Uprooted

Uprooted is a fantasy novel by Naomi Novik. The story follows Agnieszka who is chosen to leave her home to live with The Dragon, as the corrupted Wood threatens to overtake their valley. It was first released on May 19, 2015.

Synopsis
Official synopsis from the publisher's website:


 * “Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”


 * 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.

Official synopsis from the back cover:


 * tba

Characters

 * Agnieszka, the protagonist, a 17-year-old girl from the village Dvernik in the Valley
 * The Dragon, a 100+ year old wizard who lives in a tower, he protects the Valley from the Wood, and takes a girl every ten years in return
 * Kasia, Agnieszka's best friend, everyone thinks the Dragon will choose her
 * The Wood, contains a malevolent force that is spreading into the Valley
 * Prince Marek, the prince of the kingdom of Polnya, he wishes to rescue his mother from the Wood
 * Soyla aka The Falcon, a wizard from the capital city
 * Alosha aka The Sword
 * Father Ballo
 * Queen Hanna
 * The Wood Queen

Sequel
Novik has stated that she is open to writing a sequel to Uprooted, but a story hasn't taken hold for her yet and she doesn't want to force it. Novik's full response to the question on Goodreads:


 * I would be glad to write a sequel if a story idea comes to me, but I've actually taken a few stabs at it, and nothing so far has really taken hold. It's definitely not something that I would deliberately avoid, but I also don't want to force it. When and if the story comes along, that's when I'll do it. But I will if it does!


 * Until then, Spinning Silver, while it's not a sequel, is a sort of sister-book that has a similar feel, so if you enjoyed Uprooted, you might like that one. It comes out in July. But that said, I too have had the experience of wishing that an author would stick with the characters I first fell in love with, so I sympathize with the desire for a sequel instead! I just can't write it until I can write it. :)