Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die, 1)
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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Community Reviews
Pacing: The book builds slowly. It doesnât plunge directly into the main plot. Instead it gradually introduces the characters and elements that will play important roles later on. The story builds on each one, weaving them together before bringing to light the main plot. Even then, the story continues at a leisurely pace. Many sub-plots are brought to light and eventually intertwine in the end to bring this first book to a close.
World: Since this story is based in Oz, the world is that which exists in the classic story, âThe Wizard of Ozâ, with a few tweaks. The new world has been stripped of its magic. Therefore itâs disheveled, broken, and decrepit. Itâs in terrible condition and doesnât hold anywhere near the wonder that Oz once held, but thatâs the whole point of the story. In this case, the world is built very well. It really lends a hand in telling the story and pushing the plot, often times contrasting what used to be the splendor of Oz and what it looks like now.
Writing: The style of writing used in this book is precise. It clearly paints a picture of whatâs happening and explains the feel of magic in a way thatâs easily understandable. It also gives plenty of insight as to how the world looks. It describes each part of the world with enough detail for the reader to fully imagine and immerse themselves in the world of Oz.
Non-Spoilered Plot: The concept for the book is unique and fascinating, taking an age-old tale and putting a fun twist on it. Itâs not a retelling of âThe Wizard of Ozâ so much as a sequel to the original story. Additionally, the tone of âDorothy Must Dieâ is much darker than Dorothyâs original tale. As such, it takes a classic fairy tale and changes it into something with a little more realism, a lot more world-building, and plenty of misdirection, which keeps the reader guessing the whole book through.
Character: Amy Gumm is a teenager whoâs used to being picked on and having bad things happen to her. As a result sheâs defensive, confrontational, and canât keep her mouth shut when it would behoove her to do so. While fine in small doses, her snark quickly turns from bold and spunky to annoying, especially when she fails to grow out of it over the course of the book. Additionally, Amy remains the same pessimistic, rash teenage girl she was in the beginning except for gaining the ability to fight and wield magic. Her narration, while insightful of her thoughts, becomes intrusive during peak points of the novel.
Plot: The book starts off in Kansas following Amy Gumm, a teenager who lives in a trailer with her alcoholic mother after her father left for another woman. Amy wants nothing more than to run away. However, a tornado picking up her trailer and whisking her off to Oz wasnât exactly what she had in mind, which is why the only thing she wants once there is to return back to Kansas. Of course, the only way to do that is to visit the Wizard in the Emerald City.
Though, as Amy begins her trip down the road of yellow brick, she finds Oz much changed. Itâs not the beautiful, wondrous, and magical place she watched come to life on TV. Instead, itâs destroyed. Canyons slice the land in two, and the small villages are vacated of their Munchkin inhabitants, and itâs not just that. The characters from the story are different as well. This is made apparent when the Tin Woodman, a grotesque mismatch of spare parts, places Amy under arrest and hauls her off to the Emerald City all because she released a flying monkey who had been tied upside down as a form of punishment for his crime of sass.
Dorothy, however, is the most changed of all. Gone is the sweet girl from Kansas who wanted nothing more than to go home to her family. Before Amy is a skimpily-dressed, power-hungry, magic-crazy woman who demands attention and respect and, most of all, to be One of a Kind, which is why she quickly sends Amy to prison for crimes of treason. Yet, before that trial can take place, a Wicked Witch rescues her. The witch, Mombi, believes that Amy is the only person who can save Oz. After all, Amy is the only other person besides Dorothy to come from the Other Place. Therefore, she must be able to understand and take down Dorothy once and for all. She must do this so that the magic, which Good Witch Glinda is forcing Munchkins to mine from the land to give to Dorothy, can be returned to Oz and restore it to its former glory.
Even with this belief, Amy has a lot to learn from the gaggle of witches who call themselves âThe Order of the Wickedâ, including magic skills, fighting skills, and etiquette. Unfortunately, they donât have a lot of time. Safe for now in their mountain fortress, it wonât be long before the Lion reaches them and, instead of waiting for that to happen, they take the fight to him. Itâs in this moment that the Lionâs alterations become known as well. Heâs overly muscular, rash, and drinks the fears of his victims to make himself stronger. Naturally, he must be stopped. Yet, the witches are too weak and Gert, Amyâs magic teacher, dies trying to stop him.
