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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I think two stars is me being generous... Amy felt bland and boring to me. This had so many interesting plot points and had so many opportunities to be truly good and took literally none of them. Sad I wasted my time, glad I only wasted a day on reading it (because, surprisingly, it reads very quickly!).
Probably a 2 1/2 stars as in my head I went between two and three stars. I think that it commits one of the major sins of a trilogy (which I didn't even know it was when I picked it up) in that it is not enough of a complete story itself. Very much the first third of a trilogy. Will not likely read the rest of the trilogy.
First, minus a billion stars because it's a stupid mother-pooping trilogy. I am really fucking sick and tired of trilogies. Can't books just start and finish within 300 or so pages? Is it because authors and/or publishing companies are greedy bastards or because an author just can't write a tight enough story to have it done in one book?
So, the review. This was quite enjoyable but definitely verged into Tris-and-Four-esque stupid YA romance territory. Like, I'm pretty sure that exact lines and events were pretty much lifted from Divergent, the whole naive non-fighter being trained to fight by a hot guy who seems cold but is actually really nice and kind and blah blah blah. I mean, I assume that the author didn't actually do this but gaaaaaaad, there was no need for the romance story-line. None at freaking all. The prequel to this was way better, mostly because of the lack of the romance story-line.
Here's the philosophical question, was the romance story-line added in because this is YA and thus, teen girls (cause no boy is reading this shit) are more shallow than adult women and are easily swayed by a swoon-worthy crush? I'll be honest, that relationship (Amy and Nox, Amy and Pete) really felt different than the writing for the rest of the book. It just seems so out of character and just clunky. Like, you're reading a really kick-ass scene and then boom! Something about green eyes or some other mushy thing.
And I'm going to stop writing this review because I keep dropping the number of stars. I started with four and now I'm down to two. That's how much the stupid romance story-lines pissed me off.
ETA: I've been thinking more about this. The romance is such a small part of the book that it's really not fair to base my whole opinion on it. If the romance crap wasn't there, it's a solid four stars. So, I'm averaging this to a final three stars.
So, the review. This was quite enjoyable but definitely verged into Tris-and-Four-esque stupid YA romance territory. Like, I'm pretty sure that exact lines and events were pretty much lifted from Divergent, the whole naive non-fighter being trained to fight by a hot guy who seems cold but is actually really nice and kind and blah blah blah. I mean, I assume that the author didn't actually do this but gaaaaaaad, there was no need for the romance story-line. None at freaking all. The prequel to this was way better, mostly because of the lack of the romance story-line.
Here's the philosophical question, was the romance story-line added in because this is YA and thus, teen girls (cause no boy is reading this shit) are more shallow than adult women and are easily swayed by a swoon-worthy crush? I'll be honest, that relationship (Amy and Nox, Amy and Pete) really felt different than the writing for the rest of the book. It just seems so out of character and just clunky. Like, you're reading a really kick-ass scene and then boom! Something about green eyes or some other mushy thing.
And I'm going to stop writing this review because I keep dropping the number of stars. I started with four and now I'm down to two. That's how much the stupid romance story-lines pissed me off.
ETA: I've been thinking more about this. The romance is such a small part of the book that it's really not fair to base my whole opinion on it. If the romance crap wasn't there, it's a solid four stars. So, I'm averaging this to a final three stars.
This book seems to be everywhere right now. It was enjoyable. It wasn't anything like I expected it to be, especially starting out. And it didn't really get going for me, until half way through. It finally started picking up then and got going quick, and the last half was good. I'll probably continue with the series.
I LOVED the concept of the book!!!! The characters were amazing! I loved how it spawned from the original story. The one thing that I didn't like is that
*SPOILERS*
The last 75 pages are so really bored me
*SPOILERS*
The last 75 pages are so really bored me
I love re-tellings of fairy tales, fables, and other books - anything that shows the reader new and unexplored depths of plot and character fascinate me. Some of my favourite books are new takes on older tales (Tiger Lily, Deathless). So it goes without saying that I was thrilled to pick up this book and dive back into Oz.
It wasn't what I hoped for.
After seeing a stellar review of this book I considered myself lucky to grab a copy from the library. My high hopes sank consistently as I ploughed through chapter after chapter. Dorothy Must Die did have some good things going for it, and I’ll begin with those.
Amy Gunn is an interesting protagonist. She’s trailer trash, and unashamed of it. Her relationship with her mother is complex and antagonistic, and totally believable. Amy’s Oz is not Dorothy’s Oz. It’s dark and twisted and I was eager to learn more about it.
All of the classic characters have been fundamentally twisted in disturbing and creative ways. The transformation of Dorothy and her three companions was great. I loved the Munchkins and the flying monkeys and really the whole concept of the characters and the book itself.
I didn’t enjoy the execution of the plot.
I read this book with a great deal of impatience. Every fantastic idea that I came across was mired in pages and pages of inconsequential (read: boring) action. The necessary plot and character development that occurred could have done so in a book half this size. It meandered on, too in love with repeating how atrocious and cruel Dorothy was rather than getting to the ‘how’ of Dorothy’s defeat.
The romance was unnecessary and odd, and I liked Amy when she had a concrete goal, not when she was jealously guarding a love interest that wasn't really anything.
I would have loved to see some solid characterization of any of the side characters. So many different faces were touched on so briefly, it was a whirlwind of missed opportunity.
My thoughts are sort of all over the place, as the book was sort of all over the place. Will I read the next book? Maybe if I have extra time and nothing compelling to read.
If you’re going to read a re-telling of Oz, I would stick with Wicked.
It wasn't what I hoped for.
After seeing a stellar review of this book I considered myself lucky to grab a copy from the library. My high hopes sank consistently as I ploughed through chapter after chapter. Dorothy Must Die did have some good things going for it, and I’ll begin with those.
Amy Gunn is an interesting protagonist. She’s trailer trash, and unashamed of it. Her relationship with her mother is complex and antagonistic, and totally believable. Amy’s Oz is not Dorothy’s Oz. It’s dark and twisted and I was eager to learn more about it.
All of the classic characters have been fundamentally twisted in disturbing and creative ways. The transformation of Dorothy and her three companions was great. I loved the Munchkins and the flying monkeys and really the whole concept of the characters and the book itself.
I didn’t enjoy the execution of the plot.
I read this book with a great deal of impatience. Every fantastic idea that I came across was mired in pages and pages of inconsequential (read: boring) action. The necessary plot and character development that occurred could have done so in a book half this size. It meandered on, too in love with repeating how atrocious and cruel Dorothy was rather than getting to the ‘how’ of Dorothy’s defeat.
The romance was unnecessary and odd, and I liked Amy when she had a concrete goal, not when she was jealously guarding a love interest that wasn't really anything.
I would have loved to see some solid characterization of any of the side characters. So many different faces were touched on so briefly, it was a whirlwind of missed opportunity.
My thoughts are sort of all over the place, as the book was sort of all over the place. Will I read the next book? Maybe if I have extra time and nothing compelling to read.
If you’re going to read a re-telling of Oz, I would stick with Wicked.
re-reading because I need to get lost in one of my favorite books right now
UPDATE : finished re-reading and yep it still is one of my favorite series of all time.
UPDATE : finished re-reading and yep it still is one of my favorite series of all time.