Fantasy Book Club discussion

Discuss Uprooted, by Naomi Novik here.
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Read this one in October. different from usual YA fantasy and so I was surprised.

I also read this one the other month, and it was a very satisfying read. I'm Polish American myself and I loved the folklore elements =D. I am getting very tired of this whole YA categorization that's been going on with books, though. I am so happy that so much great reading for young adults has come out in the last decade or so (in fact, a huge BOOM), I'm just tired of publishers slapping this genre on any book that might even APPEAL to the YA crowd for consumer purposes (even when I consider the book to be firstly an adult fantasy, then maybe a YA one). That being said, if this IS truly a YA then I am finally so relieved that this whole element of lust coupled with chastity that has been a firm element in YA, as well, has been torn down! If for the sole reason that sexy time commences, would it be then branded an adult fantasy?

i'm a little fuzzy on the "Young Adult" labelling, myself; what does it take to get the "Adult" label? sex, language, and violence abound in supposedly YA stories. Is it a matter of quantity, then? Explicitness?

I'm an adult; I just don't want to slog through tons of teenage angst and seven million coming-of-age stories.

I wouldn't describe this as YA, it's supposed to be adult fantasy. I'm guessing it picks up the label due to the young mc.

Helen, that's what I thought as well, and was surprised to see the book listed in the YA fantasy category during the latest Goodreads Choice Awards poll.

I had no idea what this book was about other than there was a dragon who took girls away. I thought it was wonderful, a lovely fairy tale quality to it. I enjoyed the unreliability of Agnieszka as a narrator, meeting everyone as she did.

Agnieszka's healing strategy was wonderful, particularly as she applied it to everything not just her friend. I liked the fact that there were scary moments interspersed with comedy. The end note- come and meet my mum, was lovely.

Someone who read it with me made the comment that it was like a fairy tale version of Pride and Prejudice. I can totally see that now but I didn't connect it while reading.

One of my favourite reads of the year.

Wow. I finished Uprooted today, and I really loved it.

The interactions between Agnieszka and the Dragon were just too comical, the plot suspenseful, magical and partially even creepy, and the whole book just felt so refreshing.

The end note was indeed lovely, Helen.

Apart from our heroine and the Dragon, the one character I really found entertaining was Solya, and I felt that there was potential for something more.

Loved it! This was magical without being overly whimsical or gritty--a really solid feel.

I feel like I must have read something else, I did not enjoy it. It was ok, but lacked depth. I couldn't figure out if it was YA or adult, but I settled for adult because of the sex and for that reason I thought the book was a little 'safe'.

I also found the relationship between the Dragon and Agnieszka quite creepy. (view spoiler)[And for someone so smart it took her way too long to figure out it was her doing the magic and not him. And how did she become so powerful in less than a year? (hide spoiler)] I don't know it just didn't 'gel' with me. And I found Kasha quite irritating.

I felt the same way Tracey. I haven't experienced that before, where my opinion is vastly different than the GP. The characters didn't have any depth, it was as if the story was told with no investment or emotion. Another friend of mine didn't like it either

I'm relieved that I'm not the only one! It started out great and then it was just not great. I really can't see what everyone else does, I've had similar experiences with other books but never to this scale.

Agnieszka's relationship with the Dragon didn't seem creepy to me;

**SPOILERS**
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**SPOILERS**





it was no instant attraction and grandiose romance to consume both their lives. And, despite the social power dynamics, how she was his servant and student, the sexual aspect was more equal; she even initiates most of it herself, to his shock. Even on the level of the great difference between their levels of experience and age... well, she was 'of age': her age group was already marrying and breeding. So, the romance here worked for me.

And Kasia...was a paragon and typical protagonist/heroine figure. She's beautiful, skilled at everything, fearless, likable, secretly wishes for adventure... Yet she is not the main character. She plays in turn: an object of envy and yearning, a victim that needs rescuing, a dangerous enemy, a trustworthy and valuable ally. In the end, Kasia goes adventuring abroad, while the protagonist, Agnieszka stays in the home valley, living on the edge of the woods like a wicked witch. Moreover, their friendship is the most important love in the story. It's genre subversion.

I'm glad I didn't know about the comparison to Beauty and the Beast beforehand: the only part like that was the first third or so, and that part was bothersome enough to get through without having heightened expectations.