With the loss of Gert weighing heavily on their shoulders, they send Amy into battle, which means disguising her as a maid named Astrid and sending her into Dorothyâs castle to try to get close to her. Of course, nothing is that easy. While Amy is in the castle she finds out that the Scarecrow, who experiments on people to make them into hybrid tinmen for the Tin Woodmanâs army, is working on a top-secret experiment that involves a flying monkey named Maude. Sheâs the sister of the monkey Amy saved earlier. So, naturally, she helps rescue her from the Scarecrowâs workshop.
Additionally, the Wizard of Oz, who, like Dorothy, should no longer be in Oz, shows back up out of the blue and dangles mysterious secrets before Amy, which he hides within his vague words. A gardener named Pete is constantly popping in when he feels like it, offering more vague words and no answers. All of this adds to her confusion and frustration. Meanwhile, The Order of the Wicked seems to have all but abandoned Amy in the castle, not communicating to her in the slightest or ever telling her what sheâs supposed to be doing. After all, they never told her the whole plan before tossing her into the fray.
So, when the Order of the Wicked shows up unexpectedly at Dorothyâs party and tell her that now she has permission to kill her, it all runs amok. She misses both of her chances to kill Dorothy, one of which sends her plummeting towards the ground after she jumps off a tower with Dorothy in her arms. Unfortunately, Dorothy vanishes with the help of her magic shoes, leaving Amy to die. Yet, Amy is saved by the two monkeys from earlier. It turns out that the monkeys are in cahoots with the Wizard, who happens to be in cahoots with Pete, who just so happens to actually be Ozma, the half-fairy, true princess of Oz before Dorothy took over.
Yet, despite having failed to kill Dorothy, Amy manages to yank out the Tin Woodmanâs heart when Glinda sends him to do her dirty work. When that fails, Glinda comes herself to kill Amy. Thankfully, the Wizard knows a little magic himself and wards her off while the monkeys sweep Amy and Ozma off their feet and whisk them off to safety.
As they fly away Amy glances towards the melee happening in the Emerald City and immediately thinks about Nox, the magic boy with no memories who was raised by The Order of the Wicked to be the perfect soldier and whom taught Amy to fight. Even though he shows little emotion and gives hardly any sign of being interested in her, the two develop feelings for each other. They even shared a single kiss before he sent her through the mirror into Dorothyâs castle. Yet, her feelings for him felt as artificial and forced as her desire to help âThe Order of the Wickedâ, which leaves my rating for âDorothy Must Dieâ at three stars.
World: Since this story is based in Oz, the world is that which exists in the classic story, âThe Wizard of Ozâ, with a few tweaks. The new world has been stripped of its magic. Therefore itâs disheveled, broken, and decrepit. Itâs in terrible condition and doesnât hold anywhere near the wonder that Oz once held, but thatâs the whole point of the story. In this case, the world is built very well. It really lends a hand in telling the story and pushing the plot, often times contrasting what used to be the splendor of Oz and what it looks like now.
Writing: The style of writing used in this book is precise. It clearly paints a picture of whatâs happening and explains the feel of magic in a way thatâs easily understandable. It also gives plenty of insight as to how the world looks. It describes each part of the world with enough detail for the reader to fully imagine and immerse themselves in the world of Oz.
Non-Spoilered Plot: The concept for the book is unique and fascinating, taking an age-old tale and putting a fun twist on it. Itâs not a retelling of âThe Wizard of Ozâ so much as a sequel to the original story. Additionally, the tone of âDorothy Must Dieâ is much darker than Dorothyâs original tale. As such, it takes a classic fairy tale and changes it into something with a little more realism, a lot more world-building, and plenty of misdirection, which keeps the reader guessing the whole book through.
