Lauren Lanz's Reviews > Dorothy Must Die

3.5 stars! ⭐️

REMOVE THE TIN WOODMAN’S HEART,
STEAL THE SCARECROW’S BRAIN,
TAKE THE LIONS COURAGE,
AND THEN- DOROTHY MUST DIE.

Fairy tale retellings almost always intrigue me; I used to love this one to pieces. While Dorothy Must Die was still a fun and entertaining read, it wasn’t all that I’d remembered.

~★~ What is this book about? ~★~

Alone in her trailer park, Amy Gumm is unable to avoid the tornado passing through her town. She is swept away to Oz, but things aren’t like in they were in the film. Dorothy has developed a taste for magic, and is sucking the land dry of it. The witches have created The Order of the Wicked in secret to plan Dorothy’s murder, and Amy is their secret weapon.

~★~

Dorothy Must Die was my gateway book after a few years of reading nothing. I remember being swept away by the magic and whimsy of this twisted Oz, and having a fiery love for Amy as a protagonist. It’s been several years since then, and reading this series for a second time has opened my eyes to faults I never recognized.

“You shouldn’t trust me. But you shouldn’t trust anyone else here either. Every smile, every kind word--every cookie--it’s all done with one goal. And that’s a dead princess.”

While this was quite an inventive fairy tale retelling, I wasn’t as thrilled with the plot or attached to the characters as I was the first time around. This being a re-read, I obviously anticipated some of the events. Amy is a fantastic protagonist, but her love interest Nox didn’t get as much development as I’d remembered. There was a large cast of characters, and while some weren't as great as I'd hoped, the majority were really fun to follow.

The world building in this series is definitely a positive aspect. I suppose some of it was taken from the Oz we know from the films, though Danielle Paige’s dark and twisted version is awesome. I’m eager to re-read the rest of the series!