Anyway, back to the book review.
Title: Dorothy Must Die
Author: Danielle Paige
Source: Bought it off of Amazon.com
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis: 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 blue birds. 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 the yellow brick road, though—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:
Remove the Tin Woodman's heart.
Steal the Scarecrow's brain.
Take the Lion's courage.
Then and only then—Dorothy must die!
Cover:
Dorothy Must Die was definitely one of the best re-imaginings I've read in a long time. Amy Gumm was likeable and fiery, (Side Note: I think YA authors are finally getting the message that strong heroines = GOODNESS) and the book kept me hooked all the way through.
I've never been a big fan of The Wizard of Oz, or any of the Hollywood productions of the film. Before Dorothy Must Die, I'd never heard of or taken any interest into any re-tellings of the story, but I have to say, this book made up for all of my misgivings.
Amy Gumm. Amy is sarcastic and rude, and she's not afraid to push the limits. One of the first scenes in the book is when she gets into a fight with a pregnant girl, right before having to go home and deal with her alcoholic mother who stopped caring about her when she was nine. Amy transformed a lot during the story, and maybe that's one of the reasons I loved it so much was the character development. She could take an experience of any type and take a lesson out of it, or at least appreciate it's worth later on, no matter how upset she was about it at first.
When a tornado hits Amy's small town in Kansas, she is whisked away to Oz, where she is greeted by a mysterious boy and a punk munchkin named Indigo. When she is taken in by Princess Dorothy's new hooligans, Amy is facing a certain death sentence. Until, that is, she is rescued by a powerful witch and taken back to the headquarters for the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked. The Wicked witches who once hated each other are working together now, recruiting whoever is willing to stand up to evil Dorothy, to take the princess down. Above everything else, one thing is ranked atop their priorities: Dorothy must die.
The love interest(s) in this story was a bit odd. I wasn't entirely sure how to feel about Pete, other than I found Amy's reaction to him a bit harsh. I liked him well enough, but he wasn't even a big character until about the end of the book. Then there was a big plot twist (which I won't reveal). But anyway, Pete really wasn't an object to drool over. The other love interest (if you could call Pete a love interest), Nox, was a bit more drool worthy, although we didn't really get a good picture of what he was like.
Which is why I had to take a away the last star. Despite the fact that I really enjoyed this book, it lacked some serious descriptive qualities. Paige would explain certain things, but it was never enough to paint a clear picture of the scenery, or the characters. One of the reasons I was so confused on how to feel about Pete was because I never really got a clear depiction of his personality, his looks, or even how he sounded.
All in all, this was a great book, it just needed a bit more of a clear picture. It had a great setup for a sequel, and I fully plan on reading the ebook prequel No Place Like Oz. I'm hoping for a bit more developed relationship between Nox and Amy in the next book, and I can't wait to hear more on how she's going to be completing her task given to her by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.
xxAvalon
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