Character: Amy Gumm is a teenager whoâs used to being picked on and having bad things happen to her. As a result sheâs defensive, confrontational, and canât keep her mouth shut when it would behoove her to do so. While fine in small doses, her snark quickly turns from bold and spunky to annoying, especially when she fails to grow out of it over the course of the book. Additionally, Amy remains the same pessimistic, rash teenage girl she was in the beginning except for gaining the ability to fight and wield magic. Her narration, while insightful of her thoughts, becomes intrusive during peak points of the novel.
Plot: The book starts off in Kansas following Amy Gumm, a teenager who lives in a trailer with her alcoholic mother after her father left for another woman. Amy wants nothing more than to run away. However, a tornado picking up her trailer and whisking her off to Oz wasnât exactly what she had in mind, which is why the only thing she wants once there is to return back to Kansas. Of course, the only way to do that is to visit the Wizard in the Emerald City.
Though, as Amy begins her trip down the road of yellow brick, she finds Oz much changed. Itâs not the beautiful, wondrous, and magical place she watched come to life on TV. Instead, itâs destroyed. Canyons slice the land in two, and the small villages are vacated of their Munchkin inhabitants, and itâs not just that. The characters from the story are different as well. This is made apparent when the Tin Woodman, a grotesque mismatch of spare parts, places Amy under arrest and hauls her off to the Emerald City all because she released a flying monkey who had been tied upside down as a form of punishment for his crime of sass.
Dorothy, however, is the most changed of all. Gone is the sweet girl from Kansas who wanted nothing more than to go home to her family. Before Amy is a skimpily-dressed, power-hungry, magic-crazy woman who demands attention and respect and, most of all, to be One of a Kind, which is why she quickly sends Amy to prison for crimes of treason. Yet, before that trial can take place, a Wicked Witch rescues her. The witch, Mombi, believes that Amy is the only person who can save Oz. After all, Amy is the only other person besides Dorothy to come from the Other Place. Therefore, she must be able to understand and take down Dorothy once and for all. She must do this so that the magic, which Good Witch Glinda is forcing Munchkins to mine from the land to give to Dorothy, can be returned to Oz and restore it to its former glory.
Even with this belief, Amy has a lot to learn from the gaggle of witches who call themselves âThe Order of the Wickedâ, including magic skills, fighting skills, and etiquette. Unfortunately, they donât have a lot of time. Safe for now in their mountain fortress, it wonât be long before the Lion reaches them and, instead of waiting for that to happen, they take the fight to him. Itâs in this moment that the Lionâs alterations become known as well. Heâs overly muscular, rash, and drinks the fears of his victims to make himself stronger. Naturally, he must be stopped. Yet, the witches are too weak and Gert, Amyâs magic teacher, dies trying to stop him.
With the loss of Gert weighing heavily on their shoulders, they send Amy into battle, which means disguising her as a maid named Astrid and sending her into Dorothyâs castle to try to get close to her. Of course, nothing is that easy. While Amy is in the castle she finds out that the Scarecrow, who experiments on people to make them into hybrid tinmen for the Tin Woodmanâs army, is working on a top-secret experiment that involves a flying monkey named Maude. Sheâs the sister of the monkey Amy saved earlier. So, naturally, she helps rescue her from the Scarecrowâs workshop.
Additionally, the Wizard of Oz, who, like Dorothy, should no longer be in Oz, shows back up out of the blue and dangles mysterious secrets before Amy, which he hides within his vague words. A gardener named Pete is constantly popping in when he feels like it, offering more vague words and no answers. All of this adds to her confusion and frustration. Meanwhile, The Order of the Wicked seems to have all but abandoned Amy in the castle, not communicating to her in the slightest or ever telling her what sheâs supposed to be doing. After all, they never told her the whole plan before tossing her into the fray.
So, when the Order of the Wicked shows up unexpectedly at Dorothyâs party and tell her that now she has permission to kill her, it all runs amok. She misses both of her chances to kill Dorothy, one of which sends her plummeting towards the ground after she jumps off a tower with Dorothy in her arms. Unfortunately, Dorothy vanishes with the help of her magic shoes, leaving Amy to die. Yet, Amy is saved by the two monkeys from earlier. It turns out that the monkeys are in cahoots with the Wizard, who happens to be in cahoots with Pete, who just so happens to actually be Ozma, the half-fairy, true princess of Oz before Dorothy took over.
