Dorothy Must Die: A Great Fall and Halloween Read for Teens

The New York Times bestselling first book in a dark series that reimagines the Oz saga, from debut author Danielle Paige. Start at the beginning and discover your new series to binge!

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. And—Dorothy must die.

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 a road of yellow brick—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.

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Published Apr 1, 2014

452 pages

Average rating: 7

6 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

LadyAmandaW
May 07, 2026
4/10 stars
DNF. I just could not finish it. I really tried, it just wasn't speaking to me. I got to chapter 16 and I could not make myself going on anymore.
siemelle900
Nov 28, 2025
6/10 stars
The one major issue I had with this book is that the passage of time felt wonky to me. Like, it didn’t feel like there was a passage of time even though the characters behaved as if there were. It threw me off! Otherwise, perfectly acceptable YA Fantasy about what happened after Dorothy went back to Kansas.

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