Dorothy Must DIE

Today's post is on Dorothy Must DIE by Danielle Paige. It is the first in her Dorothy Must Die series. It is 452 pages long and is published by Harper. The cover is black with Dorothy's blue checked dress and the title in red. The intended reader is young adult but if you like the Oz series by L. Frank Baum then you would enjoy this. There is some language, some violence, and no sex in this novel. The story is told from the first person close of Amy. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be some king of hero.

But when your whole life 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 bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place 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 a yellow brick road- 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.

Review- This was a fun and darker take on Oz and its mythology. I have read most of the Oz books so I could see some of the bigger plot points coming, like about Ozma. But Paige has taken some interesting and fun liberties with the story. The writing is good, the pacing is solid, and the dialog is not bad. The only thing I did not want in this book was the little romance. The original Oz series has no romance in it at all. It is about women and female power. Baum was for women's rights and that is part of the reason he wrote the Oz books with female character's being the ones with all the power. I know that Paige is writing to her market but I would have liked to see that theme in this book too. About the romance it is not bad but it is not really good either. I think that it was there just for the young adult market. I hope that there is not a love triangle coming. But if you like Oz and its mythology then you try this one.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.