Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Thought you knew everything there was to know about Oz, did you? In this book, Danielle Paige brings to life a fast-paced "what if" story of what becomes of the classic characters upon Dorothy's return and the horrors she brings upon the once wonderful world of Oz.

The story is that of a young, modern-day Kansas girl named Amy Gumm. Abandoned by her father, neglected by her mother, and bullied at school, Amy would love nothing more than to get out of dusty Kansas and escape from her life. Her chance comes when a tornado blows through the trailer park where she lives and drops her straight into Oz. Once she's there, Amy learns that Oz has been taken over by none other than Dorothy Gale herself and is slowly robbing the land of its magic so as to keep herself beautiful and powerful forever. Dorothy is not thrilled at the idea that another Kansas girl is dropped town, but Amy is soon recruited by a coven of witches, whose goal it is to turn Amy into an assassin who will bring an end to Dorothy's reign of terror once and for all.

Dorothy Must Die is a ton of fun to read. There's something about seeing all these classic characters turned evil and just what that evil does to them is fascinating...morbidly so, perhaps, but fascinating nonetheless. It's also quite the bag of feels. When a character gets hurt or dies, there's no glimmer of hope that they'll return. They stay gone. It adds to the bleak outlook as to what Oz has become and makes you long all the more for Amy to succeed in her task.

My only real gripe about this book is probably Amy herself. She has a tendency for being very whiny and "woe-is-me", "why me?", and "everything sucks" at times. These get fewer and further in between the deeper into the story, which suggests real growth to Amy's character, which is a good thing but the whining parts are just a slog to get through. Other than that, there's a lot of colorful characters and the world at large is vast and full of detail and it's a great journey all around.

Final Verdict
Bottom line, Dorothy Must Die is thrilling and at some points heartbreaking. While it has a flawed main character the rest of the characters and the story at large make up for it. I'd say that this book was totally Worth your Money At The Local Bookstore! If it sounds like a fun ride, buy it and bring the fun home.

Next Time: This ain't no Hogwarts....