Book Review: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Goodreads 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

Review

I should start by saying that I have never been a huge fan of Oz, including both the original works as well as those inspired by them, the only exception being Wicked by Gregory Maguire. However, Danielle Paige was able to achieve something that I didn't feel was possible, she made it feel fresh and new, she made it her own.

Somehow, Oz felt different in this book. Yes, it was dark and gruesome and ruled by a tyrant in a blue gingham dress, but somehow that wasn't the only difference. It felt fantastical and new, yet still felt like it had deep roots and history. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, but the world building was subtle, yet incredible.

The characters were not the greatest, however, since this is the first in a trilogy I expect many of the characters to undergo some extreme character development, and then I'm sure they will all be well-rounded individuals. (Also, may I just say, I was so worried there was going to be a horrible love triangle in this book, but that was luckily cleared up in the last few pages. Phew!)

The plot is just superb. I am so glad that I read the prequel novella, No Place like Oz, because it showed how Dorothy came to be back in Oz and how she became so corrupted. So going into this novel, I felt like I had a good understanding of the extremity of things.

Also, it is such a breath of fresh air to see the reversal of roles between witches, with good vs. wicked being flip-flopped. I am so very excited to see Amy take down this good witch from Kansas, as well as her bubbly witchy friend.

All in all it is a wonderful start to a series and I can't wait to read the rest.

5/5 stars *****