Magic and legends in Uprooted

The woods that grow in the Valley are corrupted with evil and creatures that snatch people and drag them back into the woods. Anyone taken to the woods is usually lost forever. The people who live in the Valley are slowly losing the battle with the woods, but isolated in a tower is a wizard called the Dragon who tries to stop the woods and control the evil. His only request from the people in the Valley is that every ten years he chooses a young woman to live and work in the tower.

After ten years the young woman he chooses has changed, and she leaves the Valley behind. A choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka will be in the group, but she doesn’t worry about being the one chosen by the wizard. Everyone assumes it will be Agnieszka’s best friend Kasia, but assumptions are often wrong in Uprooted by Naomi Novik. This charming fantasy novel has the feel of legends and fairy tales as Agnieszka discovers her true strengths. Novik is the author of the popular fantasy series, Temeraire.