building, scary forest, magic system, action scenes (so Novik) and the friendship between Agnieszka and Kasia. But then I remember the last chapter, and the continued romance between Agnieszka and the Dragon (if only they went separate ways and stayed that way...), I decided to lower it to three stars. That means I still like it, but there is a big but. I can see why this appeal to the younger readers though. I don't want to read about sulky, mysterious male lead love interest again. Ugh. But at least this is a stand-alone book.

Anyway, can't wait for the last Temeraire novel!

[Sarah]

Silvana wrote: "like it, but there is a big but. I can see why this appeal to the younger readers though. I don't want to read about sulky, mysterious male lead love interest again...."

Oh, dear... You better stay far away from the romance/romantic suspense/urban fantasy genres ;)

[Silvana]

Sarah wrote: "Silvana wrote: "like it, but there is a big but. I can see why this appeal to the younger readers though. I don't want to read about sulky, mysterious male lead love interest again...."

Oh, dear....."

I am :))

well, I actually liked the Southern Vampire mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Still my guilty pleasure until now.
I do love Gone with the Wind, that's romance, right? Scarlett is my hero.

[Sabrina]

I quite liked the character of the dragon (even though this would never appeal to me in real life) and he seemed very plausible to me. The romance put me a little off, because of the huge age difference. Although there was so much more to the story that I didn’t mind too much and it didn’t hinder me to like the scenes where they built magic together... maybe it helped that Agnieszka didn’t fall for him head over heels and stayed true to herself?
All in all it was a good read for me, but not outstanding.

[Chris]

I enjoyed the yin and yang aspects of the magic system. The Dragon and the other wizards and witches practiced magic in way that was precise, meticulous, scholarly, rational, scientific. Agnieszka, with the help of Yaga's notes, practiced magic in a way that was intuitive, spontaneous, artistic, improvised, organic. The rational method was dominant, and the intuitive method was forgotten and dismissed. The two together — as when the Dragon and Agnieszka cooperated on a spell — were much more powerful than either alone.

I felt that the end was rushed. Most of the book had a nice mix of plot, character, background, and dialogue. The end became almost all plot, with one thing happening after another without variation. The switch from the Wood as an unmitigated evil to a wronged victim caught up in revenge was very abrupt. Perhaps Novik would have done better with a two-part series, with more space to give depth to the conflict. Also, having the main part of the story take place over the course of less than a year made Agnieszka seem talented beyond credibility.

[Cheryl]

What Chris said. ;)

[carol.]

Uprooted was mixed for me. I loved the story in the beginning, the intimate tale of Agnieska and the language Novik used. I thought it started to unravel a bit when A. arrived at the city. It was still a personal story for a bit, but then it became larger, about the evil in the land working through agents and through politics. It stopped working as well for me, particularly when she flees the city and a large group of soldiers is mobilized to chase her. Suddenly it becomes an army laying siege to a castle, and that's when I almost quit.

The dreamy, personal story was recaptured when A. went back to the Wood, but that almost seemed like a second book. So, while parts were five stars for me, parts were less.
I'd also second Melanie's comment about the placing of the sex scenes--one of them seemed particularly ill-timed and mostly placed for the idea of separated love in the future scenes, not because it seemed congruent with plotting.

[Valerie]

I found the book enjoyable, appreciating especially the Slavik mythology. There is also something about Novik's narrative style that I enjoy.

Having said that, I do agree with some of the comments regarding the ending having been rushed.

I also think there is a lack of complexity to the story. The characters are not quite two dimensional, but perhaps they have more of a cursory illusion of depth? The same could be said for the plot.

I ended up giving the book 4 stars, but that is a shaky 4-star rating. It was based more on my easy enjoyment rather than it being a book that I would try to push on everyone around me.

[James]

I'm glad there are people thinking this book was rushed toward the end. I liked the characters. I didn't have a problem with the age difference but I can see how some could. The sex scenes seemed out of place to me. I felt that this was a YA read then all of a sudden a sex scene pops up.

