Dorothy Must Die Stories Vol. 2

Dorothy Must Die Stories Vol. 2 by Danielle Paige, 307 pages

“A collection of three prequel novellas to the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die series by Danielle Paige! Follow Dorothy's iconic companions from the beloved classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as each of their gifts becomes key to the downfall of Oz. After Dorothy Gale wished her way home and long before Amy Gumm found herself in Oz, Dorothy's friends left the Road of Yellow Brick to go their separate ways. But in a place like Oz, where magic and temptation lurk, the gifts from the Wizard begin to take on a life of their own. The Tin Woodman becomes twisted with longing. The Scarecrow develops a taste for plotting. And doubt consumes the Cowardly Lion. Kiss the land where troubles melt like lemon drops good-bye. Here there's danger around every corner, and magical shoes won't be able to save you.” This series has been growing on me.  The first book was all right, but not great.  This collection of stories, though, was much better.  I really liked getting into the psyche of the Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion.  It helps explain how everything could have gone so wrong.  The premise is still disturbing but I’m looking forward to the next book now.  Teens that like fairy tale adaptations or fantasy in general will probably like this series.

Yellow Brick War

Yellow Brick War by Danielle Paige, 270 pages

“In this third book in the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die series, new girl from Kansas Amy Gumm is caught between her home--and Oz. My name is Amy Gumm. Tornadoes must have a thing about girls from Kansas, because--just like Dorothy--I got swept away on one too. I landed in Oz, where Good is Wicked, Wicked is Good, and the Wicked Witches clued me in to my true calling: Assassin. The way to stop Dorothy from destroying Oz--and Kansas--is to kill her. And I'm the only one who can do it. But I failed. Others died for my mistakes. Because of me, the portal between the worlds has been opened. And if I don't find a way to close it? Dorothy will make sure I never get to go home again. Now it's up to me to: join the Witches, fight for Oz, save Kansas, and stop Dorothy once and for all.” I think this may be my favorite book in the series so far.  Possibly, it took me this long to adjust to the new version of Oz.  Teens who like fantasy will probably like the series, as long as they are ok with some tragedy.

The Wicked Will Rise

The Wicked Will Rise by D.M. Paige, 293 pages

“Amy's job as assassin didn't work out as planned. Dorothy is still alive. The Order has vanished. And the home she couldn't wait to leave behind might be in danger.”  This is the second book in the Dorothy Must Dies series, an alternative sequel to The Wizard of Oz.  Many beloved characters are evil in the series, while many wicked characters are, if not exactly good, much less evil than they seemed.  This series has an interesting premise and is a well-written, good story, but I’m not sure if I actually like it.  It’s very hard to see characters that I loved from the original series act the way they do in this one.  However, I’ll read to the series end at this point, because I want to know what happens.

Dorothy Must Die: Stories

Dorothy Must Die: Stories by Danielle Paige, 377 pages

This is a collection of three novellas that tell the story of Dorothy's return to Oz and why she is so different from the Dorothy we know from the Wizard of Oz.  Two years after her return to Kansas Dorothy is bored with her life, misses Oz, and thinks that she may have made a mistake.  When she is given the opportunity to return to Oz, she jumps at the chance, taking Uncle Henry and Auntie Em with her.  Much more time has passed in Oz than in Kansas and she finds that the Scarecrow is no longer in charge, a young girl, Ozma, is the Princess of Oz.  Dorothy finds that she has some ability to use magic and, desperate to stay in Oz, she uses magic to achieve this end.  However, using the magic seems to twist her and change her personality, thus she becomes the girl that we see in the book Dorothy Must Die.  The first story is from Dorothy's perspective and the next two are from the perspective of Jellia Jamb and the Wizard.  I actually like these stories better than the first book, but I might like it better now that I have more explanation.  Teens who like the Oz stories or like fantasy will probably enjoy this.

Dorothy Must Die

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige, 452 pages

Amy is just an ordinary Kansas girl.  She’s not always happy, especially since her father left her and her mother and they had to move to a trailer park.  The other kids at school make fun of her because they’re poor, but basically she’s really just an average person, until a tornado picks up her trailer and drops her in Oz.  Oz isn’t quite what she imagined.  Dorothy is back in Oz and Oz doesn’t look quite right.  It’s not as vibrant and colorful as she imagined and apparently it’s all because of Dorothy.  She is stealing the magic from the land and torturing its people.  Amy falls in with a group of witches who call themselves wicked but are dedicated to overthrowing Dorothy.  They think Amy is the only person who can do it, but to accomplish this task, Amy is going to have to kill Dorothy.  This is an interesting take on Oz and what might have happened after the original stories.  It’s a little hard for me, who has read all of the original Oz books, to believe.  This is not the Dorothy from the movie or the books, but it’s a good story.  Teens that have only read the original book or seen the movie will probably enjoy this a lot.

Bewitched In Oz

Bewitched In Oz by Laura J. Burns, 255 pages

Zerie and some of her friends have discovered that they can do magic but magic is forbidden in the Land of Oz, except to the Wizard, Glinda, and Ozma herself so Zerie and her friends have found ways to practice in secret.  Unfortunately, one day they are betrayed and one of her friends, Tabitha, is captured by Ozma’s winged monkeys.  Afraid that they will be captured next, Zerie and her two other friends, Vashti and Brink, leave their village.  On the advice of the Glass Cat, who they meet outside of the village, they decide to head to the palace of Glinda, and ask her for her help to get the laws about magic changed in Oz, so that people can practice magic without being arrested.  Of course, they have many adventures along the way, encounters with other odd Oz folks and the strange landscapes and many dangers besides the winged monkeys.   I really enjoyed this story and thought it stayed pretty true to the original Oz stories until the end when the author appears to completely change one character’s purpose and temperament.  However, this book clearly is not the end of the whole story.  Since there will be sequels, I will try to reserve judgment and hope that the author takes that part in a different direction.  Generally, I think that fans of the Oz books and fans of fantasy will probably like this book.