Book Two
**Read to the end, I have a gift for you!
You know I enjoy fantasy adventure: Piper Pan and Her Merry Band is a “sprout” out of that genre. Although officially for children, I like to think of my series as a magical tale for adults. That’s what today’s recommended book, Uprooted, is—a magical tale for adults.
I chose Naomi Novik’s book Uprooted because she wrote a cover blurb for one of the children’s fantasy books I read and recommended—I think it may have been Nikki Loftin’s Wish Girl. It turns out Uprooted is not for children. I got a chance to look closely at what makes a book for adults.
The story features a village girl with latent magical power, a malevolent forest, and a cold, ambitious wizard known as the Dragon who takes a village girl once every ten years as the price for keeping the village safe. So far, it could be a children’s book.
There’s a fair bit of violence in this story (wars can’t be spun any other way), and a little bit of sex. But there’s something beyond those obvious elements that creates its adult tone. There’s a density to the problems—much less hope of resolution, a complexity, touched with cynicism. Maybe that’s what growing up does to us.
Uprooted is tremendously imaginative, lyrical, full of complex, magnetic characters, plenty of action—a magical tale well told. I was especially charmed by the differences between the feminine way of doing magic and the masculine way. (Sort of like the difference between cooking by following a recipe exactly, and cooking by taste, smell, texture, and intuition. Or stumbling your way to the heart of the forest without the benefit of a map.)
It turns out author Naomi Novik loves both history and legends. She was raised on Polish fairy tales and stories of Baba Yaga, as her writing proves. She’s written a lot of books and has received high accolades and awards. She’s a very talented writer.
I would say if you are a fan of the fantasy genre, you will enjoy Uprooted. (Dad, this one is for you!) As always, happy reading!
**The promised gift:
My designer, Marjorie Schoelles, author of “Now I Wish Upon a Pearl” and artist extraordinaire created a gorgeous new character poster for us!
It’s the king and queen of the fairies: Oberon and Titania!
(click here to access the high resolution printable pdf.)