Anyway, this book isn't my cup of tea. I'm not a big fairy tale fan. But part of the reason I joined the group was to widen my horizons. It's really helped me read more female authors. For the most part I had read male authors. I don't think it was that I didn't want to read female authors work but that there were usually only male author recommendations on amazon. Goodreads is better about recommending more variety.

[Kristin B.]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The narrative was colorful and lively. The magic was described beautifully. I loved the relationships in the story. Not just Agnieszka and Sarkan, but all of them. I was happy to see that Kasia and Agnieszka truly loved each other, but they showed us realistic jealousy and resentment during the summoning. There was also the strain between Kasia and her mother caused by the years spent knowing they would be separated. It felt authentic. I particularly liked when Agnieszka explained why she didn't understand the girl in the Capitol. She could understand quarrelling, but not cruelty for its own sake. She came from a place where people needed each other, and so kinship was survival. I loved her empathy throughout the whole story.

I noticed that a few people mentioned Sarkan taking girls because he's lonely or a jerk. However, I was content with the explanation of needing the channel to the valley. It was clear that all the people of the valley had a strong connection to it, and those roots are what Sarkan used to strengthen his magic, being too afraid to put down roots of his own.

I think this also helped to explain why Agnieszka was so good at magic so quickly and why she could perform spells that others couldn't. She was using Jaga's spells. Jaga was also of the valley. There's a connection there that made those spells easier for Agnieszka. All of the other wizards couldn't perform them because they weren't born of the valley.

I almost wonder if the people of the valley aren't descended from the wood Queen's people. It would explain why some of them preferred to stay trees.

I think there were some wonderfully connected threads throughout the story that may have been overlooked because of the rush of certain scenes and the clichéd aptitude that Agnieszka showed.

I also quite liked the Prince and Princess. They added a tug to the heartstrings and an innocence that I wanted to see preserved. I loved that Kasia was so protective of them. So many people saw her as strange and avoided her. But the children loved her because she protected and loved them. it gave her back her purpose and peace.

I know that the villain turned misunderstood victim has been done to death. All I can think of is the old line that every villain is the hero of their own story. I've never been a fan of the "absolute evil." I always respond more to a villain born of their circumstance. I'm the optimist that still believes people are basically good, and only do wrong when taught or driven to it. And I know a wood queen isn't, strictly speaking, a person. But all characters are relatable to the human condition, or we wouldn't connect to them as characters. And frankly, the image of the walkers at the end eating fruit and helping Agnieszka was too adorable for me to be annoyed with it.

As with any story, it wasn't absolutely perfect. However, I can overlook the flaws for all the other aspects I loved so much.

[Cheryl]

Thank you, Kristin. I enjoyed this story when I read it a few months ago, and so many critical comments above were tarnishing my memories of it. Thank you for reminding me of all that was so good about it.

[Jen]

I loved it. Emotionally complex and nuanced. Satisfying characters and relationships, as well as a satisfying conclusion to the narrative.

[Shelley]

I found Uprooted a rather nice twist on Dante. The opening line of the Inferno goes something like "In the middle of my life, I found myself in a dark wood wandering/ for the straight way was lost." And boy, oh, boy, is that a dark wood in Agnieszka's valley. Terrifying and enchanting. I especially liked the source of its evil and how it related to the enchantment on the Dragon's castle.

Middle-aged grumpy Dragon subs for Dante and his Beatrice is Agnieszka, and she proves to be the active protagonist and a lot more interesting than Dante's muse.

