Uprooted

Bok av Naomi Novik
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.
Agnieszka älskar sin lilla by i den fridfulla dalen, men den närliggande skogen är ett ständigt hot. Många har förlorats till dess mörker och den som kommer tillbaka blir sig aldrig med lik. Som skydd mot skogen förlitar sig byborna på Draken, en trollkarl som kräver ett högt pris för sina tjänster. En ung flicka från byn tvingas lämna allt hon älskar bakom sig för att tjäna Draken i tio år. Och än så länge har ingen av flickorna kommit tillbaka...

Uprooted är en klassisk fairytale med magi inspirerad av folktro. Visst blev jag besviken när Draken inte var en faktisk drake och hans relation till Agnieszka är minst sagt problematiskt. Men om man kan komma förbi det är detta en mysig bok som innehåller precis allt en riktig fantasy ska, bortsett från riktiga drakar!