Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die, #1) in ƊƠƦƠƬӇƳ MƲƧƬ ƊƖЄ

Jul 05, 2014 Deanna Ciardullo rated it it was amazing

I personally loved this book. It's interesting to see a character like Dorothy who I've seen as a heroine all my life as a villain instead. I grew up watching and loving The Wizard of Oz and as I grew older I read the book and the whole story had always fascinated me. So naturally when I picked up this book I felt like I was really going to enjoy it.
The main character, Amy Gumm, is a strong independent girl who was forced to grow up way too soon. I found the character relatable and quite enjoyed ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 01, 2014 ♫✯Em loves Hollenstein✯♫❤the summertime and butterflies all belong to your creation❤ rated it really liked it

Shelves: beautiful-cover, am-confused, birthdays-yey, why-d-i-wait-so-long, bloooood, retellings, characters-i-relate-to, badass

Oh my god!
4 1\2 stars

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 07, 2014 Ethan Gregory rated it it was amazing

One of the best new Oz series I've read in years! Check out my full review at http://www.oneguysguidetogoodreads.bl...

*My FAVORITE book of 2014 (so far)!

I honestly cannot think of a single thing about this book that I didn't enjoy. The one and only thing I can say that may possibly be a deterrent to reading this book is that if you are not at least somewhat familiar with the Oz outside of the 1939 MGM film, you may be a little confused, but if you can stick it out, you will be well rewarded. As One of the best new Oz series I've read in years! Check out my full review at http://www.oneguysguidetogoodreads.bl...

*My FAVORITE book of 2014 (so far)!

I honestly cannot think of a single thing about this book that I didn't enjoy. The one and only thing I can say that may possibly be a deterrent to reading this book is that if you are not at least somewhat familiar with the Oz outside of the 1939 MGM film, you may be a little confused, but if you can stick it out, you will be well rewarded. As the title and synopsis suggest, Dorothy is not the same happy little Kansan we know and love. Dorothy is, well, a monster. Since this book JUST released 9 days ago I am going to try to say as little as I can about the plot in order to avoid spoilers, but trust me, it's a read that is well worth it. Any fan of Oz will be thrilled to see some of their favorite characters: Dorothy, the Tin Woodsman, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, Glinda the Good Witch, and even the Wizard himself. In addition to the familiar characters, some amazing new ones give us great insight to what we can expect from Paige in the follow up novels, characters such as: Glamora, the Wicked twin of Glinda, Nox, a member of the Order with a lot to prove, Ollie, the flying monkey, and of course Amy Gumm, our protagonist. Amy is another girl reigning from Dorothy's home-state of Kansas, but couldn't be more different. Amy is a fighter through and through with enough problems on the homefront to fill a psychologists schedule for days! Not only does Amy have to battle the troubles of Oz, but also the inner demons which keep her from fulfilling her full potential. Seriously folks, this book is a must read. Here's one of the many graphics I created for Dorothy Must Die.

Like I said before, this novel has several allusions to other Oz works. Here are just a few of my favorite that I noticed. I am assuming these are all correct, but some of them may just be speculation:

Amy Gumm is our protagonist's name. While reading, I found that to be a rather odd name. I couldn't remember where I had heard the surname "Gumm" before, then it hit me. I am assuming that Amy was named in honor of Francis Ethel Gumm. Sound familiar? Probably not. Many people may not know this, but Francis Gumm is the birth name to the Queen of all things Oz: Mrs. Judy Garland herself. Yes sir! Amy's name is paying homage to the original Dorothy Gale! Don't believe me, read all about it on Francis' (Judy's) Wikipedia page here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Gar...
Unlike the original Oz novel by L. Frank Baum where the slippers were silver, Dorothy has retained her famous Ruby slippers from the 1939 film! Except this time, they can do a whole lot more than send her back to Kansas!
Amy teams up with a team of Wicked Witches to defeat the evil Dorothy. Leading the Order? None other than Mombi. One of the most Wicked and vile women to ever live in Ozian history. True Oz historians, such as myself, can tell you that Mombi plays one of the single most important roles in all of Oz: the "keeper" of Ozma. Upon his arrival to Oz, the Wizard overthrew the royal family of Oz and had the newborn princess of Oz (Princess Ozma) disposed of. Ozma was placed in the care of Mombi where she was magically transformed into a boy named Tip. The story of Mombi, Tip, and Ozma is one of the most important in all of Oz. Anyone who has read The Wicked Years series by my favorite author, Gregory Maguire, can tell you that Mombi is important. Real important.
Several of Oz's more... interesting subjects are present in the book such as: the Shaggy Man, Polychrome (daughter of the Rainbow), Jellia Jamb (who plays a HUGE role in our story), Jinjur, the Nome King, Winkies, Munchkins, and an unfortunate mention of the Woggle-Bug. These characters were all created by Baum in his original Oz series and are put to great use in this story.
While this story takes place after Dorothy's defeat of the Wicked Witch of the West, she is mentioned several times, including one of my favorite lines from the book: "I found myself laughing in spite of the danger. The Wicked Witch of the West, she had some good ideas. How about a little fire, Scarecrow?".

Like I said, there are so many allusions to other Ozian works, I couldn't possible name them all, but Paige doesn't use them as crutches in her story, she incorporates these allusions into her original idea, giving the Oz a whole new level of validity. I have seen, far too often, other authors just try to "redo" Oz in their own image. Paige doesn't change Baum's Oz, she just continues the story where he left off and does an absolutely amazing job. I haven't figured out a rating scale yet for this blog, but this book gets pretty close to a perfect score. I can say with 100% surety that I will be anxiously awaiting the next glimpse into Oz by Mrs. Danielle Paige! ...more

Like · see review

Apr 01, 2015 Lauren Nicole rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015, owned

I have to admit I didn't have particularly high expectations for this book, especially after the human gift that was the last book I read. This book absolutely exceeded those expectations.

Dorothy Must Die is about Amy Gumm, a poor girl from Dusty Acres, Kansas with no father and an alcoholic mother. Like Dorothy, Amy is also swept up by a tornado – but the Oz she arrives in is much different from the happy, dream-like world Dorothy and Toto arrive in. This Oz is sinister and dark. The yellow br ...more

Like · see review

Dec 27, 2014 William Gundelach rated it it was amazing

I loved it. I loved the whole concept, the universe, just the idea.

Even though it were a little boring some places trough the book, it just made the dramatic parts even better!!

So well written, you really get to know the characters, and live yourself into the book!

HIGHY RECOMMEND IT!!!!!

Like · see review

Sep 16, 2014 Natasha rated it it was amazing

I really loved this book. I've been reading awesome, serious adult fantasy and sci-fi books so long that I was really wary to read a teen book (especially because of the cover summary- it made the book look so silly I laughed) but was so surprised how much i enjoyed it!! Truly, don't judge a book by its cover.
Danielle Paige really managed to take the original story and pull off a great twist to it. I thought it was believable and interesting. Plus I like Salvation Amy! ...more

Like · see review

Apr 13, 2014 Jennie Garcia rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Like · see review

May 20, 2014 Andrew MacLean rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites

HOLY WHERE DO I START! ALWAYS RACING WITH NEW MATERIAL AND DANGER AROUND EVERY CORNER. IT CERTAINLY IS A STAND UP AND APPLAUD BOOK! GET IT, OR ELSE DOROTHY WILL GET YOU!

Like · see review