Began reading: 1.5.2016
Completed reading: 9.5.2016
Overall rating: 4.2 stars
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. But I never expected Oz to look like this. A place where Good Witches can't be trusted and Wicked Witches just might be the good guys. A place where even the yellow brick road is crumbling.
What happened? Dorothy.
My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas. I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, and I've been given a mission:
Remove the tin woodman's heart.
Steal the scarecrow's brain.
Take the lion's courage.
And then - Dorothy must die.
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. But I never expected Oz to look like this. A place where Good Witches can't be trusted and Wicked Witches just might be the good guys. A place where even the yellow brick road is crumbling.
What happened? Dorothy.
My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas. I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, and I've been given a mission:
Remove the tin woodman's heart.
Steal the scarecrow's brain.
Take the lion's courage.
And then - Dorothy must die.
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige is a fictional young adult retelling of the classic Wizard of Oz, containing hints of fantasy and romance. I LOVE RETELLINGS, especially if they’ve been done well. This retelling was done almost perfectly! I stumbled across this novel recently and I have been wanted to read it so badly. Due to its length and my uni workload, I kept putting it off. I’m glad that I finally found some time to read it.
The book was well-written; however, I found numerous spelling and grammatical errors. Despite this, there were some great quotes. I didn’t write as many down as I’d have liked, as I was more intrigued in the plot, haha! Anyway, here are some examples of great quotes from the book:
If what Indigo said was true, Dorothy had gotten a taste of magic, and when it was gone, it had left her hollow. How much magic did she have now?
It wasn’t a question worth asking. To someone like her, or someone like my mom, it wasn’t a matter of how much she didn’t have (p. 56).
‘You’re a long way from Kansas, I know,’ she said. ‘But there’s more than one kind of home. And you’re right. You are on your own. We all are, and we all have to learn it sooner or later. If you have to be alone, though, wouldn’t you rather be alone among friends?’ (p. 123).
‘Family can hurt us better than anyone’ (p. 174).
‘Never underestimate a girl from Kansas’ (p. 215).
Those who have sacrificed always have the most to lose (p. 336).
No matter how tough you think you are, there are certain things that just get to you, and they’re usually the little things. The ones you don’t expect (p. 414).
More quotes from the book can be found here.
Literary techniques have been used throughout the book, which helps keep the plot interesting. For example, the use of amplification, imagery and suspense were used to describe Amy’s feelings, thoughts and surroundings. I enjoy the book a lot more when something is described in depth — I find that it’s easier to picture what the protagonist is experiencing. I really hope Paige includes these literary techniques in her upcoming books because she did an awesome job with this one!
The plot was dramatic, emotional and contained a generous amount of plot twists. I thought that Amy’s experiences, especially her battles with Dorothy and her entourage, were dramatic. I loved it! The novel was also emotional, as there was more than one death of a secondary character that I was beginning to like. A couple of character deaths occurred towards the beginning of the book, which shocked me. The very first death had me like:
As I mentioned previously, I really love retellings when they’re done well. I found the plot extremely interesting, as it could have gone in many different directions. I especially liked the idea of an ‘outsider’ coming in and defeating such a well-known character who has turned evil. It was also fascinating to learn about what happened after Dorothy returned to Kansas. It was a unique idea to explain how each Oz character had changed where the movie finished.
There was great use of secondary characters, especially Dorothy’s entourage. I liked that each secondary character still had an important role in the plot, and I hope to see more of this in the next book. I really enjoyed seeing how a secondary character began to play a more prominent role in the end, only to die. I think I’ve developed a little girl crush on Glamora, which I’ll explain a little later. But I’m glad that other secondary characters had an influence on the plot and made a more prominent role than expected.
The only real issue I had with this novel was the romance. Although it lasted approximately 2 minutes, the romance seemed rushed. Similarly, I was left confused about what happened as the two characters developed an attraction to each other. A couple of characters had told Amy that a certain guy focused singularly on his training and had no time for romance, yet 5 seconds later he was kissing her. Then he said he wouldn’t do it again. What the heck? Make up your mind!
My favourite character was Glamora. Even though she was a secondary character, I liked her because she was well-mannered, seemed glamorous, was flawed, and is strong. She would be a great role model! I also liked Ozma and Amy, and I hope that I get to see more of Glamora and Ozma in the next book.
One character that really bothered me was Amy’s mum. I know that her flaws made the plot interesting, but the way she treated Amy in the beginning was horrible! Stealing her money, dressing up like a skank and leaving her during a tornado for a party was really disgusting! Then, while Amy was in Oz, she seemed to have cleaned herself up. Why wasn’t she torn up about Amy’s disappearance? Did she think she was dead? To be honest, I think that Amy should abandon her, but I have a strong feeling that they will reunite and everything will be a-ok.
My favourite parts of the book were Amy’s training with the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, and her time in Dorothy’s palace. I liked her training because she learned different things with each character: Nox taught her to physically fight, Gert taught her how to use magic, and Glamora taught her about etiquette. During this time, Amy developed and I could see her transforming into a courageous protagonist. I enjoyed reading about her undercover mission in Dorothy’s palace because she was surrounded by so much danger, which was rather stressful. She made some allies in the palace, and had some intense moments with Dorothy.
Recommendation time! If you like the Queen of Hearts saga by Colleen Oakes, Slumber by Christy Sloat, and The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes The Wizard of Oz, Once Upon A Time, Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, Red Riding Hood, Beastly, and Grimm.
I will also be reviewing the rest of the Dorothy Must Die series: The Wicked Will Rise, Yellow Brick War, as well as the other upcoming books in the series.
Happy reading!
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