Review: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
452 Pages
Release Date: April 1st, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Retellings/Fairy Tales/Fantasy
Level: YA
Rating: 4 STARS

Goodreads Summary: 
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!

Chilling and action packed, Dorothy Must Die definitely takes an interesting twist on the Wizard of Oz! I will admit that I've never read Wizard of Oz or watched the movie or play so I only knew the vaguest and basic details of what happened. Luckily, the characters and some of the story line was explained so I wasn't completely left in the dark of everything. And now I don't think I could ever watch the movie or even read the book without thinking of how evil and malicious Dorothy and her friends become after the end. I also love that this wasn't a retelling per se like a lot of the other YA books but a continuation of a sort and it's reaaaaaally cool. I for one think it might have been a bit easier to write because the world and some of the characters already have been bit and they just needed some tweaking but it might not have been. One thing I really want to point out is this summary. Like no. I don't approve. The last four lines appear during the climax of the book. It makes no sense to actually have it part of the summary. Maybe for the second book, that would seem reasonable but that last bit really shouldn't have been added unless some of the scenes switched up so that it was mentioned earlier but that would defeat a lot of the scenes in the book.

Amy was a character you just immediately loved. She had spunk and things going on in her life and the way she first thinks Oz as a place to escape her own life was one way you could easily tell that whatever that happens in Oz would be for her own good. Seeing through her eyes especially how much Oz changed and her confused thoughts on her expectations of Oz and what it has become really affected my view of it in a way. While she trains, she goes through a lot of physical and mental preparation and to prepare for it she has to deal with her own personal demons and it all just makes her stronger and cooler.

Then there are the other characters...I had mix feelings for a lot of them. Ollie, the wingless monkey, is the bomb and I never really had a problem with him. He's a great addition and I definitely see him as one of Amy's closest friends.  Of course we can't forget Dorothy and her pals. I love the way Dorothy was portrayed and how they power got to her and how it just eventually affected her friends. Having that kind of character change was pretty cool reading about. And man did the power get to her. She's insane. I honestly don't get how the maids are able to be that perky and full of praise with her attitude. I would never be able to survive. I really would have liked to seen more into the minds/stories of the Scarecrow and the Lion than just what they became. And guys the Wizard. Awesomeness. I have no idea if I'm supposed to like the guy or even trust him but he seems cool and knows what he's talking about.

Revolutionary Order of the Wicked was obviously bound to have complications and they were cool and helped Amy pretty well when she was training but after they kind of just lost contact and I understood Amy's frustration with not knowing what exactly the plan entailed considering the fact that she was the one that would have to do the murdering. It would have been better to see them as constant characters rather than temporary and I have no idea what to expect in the next book. Nox. Oh dear Nox. I think he of all people should have been the constant training and helping Amy the whole way. I get why he couldn't but I feel like he expected something different than what he got. And it was really nice seeing the different parts of him and how he became the way he is.

With a great plot full of twists and turns, Dorothy Must Die is book I would recommend to all Wizard of Oz, fantasy, and fairy tale lovers. While I did have some problems with some of the characters, I do have high expectations for the next book and can't wait to see what Danielle Paige has in store. Happy Readings!