I liked the book and thought it was well-written, but I could almost hear Novik's agent telling her to keep the story moving. Chapters end on cliff-hangers, which is not bad in itself, even if Dan Brown has overused it and given it a bad name. But there were a lot of times when I would have liked to dive deeper into the way magic worked and into the complicated relationship between the Dragon and Agnieszka instead of rushing off to the next crisis. The end result of this rushing was that the Dragon never became three-dimensional to me, though I thought he had a lot of potential to be a profoundly interesting character. Also, the reason for the choosing was supposed to be the Dragon's attempt to free his chosen girls from the Wood's evil and to somehow use them to fight it. It didn't seem like a very smart way to fight the Wood's evil. But then, that's why he needed Agniewszka.

Ok, ok, I'm caviling. Honestly, once Prince Marek appeared on the scene and they went into the Wood to get the Queen, it moved along very well and I had trouble putting it down.

The discussion of whether or not this is YA interested me. There was some dislike of the sex scenes, which were few, IMHO. I liked that Agnieszka fought off Prince Marek; I liked that on the eve of certain death she and the Dragon did consummate their love in a sensual but not graphic love scene, which I thought was very well written.

I do not think those scenes were too much for YA. My writers' group has a very talented writer of paranormal YA. She stops at the bedroom door, so to speak, but doesn't shy away from the fact that much of her audience is probably sexually active. Heck, I remember that many years ago, an elementary school librarian gave my nine year old daughter a book, Spider's Voice, which tells the story of Abelard and Heloise from the POV of a mute who is himself castrated, if I remember the story correctly. This necessitated some very delicate discussion when my daughter came asking about—um...er...what they did to Abelard. The book looked like a middle grade book, had a middle grade sort of cover, and without her questions I would never have known. So there you go.

Anyway, all that to say that Uprooted doesn't come close Lev Grossman's or GRR Martin's adult fantasies, which are full of sex. I wouldn't have hesitated to recommend this to my daughter in high school. It would have seemed tame to her, I'm sure.

[Lara Amber]

Personally I'm perfectly fine with my YA showing characters that are sexually active. It's a fact of life, either currently or in their future. What I do get upset about is modeling unhealthy relationships as desirable. Happily Uprooted portrayed a pretty healthy attitude to sex and relationships. She didn't abandon everything for the Dragon, and she beat the hell out of the Prince.

[Kristin B.]

Lara Amber wrote: "She didn't abandon everything for the Dragon, and she beat the hell out of the Prince."
I really enjoyed this aspect as well. So many YA novels have the main character becoming so absorbed in their love interest that literally nothing else matters. I love a strong, independent female character. The Dragon left, but Agnieszka was just like "oh well. I have stuff to do. He'll probably be back." It was perfection.

I also enjoyed that she didn't overthink him. He was surly, but she didn't spend time trying to make him change or get inside his head. When you're in a relationship, as odd as this one was, there are quirks about a person, that may not be pleasant, but that you accept.

When he shows up at the very end he's his regular cranky self and she just grabs his hand and says "Come meet my mother." It was delightful.

[Sarah]

This isn't YA. It's mis-shelved on Goodreads. This is how Amazon shelves it:

#33 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Mythology & Folk Tales
#185 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Science Fiction
#206 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Romantic

[Kristin B.]

Sarah wrote: "This isn't YA. It's mis-shelved on Goodreads. This is how Amazon shelves it:

#33 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Mythology & Folk Tales
#185 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure..."

Excellent point! I know the threads have talked a lot about where this book falls. It's been interesting that both books this month feel different to some people from what they are officially categorized as.

Although it's interesting that this also falls under Science Fiction on Amazon. It doesn't feel like Science Fiction at all.

But I think that my original statement can be true of really any genre. In a lot of books where there is a romance present, the characters get so involved in each other that it's as if nothing else is important. It was refreshing to see that not be the case in this book.

On an unrelated note, I amused myself today with the thought that these two books could switch titles and they would still work. Dana was certainly "Uprooted" from her normal life. and Agnieszka could be said to be "Kindred" to Jaga and the Valley.

[Sarah]

I also wondered about the Science Fiction thing. That seems random.

