Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Uprooted

Where to begin? This book is as close to a unique story as I've ever read. It's hard to describe because it feels quite original.

The underlying tones are definitely Beauty and the Beast but in very much its own way.

Our heroine, Nieshka is instantly loveable for her clumsy, messy, confident self. I've never read a hero quit like her and it was very enjoyable.
Her sunshine to the Dragon's grumpy was delightful.

Perhaps one of my favorite things about this book was the themes of friendship and individuality seen side by side without being pitted against each other. Nieshka and her best friend Kasia have a beautiful friendship that acknowledges their flaws but never stops them from loving each other. We see hints of real human jealousy, grief, annoyance, and love in both girls even though their personalities couldn't be more different. I don't know if I've ever seen such a wholesome and believable friendship in literature before.

I enjoyed the story over all, though for a while the plot did get terribly confusing and difficult to follow. Once we were given answers they were mostly satisfying.

While I will never completely enjoy the "undefeatable villain" trope, the reasoning behind this one was at least understandable.

Even the ending was quite unique. I enjoyed the less-than-perfect end. I think everything neatly wrapped in a bow would have betrayed the overall feel of the story.

Over all I definitely liked Uprooted, and am likely to read it again.

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eleanora's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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julesadventurezone's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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huntress's review against another edition

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alliecat1915's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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lizzie24601's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

For the vast majority of it, this book was a slog to get through. Until

Agnieshka flees the capital

, the book is written very episodically. Agnieshka is hanging out at the tower, learning magic, until someone arrives! And they do something. Then she goes back to her studies until... someone arrives! The plot doesn't progress evenly forward - it moves in fits and starts like this, and it's hard to tell what the story is supposed to be about. (Especially when the description on the back of the book only describes half of the first chapter.)

I did not find any of the characters to be particularly well-developed, and there isn't much character growth. Sure, Agnieshka's skills and power grow, but her personal character doesn't change much from the beginning to the end.

I was most upset by Kasia in this vein: she is hyped up at the beginning as being such a charming, brave, and wonderful person, but despite being by Agnieshka's side for the majority of the book, she is largely silent. In so many scenes she just serves as a tool to silently protect Agnieshka from some danger. The book emphasizes their friendship over and over again, but they never even really have a conversation.

The characters all felt so flat that the pace felt even slower, because there was no one I wanted to root for. And don't get me started on the romance... (The

teenager + centuries old magical being

romances either work or they don't, and this one just didn't for me.)

All that being said, the pace and excitement picks up immensely in the final third of the book, and the ending really is so good. I finally got what the author was going for, and what the book was about. Sure, there are other scenes that stand out (when

Kasia and Agnieshka have to deal with their unspoken animosity toward each other

and any scene with Alosha - loved her). I just wish the first 2/3 of the book had been as enjoyable!

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