–review by Kara, teen reviewer
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
So here’s the plot. Amy, a girl who is neglected by her mother and abandoned by her father, has a sucky life. Not only has she been ostracized because she lives in a trailer park, but, after ignoring Al Roker’s weather warnings, is swept up in a tornado and finds herself in Oz. This Oz is not like the happy, bright, and musical Oz that we see in the 1939 The Wizard of Oz, but rather, it is an Oz that has been taken over by a dictator, and that dictator has a proclivity for blue and white gingham.Well the title is onpoint. But overall the book was long and drawn out. The book is divided into three major parts (and because I don’t want to spoil it, I will not elaborate on what these parts are), but it would do better with only two. It can be argued that three parts made sense and is important for the development of the plot, but for each part, the author takes a while to get to the main point. Once things do start to happen, they happen rapidly, an abrupt and somewhat confusing change from the slowness.
Along with an awkward plot pace, the characters are unbelievable. This might be a result of the author trying to emphasize Oz’s bizarreness, but it left me, as a reader, annoyed and frustrated by some of the character’s choices. I just couldn’t see much depth to the protagonist and her relationships with others.
But even though the character’s and pace are a little off, the entire world of Oz is pretty amazing. The author clearly put a lot of effort in creating a believable Oz that has ties to the original books/movie with some parallels to the real world and it shows. The plot stays true to original tale of Dorothy and her entourage, not altering but elaborating in a believable way.Overall it is a good idea/concept, but it is written in a way that kind of made me frustrated that there is going to be a sequel. I would suggest people with a lower tolerance for protagonists they cannot emphasize with stay away, but people who are interested in the plot to read it, because I haven’t seen one that has quite the same idea as this one. 5 stars. –Kara, teen reviewer
Find the book in our library: Dorothy Must Die