[Shelley]

Sarah wrote: "I also wondered about the Science Fiction thing. That seems random."

Amazon allows authors to pick up to three categories. I suspect the publisher put in in Science Fiction to capture that audience.

[Silvana]

any comment on Kasia and Agniezka? I rarely read about female-female friendship and theirs are so well written.

[Kristin B.]

Silvana wrote: "any comment on Kasia and Agniezka? I rarely read about female-female friendship and theirs are so well written."

I loved their relationship. As I mentioned above I found it authentic that they really loved each other, but they had some realistic tension between them. During the summoning we see Kasia's jealousy over the fact that Agnieszka was able to have a real relationship with her mother. We also see Agnieszka's resentment that Kasia was able to live a life, instead of being stuck in the tower as they all thought would happen. Despite this they still had an amazing bond.

My favorite line about their relationship was this:

“And I wasn't old enough to be wise, so I loved her more, not less, because I knew she would be taken from me soon.”

I thought this was beautiful. Agnieszka wasn't intimidated by how perfect Kasia was. She simply loved her with all of the innocence and wonderment that a child's heart can hold. Even though the Dragon was the "romantic interest" I think the main relationship in the book was really Kasia and Agnieszka. Every event in the book was a direct result of their relationship.

Dragon noticed Agnieszka because she gripped Kasia's hand. Kasia stayed with Agnieszka while the wolves attacked. Agnieszka went to the woods because Kasia was taken. Marek wanted to go into the woods after the Queen all because Agnieszka refused to give up on Kasia and was able to cure the corruption. Agnieszka fought so hard to get on the list of Wizard's and get the Queen pardoned in order to save Kasia as well. Their main concern was always for each other.

I was happy to see such a deep and meaningful relationship between them. I am happy that others appreciated it as much as I did.

[Benedict]

Hey all, first time posting in the group :)

I enjoyed Uprooted, especially the character of Agnieszka and the magic system, as many have mentioned above.

Couple of things that threw me a little:
- The hype. I wish I'd picked this up without knowing how well it had already been received in the mainstream. I think my expectations were slightly too high (don't get me wrong, overall I enjoyed it.
- The Wood. I find it difficult to put my finger on why I'm still not sure if I liked the Wood, but I think it probably has something to do with the similarities between it and the antagonist in Robin Hobb's Soldier Son series, which I'm not a fan of.
Overall enjoyed the experience, and glad to find people to chat about it with!

[Bruce]

Silvana wrote: "any comment on Kasia and Agniezka? I rarely read about female-female friendship and theirs are so well written."

I agree that the friendship was well written, up until Kasia became "woody". It seemed after that Kasia just became an afterthought in the story. The relationship didn't feel very special anymore. I was disappointed that the author didn't have something else in mind for her.

[Kristin B.]

Bruce wrote: .I agree that the friendship was well written, up until Kasia became "woody". It seemed after that Kasia just became an afterthought in the story. The relationship didn't feel very special anymore. I was disappointed that the author didn't have something else in mind for her. ."

I thought that she still had an integral role. It was definitely changed. She went from the perfect girl, to the girl who needed to be saved, to the protector. After the corruption she bacame nearly indestructible. She looked out for Agnieszka and the children. I think that her relationship with the children made her vital. She protected them, calmed them and gave them someone to cling to after the loss of their parents.

During their time in the capital Agnieszka definitely got side tracked by everything. However, she thought that finding her place would help give her a reputation that would in the long run benefit Kasia during her trial.

At the end, during the battle, Kasia was definitely an after thought. But I felt that was because she didn't need protecting.

Althought I agree that I certainly would have liked to see more of her at the very end while we saw how Agnieszka's life had turned out.

[Bruce]

Kristin wrote, "I thought that she still had an integral role. It was definitely changed. She went from the perfect girl, to the girl who needed to be saved, to the protector. After the corruption she bacame nearly indestructible. She looked out for Agnieszka and the children."

