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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
3.5. Enjoyable if not remarkable. Curious to see where the rest of the series goes though!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Fun read
The ideas and concepts of this novel deserved at least 4 stars, unfortunately there were times were the book was slow, that the story felt disjointed and I was never really excited about what was happening. I was entertained whilst reading but I never felt compelled to read on. Hopefully in the next installment the plot and general flow of the novel is improved as the concept and characters are great.
An excellent, vibrant, and exciting story with loads of YA/Adult crossover potential, I would give this a 4 1/2--maybe a 4 3/4 if I could, and I eagerly await the next installment.
The Wizard of Oz and I have always had a difficult relationship, but it's a boomerang relationship; I keep circling back in spite of myself. I can't seem to shake it, to the point where I made a point of reading the complete series straight through not long ago to try to understand where my conflict was coming from. Ultimately, I think it's the weirder aspects of Oz I appreciate the most. The dark and twisted bits lurking just under the sparkling emerald surfaces. It's present in the books. Whether it's intentional or not, it's hard to say (I'm still conflicted about that after reading the series) but there's an uncanniness, something a little off that is definitely there that adds complexity to the saga and makes it a little less frivolous and more truly a traditional fairy tale than I think it sometimes gets credit for. You see precious little of that in the bright and glossy movie musical--glimpses between the lines of Wicked the musical, more so in Gregory Maguire's original book, but here---this gets it entirely right in my mind...by exposing everything that's always felt a little---wrong.
Dorothy may have come from Nowheresville, Kansas, but she had a home and family who cared about her. Amy Gumm, known as "Salvation Amy" around school, hails from a more desolate place than that. She's poor, ostracized at school, and basically neglected by her substance-abusing mother to the point where when the tornado strikes the trailer that they live in, it's the best thing that's ever happened to her. She's transported to Oz, which would be shocking enough but it's nothing like the place she knew from the stories and movies. The fairyland looks like a war zone, and the alliances are not lining up in the way that one might expect. When Good becomes Wicked, Wicked just might be the new Good, and a girl from Kansas may have an opportunity to be a savior yet again...if she can just rid Oz of the original first.
It's clear to me that Paige has at least a strong familiarity--if not an actual love, for the original series of books, with teasingly quick references and allusions to characters and events that can only be gleaned deep within the heart of the original book series, which in my mind, is the absolute most perfect way to pay homage. She doesn't recap us to death, doesn't get tedious or obvious with it, but somehow she does justice to everything that's come before while still creating a story that's completely her own. It's haunting, exciting, and just a little bit scary, and it ends too soon for my liking.
If there's any fault it's just that I think Amy has a way to come. She's a sympathetic and fierce heroine, but as her mentors seem to be telling her, she hasn't really found her identity yet. On one hand, I'm kind of glad that it's left this way in the first one because I don't think we need to see everything all at once, but I do hope that we will see it more in what's to come, because she's a character that really seems like she could be worth knowing.
Great book for readers who like their books with a lot of ethical conundrums wrapped up with their action--I'm thinking fans of Evil Genius, Liar, and even Cory Doctorow's Little Brother or Pirate Cinema books as well as fans of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy and Grossman's The Magicians who are no strangers to the strange (and sometimes very dark) places magic may take you.
The Wizard of Oz and I have always had a difficult relationship, but it's a boomerang relationship; I keep circling back in spite of myself. I can't seem to shake it, to the point where I made a point of reading the complete series straight through not long ago to try to understand where my conflict was coming from. Ultimately, I think it's the weirder aspects of Oz I appreciate the most. The dark and twisted bits lurking just under the sparkling emerald surfaces. It's present in the books. Whether it's intentional or not, it's hard to say (I'm still conflicted about that after reading the series) but there's an uncanniness, something a little off that is definitely there that adds complexity to the saga and makes it a little less frivolous and more truly a traditional fairy tale than I think it sometimes gets credit for. You see precious little of that in the bright and glossy movie musical--glimpses between the lines of Wicked the musical, more so in Gregory Maguire's original book, but here---this gets it entirely right in my mind...by exposing everything that's always felt a little---wrong.
Dorothy may have come from Nowheresville, Kansas, but she had a home and family who cared about her. Amy Gumm, known as "Salvation Amy" around school, hails from a more desolate place than that. She's poor, ostracized at school, and basically neglected by her substance-abusing mother to the point where when the tornado strikes the trailer that they live in, it's the best thing that's ever happened to her. She's transported to Oz, which would be shocking enough but it's nothing like the place she knew from the stories and movies. The fairyland looks like a war zone, and the alliances are not lining up in the way that one might expect. When Good becomes Wicked, Wicked just might be the new Good, and a girl from Kansas may have an opportunity to be a savior yet again...if she can just rid Oz of the original first.
It's clear to me that Paige has at least a strong familiarity--if not an actual love, for the original series of books, with teasingly quick references and allusions to characters and events that can only be gleaned deep within the heart of the original book series, which in my mind, is the absolute most perfect way to pay homage. She doesn't recap us to death, doesn't get tedious or obvious with it, but somehow she does justice to everything that's come before while still creating a story that's completely her own. It's haunting, exciting, and just a little bit scary, and it ends too soon for my liking.
If there's any fault it's just that I think Amy has a way to come. She's a sympathetic and fierce heroine, but as her mentors seem to be telling her, she hasn't really found her identity yet. On one hand, I'm kind of glad that it's left this way in the first one because I don't think we need to see everything all at once, but I do hope that we will see it more in what's to come, because she's a character that really seems like she could be worth knowing.
Great book for readers who like their books with a lot of ethical conundrums wrapped up with their action--I'm thinking fans of Evil Genius, Liar, and even Cory Doctorow's Little Brother or Pirate Cinema books as well as fans of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy and Grossman's The Magicians who are no strangers to the strange (and sometimes very dark) places magic may take you.
I liked it! It's an interesting take on Oz and Dorothy. Definitely going to read the next book!
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for this one, but the ending solidified my feelings at 4 stars.