Dorothy Must Die Review

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Title: Dorothy Must Die

Author: Danielle Paige

Series: Dorothy Must Die #1

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: April 1, 2014

Genre: Fantasy; Fiction; Young Adult

Pages: 452

Format: Hardcover
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I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado - taking you with it - you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow brick road - but even that's crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas.

I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.

I've been trained to fight.

And I have a mission.

I don’t usual read spin-offs, like, as a rule. That may be because I’ve never actually read a good spin-off of any fairy tell. And, well, when I saw this cover, I have to admit that I was skeptical. Maybe a little bit more than skeptical. I kind of made a decision to avoid this book because I honestly thought it wouldn’t be any good. But, because of a recommendation, I decided to give it a chance. I am so glad I did.

We all know the story: there’s a tornado, a lion, a scarecrow, a tin man, and lots of gingham. But what about after? Amy Gumm never thought about that, and why would she? It was a happy ever after, end of story, right? Wrong. After Oz, Dorothy found a way back into the magical land and took over all power. As a result, she kind of became a control freak– a blue gingham covered, ruby slipper wearing control freak. Oz is breaking, slowly fading into a sad memory of what it used to be. In one freak accident of a rampant tornado, Amy Gumm finds that she’s not in Kansas anymore. Oz has become twisted. The wicked have become the heroes, and the good have become the enemies. With the help of moody goth munchkin, a wingless flying monkey, and four wicked outcasts, Amy must survive in a world where Oz is nothing like you thought, and Dorothy is anything but an innocent, kind-hearted farm girl.

Reading spin-offs and retellings, in my opinion, is like trying to fix something that is anything but broken. In most cases, it hurts the original story rather than add anything to it. This was not the case in Dorothy Must Die. Besides being hilarious, this parody of the Wizard of Oz was highly creative and delightfully imaginative. In short, I absolutely adored it.

The characters, unlike the two-dimensional sweet and innocent characters of the original Wizard of Oz story, were complex and well crafted. Throughout the entire story, you’re never quite sure who to trust or what the other characters are thinking. I absolutely loved the ingenious manipulation of the lion, tin man, the scarecrow, and, of course, Dorothy. I also appreciated the creation of the new characters I have never heard of before, like Glinda’s sister, Glamora, and Nox.

Amy is nothing like Dorothy, before or after she turned evil. Amy is underestimated and complex. She thinks she is less brave than she actually is, and she is much more capable than she expects. I loved her character’s development through the story.

Long story short: Dorothy Must Die was action packed, grimly magical, and fascinatingly complicated. I can’t wait to find out how Paige will follow up this epic masterpiece.

  

The Wicked Will Rise

March 30, 2015