Tracey and Margret, I'm glad I'm not alone in my very tepid response to the book. There is so much hype about it, and it's so not worth it in my opinion. I enjoyed the folklore elements, the idea of the evil in the forest and the corruption it brings, but that's pretty much it for me.
The characters were stereotypical. The girl who never stands out and who constantly trips on herself turns out to be the heroine and one of the most powerful witches ever, the old solitary man who had all but sworn off love is won over by her (because she's so different and so special), their liaison was rather banal.
The forest queen on the other hand was the most interesting character for me and I enjoyed her story.
The action scenes were rather well written too.

I too enjoyed the fairytale element, but beyond that I found it quite plain. I just don't get what all the fuss is about.

Tracey (Queen of Blades) wrote: "I feel like I must have read something else, I did not enjoy it. It was ok, but lacked depth. I couldn't figure out if it was YA or adult, but I settled for adult because of the sex and for that re..."

This was one of the few times that I liked what other people liked! Funny, that.

I agree that the character development was lacking. In msg 9, the character Soyla is mentioned....can't even remember who that was. (I finished this a few weeks ago.) Any of the characters could have been killed off without making a difference to me.

Heather wrote: "Tracey (Queen of Blades) wrote: "I feel like I must have read something else, I did not enjoy it. It was ok, but lacked depth. I couldn't figure out if it was YA or adult, but I settled for adult b..."

Haha I know!

Illusode wrote: "Agnieszka's relationship with the Dragon didn't seem creepy to me; d,..."

Lovely description.

I've heard the book described as YA - but I really didn't see it in that category - particularly because of the sex. I think what I enjoyed most about this book is its general upbeat nature. There is so much grim dark fantasy these days, that I appreciate the break.

I agree. I'm becoming tired of the YA and now new age tags, they seem to be added to any book with a young protagonist. Hmmm, Carrie was young. I noticed Brooks blurbing a book yesterday and stated 'this is not YA'.

I would consider this a YA. I enjoyed the fairytale aspect but neither the characters or the plot was complex enough to put it as adult fiction for me. Also, I feel just because a book has sex doesn't automatically make it an adult book. For example, in this book it was not extremely descriptive or extremely present. So yup a YA.

On that note, being a YA doesn't mean that it is bad or unworthy, its just a different reading experience.

Overall I enjoyed this book as a quick, fun fairytale read but didn't really stand out to me as something unique. I wouldn't recommend it to a friend but I wouldn't tell them to avoid it either.

I vote for 'not a YA' category. It wasn't the sex, because THERE IS SEX IN YA (coming of age/puberty/sexuality kinda roll together), part of why the YA labelling system so confounds me... But, the story's point drifted away from self discovery and 'adolescence vs adulthood'. The main character herself, despite often reminiscing about her youth, simply doesn't consider herself a child newly entering adulthood. Her adulthood seems a fait accompli in the very beginning, with the party and the Dragon's selection.

Of all the dualities in the story, that of child vs adult seems missing. You get village vs city, wizard vs um 'muggle', man vs woman, nature vs human, instinct vs learned, etc...

Loved this book. I was lucky enough to get an early copy. I def got the Beauty and the Beast vibe early, so I really appreciated when she started to branch off into her own territory with the story. I thought the forest was cool, and the magic system was pretty unique.

It really was, wasn't it.

Started this today. Really is a pretty good read.

Enjoy.

Really thought about giving this book a 5 star, but I'm kind of stingy with my 5 stars. It really deserved a 4.5 though, but I have to give it a 4 star. I really enjoyed this story. It was different from anything I have read in a long time. The magic was unique and the plot was extremely well developed. At times “the Dragon” came across as a grumpy old man and it really made it hard to care about or like him at first but as the story went along one warms up to him and Agneieszka, I absolutely love this character. Her loyalty and commitment to family and friends is what is missing in our world today. Great book. I can see this book being made into a movie. Starting on The Rose and the Thorn I'm also going to try and squeeze in The Riddle and the Rune.

Glad you enjoyed it, it was one of my favourites last year.

Tnkw01 wrote: "At times “the Dragon” came across as a grumpy old man and it really made it hard to care about or like him at first but as the story went along one warms up to him."

That's so funny. I also got the "grumpy old man vibe" but that's one of the reason WHY I liked him. Just one of those things where preferences see the same thing in a different light.

Me too.

I can really appreciate the "grumpy old man" when it is done in a humorous light. I also appreciate the stories where a grump is actually very kind yarded, it's just no one gives them a chance.