I'd never read Naomi Novik before, but I was immediately drawn to Uprooted because of the fairy tale aspect to it. 
 This book was amazing. It was certainly one of my best reads, if not my best read, of 2016. It was luscious. It was marvellous. It was the bee's knees! 
 Sometimes you just know within the first few pages that a book is going to turn your world upside down. One of those rare books that have you so hooked, that after you turn the last page you feel like you're in mourning because there's nothing left to read. Uprooted was one of those books for me. I knew immediately that I was going to adore it. And adore it I did. 
 It's the story of Agnieszka, a young peasant girl who grew up in a village presided over by The Dragon (a powerful wizard in his tower). In return for his protection, the village are required to give him one peasant girl each generation. It was supposed to be Agnieszka's best friend who would be taken. Kasia has known this her whole life, and she's prepared for it. But when he graces the choosing ceremony with his presence, it is Agnieszka whom he chooses to accompany him back to his tower. 
 However, Agnieszka is a disorganised mess, she gets the job done, but she leaves chaos in her wake. The Dragon is obsessed with neat and tidy, and this drives him up the wall. When it turns out that Agnieszka also has magical talent, The Dragon is bound by law to train her. The fact that her form of magic is very different to his doesn't help matters. His magic is very precise, following set formulas, but that doesn't work for Agnieszka. Her magic is wild, at one with nature. The interactions between these two characters were lots of fun, at times hilarious. 
 Then the world opens up from Agnieszka's small village, to encompass the whole of the country, as she becomes involved in the magical conflict between men and The Wood (the Wood is a sentient being, and has been trying to eradicate humans for many years now). 
 There are some very on-point commentaries about society made when Agnieszka travels to the capital. And when we start to learn more about The Wood, it shows that there are no clear-cut good guys and bad guys in life. The characters who are "bad" here, aren't intrinsically bad. Circumstances lead people to make decisions, and sometimes those decisions are bad ones. Often, when given the chance to redeem themselves, these people will take that opportunity. It was a wonderful representation of what it means to be human - not a hero, not a villain, just a human being. 
 Uprooted had me hooked from beginning to end. I cannot recommend it highly enough.