A dark enchantment blights the land in the award-winning Uprooted - an enthralling, mythic fantasy by Naomi Novik, author of the Temeraire series.
Agnieska loves her village, set deep in a peaceful valley. But the nearby enchanted forest casts a shadow over her home. Many have been lost to the Wood and none return unchanged.
The villagers depend on an ageless wizard, the Dragon, to protect them from the forest?s dark magic. However, his help comes at a terrible price. One young village woman must serve him for ten years, leaving all they value behind.
Agnieska fears her dearest friend Kasia will be picked at the next choosing, for she?s everything Agnieska is not - beautiful, graceful and brave. Yet when the Dragon comes, it's not Kasia he takes.
Staff Choice: Sophie
Simply enchanting. I didn't think I liked fairy tales, but this story gently spun its magic round and round about me until I couldn't stop reading. I loved the heavy Polish influences, the engrossing action, the strong ties to nature, and main character Agnieszka stole my heart (the Dragon did, too, what with him obviously being a fellow Virgo).
Staff Choice: Tiemen
I can't help but love this books to bits. This is Harry Potter meets Name of the Wind mixed with the horrors of Clive Barker's Pinhead stories and finally made perfect with a Polish-fairy-tales-inspired setting. Highly recommended summer read, or any other season for that matter.