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booksandbacteria's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
adorablemarshmallow's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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
3.5
yogurtwater's review against another edition
This book is most suited to being read aloud.
ashleydluge's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
tinchenbienchen's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
tamagojin88's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
aimeeb993's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-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
4.0
tregina's review against another edition
4.0
Everything classic was once brand new. I'm reminded of that when I read L. Frank Baum's introduction, which talks about writing modernised fairy tales for the "children of today"; it's hard to imagine the Oz books as something not yet beloved by generations, but there was a beginning and it came from writing something self-conscious of being new and different and not the dwarves and faeries of yesteryear.
A lot of people reinvent and rewrite fairy tales and folk stories for new generations. They are seldom as successful as this.
So. Dorothy Gale: Child Assassin.
It's a different experience, looking at this story as an adult (and as a book, not as a movie). I'd remembered most of the big differences, the infamous silver shoes (not ruby), the lack of a framing device that ever suggested it could have been a dream, the many weapons of the Wicked Witch of the West, the fact that she is the easiest boss to defeat ever. But it's the big things we remember, and reading this I'm reintroduced to the subtle things, the exploitations of the fact that Dorothy is and has the psychology and innocence of a child, the ways in which the peoples of Oz control and subjugate one another.
I read several of the Oz books as a child (though not all, as my library only had random volumes) and this first one much more often than the others over the years, but I've decided to read all of them in order for the first time. I think it will be an interesting journey.
[ 748 editions of this book on goodreads and none of them were the one I'm reading, so I just picked the right cover and format and went with it; it seemed excessive to add another edition to the first seven-hundred-and-bloody-forty-eight]
A lot of people reinvent and rewrite fairy tales and folk stories for new generations. They are seldom as successful as this.
So. Dorothy Gale: Child Assassin.
It's a different experience, looking at this story as an adult (and as a book, not as a movie). I'd remembered most of the big differences, the infamous silver shoes (not ruby), the lack of a framing device that ever suggested it could have been a dream, the many weapons of the Wicked Witch of the West, the fact that she is the easiest boss to defeat ever. But it's the big things we remember, and reading this I'm reintroduced to the subtle things, the exploitations of the fact that Dorothy is and has the psychology and innocence of a child, the ways in which the peoples of Oz control and subjugate one another.
I read several of the Oz books as a child (though not all, as my library only had random volumes) and this first one much more often than the others over the years, but I've decided to read all of them in order for the first time. I think it will be an interesting journey.
[ 748 editions of this book on goodreads and none of them were the one I'm reading, so I just picked the right cover and format and went with it; it seemed excessive to add another edition to the first seven-hundred-and-bloody-forty-eight]
jaime_davison's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0