Book Review: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

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Dorothy Must Die

Dorothy Must Die #1
Author: Danielle Paige
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy | Retelling
Released: April 1st 2014
Review Source: HarperTeen

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!

Dorothy Must Die is dark, wicked, full of adventure and many, many crazy twists!

Before going back to Oz, now a wreck place, we meet Amy Gumm. Her life sucks… terribly. Her father left her when she was young and her mother is a mean, crazy alcoholic psycho. And to top this, she is bullied at her small town school in Kansas. Yeah, like I said, her life sucks. Even though her life sucks, Amy fights back. She is not willing to go down easy; she even saved up money to one day leave Kansas. But like Wizard of Oz, a tornado comes down and swept Amy away to the now dark, wreck place of Oz.

“Good is Wicked; Wicked is good” pretty much summarizes the story of Dorothy Must Die. Oz is now this dark place in which an ugly version of Dorothy rules. When I say ugly, I mean Dorothy is mean, wicked… a monster! She has taken everything from this magical place. The Munchkin villages are abandoned; children are tortured, flying monkeys are cutting their wings for freedom… yeah dark and twisted! Your adoring characters of Wizard of Oz are completely evil. And now that Amy has arrived, she is the new girl from Kansas that the Revolution Order of the Wicked is trusting to help and kill Dorothy.

That being said, I really enjoyed this book so much. It is dark, fast paced, and there was always so much going on that it makes you turn pages! Danielle Paige, you’re evil for leaving us hanging! Ah, I need to know what happens next. I was so mad at the end because I truly was not aware this is a trilogy! Seriously, the ending was such a cliffhanger but I cannot wait to read the next book. If you’re prepared for a dark adventure, then I highly recommend that you read Dorothy Must Die.