You make some good points which are helpful. Much appreciated. I guess I still have a problem with Kasia becoming "woody" and nearly indestructible. It seems hard to have a relationship with somebody like that, which changes the dynamics to the point where it doesn't seem like a good story element anymore.

[Kristin]

I really loved this book when I read it, a little while back. I liked the characters very much, and I thought they developed well throughout the story. I enjoyed the romance, because it wasn't a big feature of the book. Just like the sprinkled sugar on top of a cake that's already good.

The only thing I would maybe have changed, was Kasia. I would have liked for her to have a bigger part to play. I thought she had an interesting character and would have liked to see more of her. Then again, if the author had decided to go in the direction, it might not have fit in well. This is just a brainfart.

I thought the ending was cute. It made me awww. I like the understated, humoristic romance stuff. I'm not so big on the big gestures and poetic outbursts.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

I have never said this about wanting a thicker book (well, not often). I think this would have been a great book instead of good if it had more chapters and pages spent on Kasia/Agnieszka's relationship during those intersections the two were together, and a longer time with the aristocrats, even if it meant adding 100-200 pages of exposition! A looooonggerrr book would have made this a great read.

I almost dnf, because in the first and second chapter Agnieszka seemed more like a 15-year-old 'Clueless' character, but much more unattractive, and certainly NOT like any 17-year-old I knew! But character development on every level was where I thought the author had difficulties. I liked Agnieszka after she understood her powers. But the author leaned a lot on us readers to fill in the blanks to 'know' everyone with only brief sketch descriptions: this was a bored bad king, this was a snooty aristocrat, these were very young inexperienced girls, etc. - too much quick stock acting for typical roles in a movie action thriller and not enough depths or dimensions in the script for the characters to develop. Agnieszka morphs from dim-witted second-banana unintelligent child (she was also the 'follower' to Kasia's leadership) to strong-willed grown woman seemingly in one early chapter! There is no sense to how she changes so drastically from one type of personality to another.

I loved the action, the Wood, the magic, the bravery; the Great Game of the aristos made me laugh; and I thought the writing was spectacular when it was about the Wood and the magic but uneven everywhere else; and some scenes were rushed.

I have read a lot of YA, and most of them have sex between people, and violent killing, but usually not described in an extended fashion. This book hit that mark perfectly. I'm no editor, I just read a lot.

'Teen' designated books have maybe some kissing, usually in the middle or last chapter - once, and hand-holding. 'Romance' books usually have a lot of extended blushing and shame and red-faced sweating, with stumbling and staring and tons of embarrassed accidental touching and thousands of pages about eyes meeting - this did not. To me, this was definitely YA. I think people should drop down to 'Teen' or old-fashioned Harlequin 'Romance' reads if they don't like sex scenes where the characters never actually have sex until married, and maybe a brief kiss during the reading of 400 pages. Christian novels are another sexless category, as long as endless 'surprise' appearances of angels and God appearing to save the characters don't bore you.

[Whitney]

only a few chapters in but i really hope she doesnt fall for this stupid abusive dude. if she does I really will feel betrayed by everyone who says they love this book.

[Whitney]

oh god I had to read the spoilers to find out and hes really mean i cant believe she would ever be attracted to that.

[Bruce]

But wouldn't it be a better story if someone can change?

[Whitney]

Bruce wrote: "But wouldn't it be a better story if someone can change?"

From the reviews I've read though he doesn't change. So thats one reason why I don't think I will agree with the normal feels for this book. Another is this book is marketed towards young girls and we always teach them not to stay with an abusive person thinking they will change or that they really are as useless as the abuser says they are and can't leave etc. why would i like, support and recommend a book that seems to go the opposite way?
At one point he literally chokes her on her bed and tells her he will rip the truth from her throat or something like that.
I can understand a mean guy whose mean to protect himself and maybe says snarky things etc. However he is just a straight up abusive lunatic .