Yet, despite having failed to kill Dorothy, Amy manages to yank out the Tin Woodmanâs heart when Glinda sends him to do her dirty work. When that fails, Glinda comes herself to kill Amy. Thankfully, the Wizard knows a little magic himself and wards her off while the monkeys sweep Amy and Ozma off their feet and whisk them off to safety.
As they fly away Amy glances towards the melee happening in the Emerald City and immediately thinks about Nox, the magic boy with no memories who was raised by The Order of the Wicked to be the perfect soldier and whom taught Amy to fight. Even though he shows little emotion and gives hardly any sign of being interested in her, the two develop feelings for each other. They even shared a single kiss before he sent her through the mirror into Dorothyâs castle. Yet, her feelings for him felt as artificial and forced as her desire to help âThe Order of the Wickedâ, which leaves my rating for âDorothy Must Dieâ at three stars.
I like the idea but it feels like it’s missing something.
Almost every character is stupid and useless. The things they do don’t make sense.
Amy also seems too okay with suddenly killing someone with next to no info. wtf
Almost every character is stupid and useless. The things they do don’t make sense.
Amy also seems too okay with suddenly killing someone with next to no info. wtf
I sped through this book in the space of a little over a week because I almost literally could not put it down. I am a huge fan of new takes on old classics, especially dark new takes on old classics, and given that Wicked was a huge obsession for several years in high school, I already have a history of enjoying Wizard of Oz spin-offs.
Neither the prose or the characters were especially memorable or stood out, but the plot was so compelling that it pushed me through the story and was the reason I couldn't put the book down. The setting and world-building was so great and detailed and I could completely imagine this new Oz in my head, and I really ended up more interested in knowing what else has been going on in Oz under Dorothy's rule and how the world has changed than anything else in the story.
In terms of the story, a lot of people said that they felt the story dragged in the middle, but I never felt that at all. It felt like everything that happened had a purpose, and I never really felt bored by anything because I knew that Amy was still moving forward the whole time. The sudden abrupt action and cliffhanger at the end is probably my main criticism about this book. I know that this book is one of three, but I definitely think that the final few pages felt super rushed and tacked on at the end and could definitely have been extended.
I really liked that this book also did not shy away from death. Characters who we were tricked into caring about died and don't come back miraculously as they often do in other fairy tales - and often their deaths were gruesome and painful. In a dark setting like this, the lack of permanent consequences would have seemed strange and out of place.
I wasn't a huge fan of Amy, mostly because I never got a lot of depth with her. I think that's the problem with sarcastic characters - they're hard to get to know, especially if written in first person if they use sarcasm all the time. None of the other characters were particularly engaging either cause they were all so mysterious. I just didn't know any of them well, and the ones we got to know a little, they still felt like there was a cloud of distance between them and us. I get that part of that was because we were learning about them from Amy's POV and she didn't really know who they were, but still, it felt like everyone was so distant and therefore hard to care about.
Many of the characters also felt cliche and like they were just basic tropes I've seen a thousand times without a small twist to make them unique. Still, I loved the story and the idea and setting enough that I didn't mind the lack of characterization too much. (And also the lack of romance other than that one kiss was really great and refreshing!)
I definitely can't wait to start reading the next book as well as the prequel stories. This is such a great world/setting to explore, and I hope that the next books manage to continue the momentum that was started in this novel.
Neither the prose or the characters were especially memorable or stood out, but the plot was so compelling that it pushed me through the story and was the reason I couldn't put the book down. The setting and world-building was so great and detailed and I could completely imagine this new Oz in my head, and I really ended up more interested in knowing what else has been going on in Oz under Dorothy's rule and how the world has changed than anything else in the story.
