In general I’m a sucker for fairytales and fairytale retellings, so I expected to enjoy Uprooted. I first tried borrowing the e-book from the library when we were on our trip, but the waiting list was long so I just waited to check out a paper copy when we got back.

I’m so glad I did. This book sucked me in and didn’t let go until I finished. It’s got great world-building and magic and Polish names and the creepiest Wood.

Agnieszka (ag-NYESH-ka)–I think it’s a Polish name?–is a girl who lives in a village near the Wood, and her best friend Kasia is destined to be taken by the nearby wizard who protects them from the Wood’s evil influence. But of course when the wizard actually chooses a girl, he doesn’t take Kasia (I mean, if he did, Kasia would be the narrator, right?).

“Our dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tall outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man…. “

Agnieszka learns about magic and the larger political forces at play in her small kingdom, all while the Wood looms large, sending its poisonous roots out to corrupt the villages.

I loved the atmosphere and the Wood was creepy and ominous. Everyone who entered it was given up for lost, and if they did emerge, they were changed and corrupted and probably would be killed to stop the spread of the corruption.

Parts of the story were somewhat predictable, but it’s a dark fairytale, so I’m ok with guessing some of the plot since it was well-written with an interesting world.

I especially liked the two types of magic cast by the wizards/witches, and the way they worked together (or didn’t, depending on several factors). Our protagonist was the right person for the challenge, and she was rooted (pun slightly intended) in her land and community to fight the evil.

If you don’t care for fairytales, or if you’re looking for lots of twists that you absolutely don’t see coming, you probably won’t like this book. But if dark fairytales with atmosphere and magic appeal to you, you might like this as much as I did.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★