Uprooted

By: Naomi Novik

Narrated by: Julia Emelin

Length: 17 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

NEBULA AWARD WINNER • HUGO AWARD FINALIST • “If you want a fantasy with strong characters and brilliantly original variations on ancient stories, try Uprooted!”—Rick Riordan

“Breathtaking . . . a tale that is both elegantly grand and earthily humble, familiar as a Grimm fairy tale yet fresh, original, and totally irresistible.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, BuzzFeed, Tordotcom, BookPage, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly

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.

©2015 Naomi Novik (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Uprooted has leapt forward to claim the title of Best Book I’ve Read Yet This Year. . . . Moving, heartbreaking, and thoroughly satisfying, Uprooted is the fantasy novel I feel I’ve been waiting a lifetime for. Clear your schedule before picking it up, because you won’t want to put it down.”—NPR

“A very enjoyable fantasy with the air of a modern classic . . . Naomi Novik skillfully takes the fairy-tale-turned-bildungsroman structure of her premise . . . and builds enough flesh on those bones to make a very different animal. . . . The vivid characters around her also echo their fairy-tale forebears, but are grounded in real-world ambivalence that makes this book feel quietly mature, its world lived-in.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Novik here delivers a tale that is funny and fast-paced, laced with hair-raising battle scenes and conspiracies; it also touches on deeper ecological concerns we grapple with today.”—The Washington Post

A narrator can make or break a story

Would you try another book from Naomi Novik and/or Julia Emelin?

from Naomi yes from Julia...it would depend if Julia tried to sound Polish/Russian again. Her hesitating way of speaking as if English were a second language, did not make it. She could have used the accent for actual speaking and narrated the rest of the story in a normal tone.

What did you like best about this story?

good story line

Would you be willing to try another one of Julia Emelin’s performances?

I would have to hear a sample. There have been several narrators whose performances are not worth listening to again.

Do you think Uprooted needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It might be interesting to see if the "woods" are cleared of blight.

if you're looking for a clean book this is not it.

I really enjoyed "Spinning Silver" so I was excited to listen to this book. Unfortunately the narration was terrible. The narrator was terribly choppy. I was hoping that, as the book went along, I would stop noticing it but I never did. It was very distracting.
Also, I was really disappointed that there was a sex scene. "Spinning Silver" was a clean book so I assumed this would be as well but I was wrong.

Wonderful!

The reader was perfect with her charming accent. Words and characters were vivid and deeply felt.

Good Story

I really liked the story. I think it would make a good movie too. The narrator was not my favorite. She reads with an odd cadence that didn't feel smooth. But the story was interesting enough to stick with despite the narrator.

Good Idea, Average Execution

Would you try another book from Naomi Novik and/or Julia Emelin?

While I don't think the book was written very well, I enjoyed the idea behind it. If she has another one in the future and the consensus is that her writing has improved I would give it a try.

If you’ve listened to books by Naomi Novik before, how does this one compare?

This was my first book by her, no matter the format. It's possible the narrator took away some of my enjoyment of her story.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Julia Emelin?

I'm not sure who I would have case. I would prefer someone with better pacing that didn't sound so robotic.

Could you see Uprooted being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

It could be made into a movie. It would probably be best with mostly unknown actors, but it might be interesting to have a well known queen.

Any additional comments?

I was never really all that interested in knowing what was going to happen next, but I had heard good things about it and wanted to make my way through. By the time I got to the end I could understand why some people would enjoy it, but not really for me.

An Unusual Tale

This is almost the standard tale of the hero's journey, if it was heroine. That is an obvious difference, but there are tons of other subtle differences that quickly set it apart from the crowd. One perfect choice was the style of narration. At first I was uncertain of it, but it grows on you, and by the end of the book you can't imagine anyone else doing her voice. This is a really good read and one I highly suggest.

The Book felt rushed and over edited - abridged

Some good ideas and some cliche characters, but overall the book felt rushed along in the story line, and the ending wrapped up too quickly. The accented narration was interesting. Almost good.

Narrator has no intonation.

It was a difficult listen with this narrator. I felt disconnected from the story. In places it feels like there is more to say and the story moves on several times without any explanation or additional details. The premise was interesting. It was just a choppy story at times and the narrator’s lack of intonation made it difficult to get into.

Enchanting

In contrast to some other reviews, I found the narration to be perfectly matched to this enchanting story. The characters are irresistible, and the story weaves a magical spell. Let yourself drift into the story and be transported to another land. You won't regret it.

A wonderful story

When my wife and started listening, the accent was a bit jarring, but it didn't take long to get into and it was worth sticking it out.

I think it was better to have an Eastern European accent than have an English or American narrator butcher the characters names. Also made it more authentic as it sounded like the heroine, Agnieszka was reading it.