Review: Dorothy Must Die, by Danielle Paige
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 bluebirds. 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 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. (Goodreads)
I absolutely loved the premise of this book – another twisted fairytale, but one that hasn’t been done a hundred times over. Let me just start with the badassery:
Dorothy is a leather gingham-clad, stiletto-wearing, Toddlers-in-Tiara’s-acting hussy. The Scarecrow liquefies the brains of those accused of treason and injects them into his own putrefying gray matter. The Tin Man is a madman Picasso of creatively threatening shed tools, backed by an entourage of inventive tin-and-skin soldiers. When he isn’t mauling Ozians, the borderline-feral Cowardly Lion feeds on the fear of innocents by draining the life out of them in a process reminiscent of a Dementor’s Kiss. And lovely Glinda; she’s mining the magic of Oz like an oil refinery with an enslaved-Munchkin-driven machine that can be heard for miles. Oz has gone to hell in a glittering, gingham picnic basket.
Nobody has the courage (or resources) to stand up to Dorothy and her horror show of friends. Nobody would dare. Nobody except The Revolutionary Order of the Wicked – formerly nomadic wicked witches banded together to overthrow the spoiled tyrant – and an uprising called The Wingless Ones, comprised of Flying Monkeys who have sacrificed their wings for freedom.
Amy has fallen out of the sky and been adopted by The Order. She is the only one who can kill Dorothy.
This novel is very plot-driven, and it’s a captivating plot at that. My real beef with the story is Amy herself. I understand that this is YA fiction, but her immaturity is a little annoying. Her reason is sometimes lacking, and her immediate attraction to the young men she crosses is sort of obnoxious. She’s built up to be this strong, independent heroine, but she can’t resist the men and finds herself frequently wishing for them. I was never that girl, so maybe I just find it hard to relate to. Aside from that, the writing itself didn’t blow me away. It was fine. It got the job done. The plot is the real show here.
I recommend this book to anyone seeking a quick, easy read – regardless of whether you enjoyed the original Wizard of Oz. This new spin on Oz will grab you, and the re-imagined, mutated characters will fascinate you.
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