In terms of the story, a lot of people said that they felt the story dragged in the middle, but I never felt that at all. It felt like everything that happened had a purpose, and I never really felt bored by anything because I knew that Amy was still moving forward the whole time. The sudden abrupt action and cliffhanger at the end is probably my main criticism about this book. I know that this book is one of three, but I definitely think that the final few pages felt super rushed and tacked on at the end and could definitely have been extended.
I really liked that this book also did not shy away from death. Characters who we were tricked into caring about died and don't come back miraculously as they often do in other fairy tales - and often their deaths were gruesome and painful. In a dark setting like this, the lack of permanent consequences would have seemed strange and out of place.
I wasn't a huge fan of Amy, mostly because I never got a lot of depth with her. I think that's the problem with sarcastic characters - they're hard to get to know, especially if written in first person if they use sarcasm all the time. None of the other characters were particularly engaging either cause they were all so mysterious. I just didn't know any of them well, and the ones we got to know a little, they still felt like there was a cloud of distance between them and us. I get that part of that was because we were learning about them from Amy's POV and she didn't really know who they were, but still, it felt like everyone was so distant and therefore hard to care about.
Many of the characters also felt cliche and like they were just basic tropes I've seen a thousand times without a small twist to make them unique. Still, I loved the story and the idea and setting enough that I didn't mind the lack of characterization too much. (And also the lack of romance other than that one kiss was really great and refreshing!)
I definitely can't wait to start reading the next book as well as the prequel stories. This is such a great world/setting to explore, and I hope that the next books manage to continue the momentum that was started in this novel.
Find this review and more on my blog, Lilybloombooks
3.5 stars
Dorothy Must Die was one of my most anticipated releases last year - but one I never go around to reading. For several reasons, to which I won't get into at the moment. However, one of my close blogger friends told me to give it a go - that I wouldn't regret it - so I did.
Dorothy Must Die had great potential to be amaze-balls. Which some aspects where, there were a few things that kept me from loving it.
What I loved? It was gory and ruthless. Call me morbid - but I love it when an author doesn't hold back when it comes to the nitty-gritty. There were a few scenes that gave me goosebumps and kind of grossed me out. But I loved it. I loved the twist of Oz. This is not the Oz we have come to know and love - and I ate it up! I also enjoyed Amy's character. Initially, she was hard to like and relate to, she was pretty selfish and naive. But she had a lot of character growth throughout the book.
What kept me from loving? Dorothy is one. Her character is written as a "queen bee" not an "evil princess" that took over Oz. She IS ruthless and cruel, but not on the level that I hoped would come about. She acted like a spoiled brat 99% of the time. It didn't just didn't FIT.
This book was on the longer side, and it felt that way too. There were about 150 pages - give or take - that were so freaking boring and dragged. Also, I was disappointed with the ending.
Overall - it was okay. I haven't decided if I will read The Wicked Will Rise - but it's possible.
3.5 stars
Dorothy Must Die was one of my most anticipated releases last year - but one I never go around to reading. For several reasons, to which I won't get into at the moment. However, one of my close blogger friends told me to give it a go - that I wouldn't regret it - so I did.
Dorothy Must Die had great potential to be amaze-balls. Which some aspects where, there were a few things that kept me from loving it.
What I loved? It was gory and ruthless. Call me morbid - but I love it when an author doesn't hold back when it comes to the nitty-gritty. There were a few scenes that gave me goosebumps and kind of grossed me out. But I loved it. I loved the twist of Oz. This is not the Oz we have come to know and love - and I ate it up! I also enjoyed Amy's character. Initially, she was hard to like and relate to, she was pretty selfish and naive. But she had a lot of character growth throughout the book.
What kept me from loving? Dorothy is one. Her character is written as a "queen bee" not an "evil princess" that took over Oz. She IS ruthless and cruel, but not on the level that I hoped would come about. She acted like a spoiled brat 99% of the time. It didn't just didn't FIT.
This book was on the longer side, and it felt that way too. There were about 150 pages - give or take - that were so freaking boring and dragged. Also, I was disappointed with the ending.
Overall - it was okay. I haven't decided if I will read The Wicked Will Rise - but it's possible.
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