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

The Dragon agrees to never take another girl, ever, after he discovers the lower classes actually have feelings. Plus, Agnieszka beats him up constantly through her clumsiness - knocks him down stairs, burns him with spilled tea cups, etc. Plus, it turns out she is more dragon then he is when she stamps her foot down and causes an earthquake which shakes the entire country.

The Dragon is a verbal abuser, but he changes during the course of the book. However, Agnieszka comes to the conclusion he is a lively boy toy, and fun to hook up with, but she wants more.

Don't give up on Agnieszka, Chakara! I almost lemmed this book, too, until the fourth chapter or so changed my mind.

[Whitney]

aPriL does feral sometimes wrote: "The Dragon agrees to never take another girl, ever, after he discovers the lower classes actually have feelings. Plus, Agnieszka beats him up constantly through her clumsiness - knocks him down sta..."

Thanks for the input I actually don't have a problem with the main girl so much as him and he has put his hands on her. There are books about abuse but the way this is handled makes me uncomfortable. It saddens me because I love a good fairytale retelling.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

I came away from this book feeling it put the stress on being a very action movie, like a SyFy-channel movie (but better written), with a great many scenes of battle, vividly portrayed. The fairy tale aspect was the frame of the book's architecture, but for me, that faded into the background.

[Øystein]

Chakara wrote: "Thanks for the input I actually don't have a problem with the main girl so much as him and he has put his hands on her. There are books about abuse but the way this is handled makes me uncomfortable. It saddens me because I love a good fairytale retelling."

I don't really think The Dragon is abusive towards Agnieszka. The scene you are talking about, where he attacks her, he thinks she is a spy sent by the king or someone at court. When you learn how he has been treated by that group, i do not find it strange he is quick to anger. I do not find it overly aggressive to "put hands on" someone you genuinely think is your enemy, gender will hold no sway. However, when he realizes she is not an enemy, but rather a seemingly, clumsy, wilful girl, he reverts to being distant and grumpy (for a while).

[Kateb]

And who could blame him for being a grumpy person, he has lived for many years with his own company, treated badly by his peers, everyone else scared of him.

He thinks she is s spy and treats her as if he would a male spy, no sexism there.

I liked this book, I think the author presented the dragon's character well. And after teaching teens for many years , yes she has the young unexperienced teen right.

I would have liked a few more details or even mention of time when all is going on in the capital.

the story feels as if it was worked out, a draft was done and the author got sick of going back through it, that's it I am done feeling.

there could have been a bit more padding

[Annie]

The more and more I think about this book after reading it the more I liked it. I agree I didn't see him as abusive. The context was that the thought she was there to harm him in some way. I find his reaction to be online with what he was expecting. Once he realized she was not a spy he never harmed her physically. Also I read his latter mumblings of her being an "idiot" or "dumb" as been said in an endearing tone. He was grumpy and not perfect, which I didn't mind.

Also I enjoyed how the romance didn't take over the book. The one thing I would change was the tone of Agnieszka and Kasia's friendship in he latter half of the book. I felt like once the "cure" happened it wasn't as detailed or strong as the beginning of the book. I did like how they both had their faults that the summoning showed and it felt like an authentic friendship.

[Bruce]

Annie wrote, "The one thing I would change was the tone of Agnieszka and Kasia's friendship in he latter half of the book."

I would also have liked to see something more with their friendship after Kasia was cured. I wanted a stronger role or something more for Kasia.

[Hank, Hankenstein's Modster]

I am going to do a lame me too on a few things...

I liked the romance part, both for the fact that it seemed inevitable yet not significant.

The different ways of doing magic was cool.

The friendship between Kasia and Agnieszka was a great reflection of the real driving force which was the love of Agnieszka's home.

I was much less bothered by the romance in this book than I was by the weird relationship in the Temeraire book. Didn't like that at all.

