This is the Booked For The Month podcast with your host, Chip. I pick a book every month, read it, and review it. It really is that simple. No, I don’t know what I’m doing, and yes, you can absolutely follow along every month!

This month's book is Uprooted by Naomi Novik.

The plot follows Agniezka who is from a village called Dvernik, which is a part of a kingdom known as Polnya.

The villages in Polnya are explained to be haunted by an encroaching strip of corrupted woodland known as the Wood; which brings hardship for the villagers by overtaking their crops, livestock, and even the villagers themselves.

Both sides of the wood have been fended off in an at-best deadlocked battle for centuries between wizards and witches; the most important to the plot being known as the Dragon.

Every 10 years the villages in Polnya offer a group of girls as tributes for the Dragon to select a servant from.

Nobody knows what the Dragon does with his apprentices for the 10 years they serve, but Agniezka explains they are forbidden to leave the Dragon’s tower and afterward often return only briefly to the village before eventually travelling to the city or elsewhere to scarcely be seen again.

When the day of the next selection is upon the villagers, Agniezka’s entire world comes crumbling down as the most unexpected event occurs.

The ensuing plot follows Agniezka through her struggles as she adapts to her new calling involving magic, royal diplomacy, friendship, intimacy, and of course battling the Wood.

*This podcast is not sponsored at the time of uploading and any opinions (unless explicitly stated as endorsements) should not be taken as endorsements*