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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of my favorite Oz books! Dorothy and Ozma are stuck on a remote Oz island which has been submerged by the wicked Queen Coo-ee-oh. When the queen is changed into a diamond swan, all their friends from the Emerald City—headed by Glinda—come to rescue them.
Oh, and the illustrations by John R. Neill—beautiful!
Oh, and the illustrations by John R. Neill—beautiful!
This book features Ozma in full diplomatic peacekeeper mode as she embarks on a mission to negotiate between two warring factions in hopes of putting an end to their war and restoring peace to that corner of Oz. Up until now, there have been mentions here and there about her responsibilities in this area, but in practice, we don't really get to see her that hands-on of a ruler. Though she supposedly can see everything in her Magic Picture, she tends to miss a heck of a lot, and often only intervenes in violations of her rule only when the miscreant in question makes enough of a spectacle that they basically land on her doorstep (or go so far as to imprison one of her best friends) or something equally rash and obvious. Dorothy and company have often come across fractious, bickering groups, but generally Ozma doesn't taken much notice of them. To my recollection, this is the first time she really takes full initiative to mediate an outside situation since the Nome King/Royal Family of Ev issue in Ozma of Oz. So on one hand, this is pretty cool, to see her really act like a ruler, and not just some incredibly well-heeled fairy princess kicking around the Emerald City and having lavish birthday parties like a socialite. She also takes Dorothy with her, and it's really the first time the two of them are traveling on their own, and it's also kind of nice to see them take such a bold and brave step. Girl power!
Unfortunately, the drawback with this is that Ozma is just not all that interesting a travel companion. Since the big Tip transformation, she rarely shows much in the way of nuanced personality. She's really more fairy than human, at least as far as the Ozian definition of a fairy: (beautiful, ethereal, not subject to human error, foibles, or flaws, almost always in a positive, sparkling mood). So in this way she's not much of a foil for Dorothy, and the meat of the interest in the story must then be provided by the warring factions themselves. The backstory of the battle and the heart of the conflict is actually kind of interesting, but eventually the pacing gets bogged down by logistics. Like many well-meaning peacekeepers before them, Dorothy and Ozma's good intentions get stymied by the local politics and get them trapped in a strange land. I won't go into too much detail here but trust me that the details of this get very convoluted and get drawn out to almost an --uninentionally--laughable extent before all is said and done. While it's sort of refreshing in a way to not see a quick save for once, this takes it a bit too far in the other direction, perhaps. As appears to be common in many of the Oz books titled after characters, Glinda is in this one very little, and though I noticed the main review basically credited her as making the big save here, I think that's sort of debatable, as you will see for yourself if you read it.
Interesting details to watch for: this is the first reference that I came across where Eureka was referred to as a purple kitten (rather than a pink one) and there is a prominent mention of Glinda's magic record book being wrapped in chains. If this was true originally, this part of the description has not been emphasized for some time (I'm guessing this is so it would be more conceivable that it could be stolen in The Lost Princess of Oz).
Unfortunately, the drawback with this is that Ozma is just not all that interesting a travel companion. Since the big Tip transformation, she rarely shows much in the way of nuanced personality. She's really more fairy than human, at least as far as the Ozian definition of a fairy: (beautiful, ethereal, not subject to human error, foibles, or flaws, almost always in a positive, sparkling mood). So in this way she's not much of a foil for Dorothy, and the meat of the interest in the story must then be provided by the warring factions themselves. The backstory of the battle and the heart of the conflict is actually kind of interesting, but eventually the pacing gets bogged down by logistics. Like many well-meaning peacekeepers before them, Dorothy and Ozma's good intentions get stymied by the local politics and get them trapped in a strange land. I won't go into too much detail here but trust me that the details of this get very convoluted and get drawn out to almost an --uninentionally--laughable extent before all is said and done. While it's sort of refreshing in a way to not see a quick save for once, this takes it a bit too far in the other direction, perhaps. As appears to be common in many of the Oz books titled after characters, Glinda is in this one very little, and though I noticed the main review basically credited her as making the big save here, I think that's sort of debatable, as you will see for yourself if you read it.
Interesting details to watch for: this is the first reference that I came across where Eureka was referred to as a purple kitten (rather than a pink one) and there is a prominent mention of Glinda's magic record book being wrapped in chains. If this was true originally, this part of the description has not been emphasized for some time (I'm guessing this is so it would be more conceivable that it could be stolen in The Lost Princess of Oz).
It's a cute book but definitely aimed at a much younger audience. I couldn't really get interested in it.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
fast-paced
A bittersweet moment as we have now finished reading all the original Baum Oz books.
One of Baum's best. I love the magic as technology and the powerful women who drive the plot.