[Veronique]

Late to the party (waiting for the paperback).

Well I loved it. It is not a perfect book (are they ever?), for all the reasons already listed above, such as the rush at the end, but Uprooted took hold of me, pushing me to read at full speed, grabbing at any little minute I had, and didn’t let go until I turned the last page last night.

I was at first surprised. The blurb made it look like one type of narrative when instead it is a lot more. It transported me back to the roots of story telling, when fairy tales were passed on orally and intended for all to hear, not just children, full of all the aspects of life and living, including the horror, ugliness and pain of it, and indeed death. Novik takes its usual tropes and turns them on, presenting them in unexpected ways.

The author’s writing style caught me at the beginning, some sentences arresting me here and there, full of meaning but also due to their form. They somehow reflected the organic theme, which permeates everything. The title, for instance, is at first very straightforward, but as I carried on through the book, it kept echoing in my head and taking more and more layers of meaning. Only too quickly however, the action swept me away. And so much happens in this book! I agree with those that say the author put too much in it, but I didn't take away my enjoyment, far from it.

The strength of the novel however for me was in the characters and their connections. We see Agnieszka’s transformation from village girl to magic wielding witch, stumbling her way through, making mistakes, but also remaining true to herself. Her relationship with Kasia, as many have said, is beautiful in all its reality and messiness. Novik portrays characters with a certain rawness and all are more than what appears. Marek is not a likeable protagonist and yet I can understand his driven endeavour to save his mother.

The witches and wizards are a bristly bunch but it is understandable when considering they have been living for over 100 years and lost many if not all of their loved ones. They shy away from such pain but in the process loose touch with humanity while trying to save it. Sarkan is unpleasant at best with his prickliness but he undergoes change too. Agnieszka crashes in his well ordered world and disrupts everything, pushing him to question what he thought was concrete. His power, as well as the one of his ‘colleagues’, is based on rule-following and slow learning. Agnieszka's is exactly the reverse, intuitive, flowing, experimental, organic even, which explains her speed in acquiring it (she was doing it before without knowing). I kept thinking one side was the written word while the other was the spoken one. Magic is again not just one concept, and comes into full blown power when these two combine forces, each as important. Sarkan resists at first but does helps Agnieszka, becoming a real partner while snarling all the way. I liked that Novik kept that aspect of his character, which is much more believable, and the evolution of their relationship rang true. They each accept the other as they are. I liked their romance, especially in the manner it was handled - it is part of both of them but secondary to all the events. The age difference didn't even register to me, and like Amber said, I saw Sarkan emotionally very young.

Should it be labelled YA? Depends on the reader I guess. Most would be perfectly fine with it. The two scenes in question didn't bother me because if you take the original fairy tales into consideration, these had sex and violence and horror and pain and injustice.

[Beth]

Impressions from the first three chapters or so.

- The Dragon is kind of a dick. To an extent, I can see him acting distrustfully toward Agniezka (sp?) to start with, especially if he thinks she's come to spy on or sabotage him. And I can also--from a narrative standpoint--see it as a point of friction in a "magical training" scenario that might otherwise lack it.

- I'm enjoying the depiction of magic as "words of power" and the idea that the more potent the magic is, the more it drains the user. No consequence-free superpowers here.

- I haven't really gotten a sense of Kasia's personality, and we see so little of her before Agniezka is taken off, that the insistence that they're as close as sisters is somewhat unconvincing. Still plenty of book to go, though.

- Novik really likes her colons. Not a serious problem, just an authorial quirk to get used to. Here's a sentence with two!:

"Then he shook it off and pointed: turning, I found the prince pushing himself up onto his elbow, and blinking at us both: still dazed and unknowing, [etc.]

- Loving the descriptions of food, especially the sweets. Yum!

[Gabi]

Ah, you started it, Beth. Then I will join!

[Beth]

Barely, but yes! :) Since I'm not as fast as a lot of folks, I try to start early.