Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige Series: Dorothy Must Die #1
Published by HarperCollins on 2014-04-01
Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 464
Format: Audiobook
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 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!
Julie’s Review:
I really liked the concept of Dorothy Must Die because The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite stories, and spin offs can be really fun – I mean Wicked is the coolest thing EVER. I also liked having the characters turn evil and be different from how they were the first time we met them.
Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite deliver what I was hoping, though I did really like many aspects of it. There were some cliché aspects in this book – absentee parent, character who doesn’t believe in herself, our main character being the only one who can stop Dorothy for some not really explained reason but she’s a special snowflake, etc. In fact, I got pretty irritated with Amy when she had so many opportunities to do… something… but just let them pass her by because she was not sure she could do what she was tasked with. I didn’t understand why it had to be Amy. Just because she too arrived in Oz on a tornado from Kansas doesn’t give her special power over Dorothy in my mind. But somehow, everyone in Oz thinks it has to be her.
I didn’t realize this book was going to be a series, so I was quite disappointed with the ending. Let’s just say without giving away spoilers that Dorothy still must die in the sequel. I really don’t like books with such non-endings, but that might just be me.
Let’s not be all negative though – I really liked how dark this book was. It got really dark and gruesome and detailed at times, which is not something you see very often in YA, and I enjoyed that. I liked how creepy Scarecrow was especially, and also Tin Man’s punishments for treason. Very dark and twisted indeed. So that made the first part of the book very enjoyable for me until I realized Amy wasn’t gonna do didly squat in this book and we were going to have to wait until future books to see this conflict resolved.
I struggled with this one as well. I checked it out earlier in the year from the library and was not impressed. I agree with your assessment of Amy.
Terri M. recently posted…Scenic Sundays #12: Reading, Food and E. Nesbit
I just don’t get all the hype this book got…
Hm. This one is on my TBR, but I’m not sure if I want to read it now. Although I know 3 stars don’t mean don’t read it, sometimes that’s the feeling I get. But I do love how you didn’t want to give anything away, except that in the second book Dorothy still must die. Ha!
Leila @ LeilaReads recently posted…The Perfect (Book) Boyfriend – BookBlogWriMo Day 23
Well, the general consensus of the NW Houston Book Club was “meh” LOL so maybe ask them next time if you should make it a priority on your TBR or not.
I haven’t read this one, but have been wanting to because I love The Wizard of Oz and Wicked. I don’t like non endings in books either. It was great to hear your thoughts on this one. Thanks for sharing!
Stephanie@Fairday’s Blog recently posted…2014 UCONN Children’s Book Fair
I love Wicked! Well, the musical, I haven’t read the book.
*haha* I loved your non-spoilery comment about the end – Dorothy still must die. :)I’m glad you found some elements in the book to be positive about even if it was kind of a bust. I have an ARC of this sitting on my desk…it still hasn’t made it to the top of the pile. 😉
Bookworm Brandee recently posted…**Release Day Blitz, Review, & Giveaway ~ Bulletproof ~ Melissa Pearl**
I just think the sequel needs to be called “Dorothy Still Must Die” lol
i’m not one for dark and gloomy books that are dark and gloomy throughout *shudders* even though i love retellings, i never really felt compelled to read this one, and i guess this review sealed the deal. thank you nevertheless for sharing your honest opinions, brilliant review!
alicia recently posted…that ’20 things’ about me tag
Yea if you’re not into dark and gloomy, this probably is not the series for you. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I guess this can sit on my shelf a little longer since I hate waiting for the next book.
Yea there’s definitely something to be said for waiting until all the books are out.
I pretty much could have written your review, except I knew it was a series. I was still hoping that some of the action would have happened earlier, but going into it knowing the set up I think helps your mind set. I’m definitely looking at how much darker it will get in the next book.
Great review!
Jess @ Such A Novel Idea recently posted…Gratitude Giveaway Blog Hop
See, this is why we get along 🙂
Really though, this one had too many awesome reviews out there for nothing really to have happened in the book. I’m getting more afraid of series nowadays since authors/publishers tend to use them as an excuse to stretch out the story and not have much happen in each book.