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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
5 ⭐️ | WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED???
I’m amazed and confused at the same time
I’m amazed and confused at the same time
It wasn't too bad. However, it did bug the crap out of me that there really wasn't much of a good explanation as to why Dorothy went bad. But maybe that's explained later on? I dunno...right now I feel like the author just wanted Dorothy to be bad. I will keep reading this, though.
Like I mentioned in my review of the prequel, the title of this book intrigued me. If nothing else, it's a very clever marketing tool. I mean, Dorothy and Oz are familiar to most people so having this as your cover and title makes it easy to grab attention. Great, the book grabbed my attention. It just couldn't keep my attention all the way through.
There were some good parts about this book. I personally loved how dark, gritty and violent this book could get. I was shocked when one of the characters was killed-- and the way she died was truly horrific. When the book showed Dorothy being menacing or the shocking horrors of the Scarecrow's lab, that was when this book was shining. When it slugged through boring training sessions or threw in stupid YA romance, that was when I lost interest. I was hoping so hard that this book would not have romance in it. But of course it did, and included stupid jealousy for no reason because of a boy. Ugh.
So I liked the dark parts of this book, but I feel like it got struck with sequel fever. There was a lot of time wasted on nothing happening.
There were some good parts about this book. I personally loved how dark, gritty and violent this book could get. I was shocked when one of the characters was killed-- and the way she died was truly horrific. When the book showed Dorothy being menacing or the shocking horrors of the Scarecrow's lab, that was when this book was shining. When it slugged through boring training sessions or threw in stupid YA romance, that was when I lost interest. I was hoping so hard that this book would not have romance in it. But of course it did, and included stupid jealousy for no reason because of a boy. Ugh.
So I liked the dark parts of this book, but I feel like it got struck with sequel fever. There was a lot of time wasted on nothing happening.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of my biggest gripes when modern authors write about famous settings already made, is that the world building feels lazy. This was the case for this. I also just felt there were some discrepancies between this world, the movie, and original books, so that was confusing. My overall opinions are that the storyline is a good idea, but the execution wasn’t there. I also felt like it was too long and was dragging at times. I’m having a hard time figuring out it who I would recommend it to because diehard Wizard of Oz fans would probably be offended, but it’s not special enough we’re regular readers would be wowed at. Not terrible, just not a stand out.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved the first book in this series! I was very excited to read the first book. I don't feel like it was worth it to read the entire series, and this could be because it was so long. I did read all 7 books at one right after the other. So it is a pretty creepy retelling of the Wizard of Oz books, which I have never read, but I did watch the movie. I just loved the first book in the series so much. I like that it took the Oz that we know which is picture perfect and includes singing and dancing, and completly turned it on it's head. So this book is set way way after the original Wizard of Oz, and is about Amy Gumm who also gets sucked into Oz by a tornado from Kansas, way after Dorothy. Dorothy, it turns out, is an evil villain who currently rules Oz, and all of the beloved Oz characters are pretty much evil, and torturing and killing people to tickle their fancy. I love fairy tales, and I love retellings, and this series was pretty good. I felt like it got a bit boring and the plot seemed to lag, but overall it was really good. The companion books were pretty cool because they had the origin stories of all of main characters, which was very cool. I love a good villain backstory.
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Unfortunately, it just fell a little bit flat.
After Dorothy left Oz, she came back. She was worshipped by the people, but took it a little too far, and now all of Oz is suffering under her rule. Enter Amy. Amy is also from Kansas. She isn't liked, her life at home is terrible, and she wants to get out of Kansas. A tornado helps her with that, and deposits her in Oz. On the way to the Emerald City, she learns what Dorothy has done, and that she can't trust anybody. After being arrested, she accepts the help of the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked and promises them help in exchange for her escape. What do they need help with? Killing Dorothy.
I love twisting fairy tales and turning familiar stories upside down. So, I really wanted to like this. And I did like the premise. Rather than reimagining what happened, Danielle Paige asks readers to imagine what Dorothy might be like after having that taste of magic and being beloved. I liked that Amy Gumm was basically the opposite of Dorothy. I didn't like some of the characterization stuff (why does Dorothy have to be evil and sexy? Sexy does not have to be evil). I had a hard time connecting with Amy or Nox or basically anybody. The characters felt like barely fleshed-out stock characters. I've read Nox's character before a few times. And the romance stuff? Leave it out. Completely unnecessary. All the never trust anyone stuff (that was constantly harped on)? Meant that I had a hard time getting close to any character.
I could look past a lot of that if it wasn't for the writing. I just didn't feel like the writing was all that good. I'm not a prude, I don't care about cuss words in YA lit, but I feel like the cuss words should be there for a reason. The author seemed to add them just because. They didn't serve a purpose in the narrative other than giving the narrative a "dangerous" element. I know I'm not expressing myself well. But when you can take out the f-word and literally nothing changes, I don't think those words serve any purpose. The writing just felt sloppy. Good writers can make a bad story interesting; this is a case of the opposite.
I don't think I will read the sequel. I'm predicting this gets listed for a Gateway/Truman next year (even if just on the preliminary list). Notes: language, mostly. And violence. Lots of violence.
After Dorothy left Oz, she came back. She was worshipped by the people, but took it a little too far, and now all of Oz is suffering under her rule. Enter Amy. Amy is also from Kansas. She isn't liked, her life at home is terrible, and she wants to get out of Kansas. A tornado helps her with that, and deposits her in Oz. On the way to the Emerald City, she learns what Dorothy has done, and that she can't trust anybody. After being arrested, she accepts the help of the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked and promises them help in exchange for her escape. What do they need help with? Killing Dorothy.
I love twisting fairy tales and turning familiar stories upside down. So, I really wanted to like this. And I did like the premise. Rather than reimagining what happened, Danielle Paige asks readers to imagine what Dorothy might be like after having that taste of magic and being beloved. I liked that Amy Gumm was basically the opposite of Dorothy. I didn't like some of the characterization stuff (why does Dorothy have to be evil and sexy? Sexy does not have to be evil). I had a hard time connecting with Amy or Nox or basically anybody. The characters felt like barely fleshed-out stock characters. I've read Nox's character before a few times. And the romance stuff? Leave it out. Completely unnecessary. All the never trust anyone stuff (that was constantly harped on)? Meant that I had a hard time getting close to any character.
I could look past a lot of that if it wasn't for the writing. I just didn't feel like the writing was all that good. I'm not a prude, I don't care about cuss words in YA lit, but I feel like the cuss words should be there for a reason. The author seemed to add them just because. They didn't serve a purpose in the narrative other than giving the narrative a "dangerous" element. I know I'm not expressing myself well. But when you can take out the f-word and literally nothing changes, I don't think those words serve any purpose. The writing just felt sloppy. Good writers can make a bad story interesting; this is a case of the opposite.
I don't think I will read the sequel. I'm predicting this gets listed for a Gateway/Truman next year (even if just on the preliminary list). Notes: language, mostly. And violence. Lots of violence.