Review: Dorothy Must Die

Title: Dorothy Must Die
Series: Dorothy Must Die, Book 1
Author: Danielle Paige
Publish Date: April 1, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling
Started Reading: February 28, 2016
Finished Reading: March 2, 2016

Book Summary from Goodreads:


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.
  
My Two Cents:

Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars (I loved it)

This book was a lot of fun. That's probably the best way to describe it. This was totally a 'judge a book by its cover' thing, it stopped me dead in my tracks in my LBS and after reading the summary I knew I needed to read it.

So of course, it had a waiting list at the library.

After waiting a few months, it finally came available to read and I was not disappointed. This wasn't a race of an adventure, but it was a lovely trek through the world of of Oz, and boy did it pack a lot of emotions from the start.

Much like the original Dorothy books, it follows the same pattern of 'disgruntled girl at home wishing for a different life who then gets whisked away on an adventure'. I really liked that in this world, the story of Dorothy exists as a work of fiction. That the Judy Garland movie is referenced a few times made me giggle.

From there, everything gets turned on its head in a lot of really good ways. The descriptions of this version of Oz were fantastic. The emotions that are dragged out in the first third, both in the real world and in Oz, run the gamut. (WHY INDIGO WHY?!).

I felt the training and espionage sections lagged a bit, I understand that it was to give a breather and get things ready for the action packed conclusion, and set up the relationship, but I think it went on a bit long. 

The biggest thing this book did was make me really want to read all the original Oz books, as I only ever read the first book as a kid. With all the cameo appearances of characters from the older books, I feel like they would have a bigger impact if I knew more than just their names.

To Sum Up: This book was a lot of fun, brought on a bunch of nostalgia, and ended with just enough pull to make me excited for the next book without being angry that I have to wait.