Uprooted is a modern fantasy inspired by classic Polish fairy tales. In the valley in the shadow of the fearsome Woods, the powerful Dragon eats a girl every decade. Well, not literally. The Dragon is the local wizard, and every ten years one local girl is chosen as his servant. No one knows what happens to them, but when they're done, they move away to distant cities.

Agnieszka is chosen, and find herself the lowest sort of scullery maid for a cruel master. But then her talent for magic awakens, and she finds herself heir to a strange sort of witchcraft. She battles the corruption of the Woods, saves a friend, and the queen of the kingdom, taken 30 years ago. But this rescue is the start of a series of disasters, which take Nieska to the capitol, and lead to the deaths of dozens of people and a catastrophic war that will leave the human lands critically weakened and at the mercy of the Woods. At the end, it's up to Nieshka to venture into the heart of the Woods, and try and set right an ancient crime.

Novik has a breezy and cheerful writing style, even as Uprooted grapples with some very dark themes. Uprooted lost the 2016 Hugo to The Fifth Season, but that's like losing a bout with Mohammed Ali. Nothing to be ashamed of. This is a nice little modern fantasy.