The Emerald City (Osland Trilogy, #1) in Basically Books!

Apr 04, 2012 Jess Mountifield rated it really liked it

Shelves: arr, added-2012, read-2012

I immediately got to grips wth the main character of this book, the young but fairly mature 'farm-girl' out at a new boarding school because she lost mum and dad to a car crash. i had a few ideas of what to expect as I knew this was based on a kind of wirzard of Oz style book but it was thankfully still pretty original and it wasn't until all the characters nicknames were listed tother that I realised who everyone was and how it all fitted together.

I also really liked the sense of humour of the ...more

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Mar 24, 2012 Caedy Eries rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, sci-fi-fantasy-horror, favorites, young-adult, 2012-challenge, group-read, author-read-review

Wow. Just wow. I absolutely fell in love with this book. The Wizard of Oz stories are some of my favorite books, from the original books to the Wicked series, I absolutely adore it. This book is among those favorites. J.A. Beard has created a fantastic world using the Wizard of Oz as a leaping off point, and I readily give this book five stars and am proud to add it to my favorites. Some people have tried to recreate stories that have been around for ages, and some succeed, while others tend to Wow. Just wow. I absolutely fell in love with this book. The Wizard of Oz stories are some of my favorite books, from the original books to the Wicked series, I absolutely adore it. This book is among those favorites. J.A. Beard has created a fantastic world using the Wizard of Oz as a leaping off point, and I readily give this book five stars and am proud to add it to my favorites. Some people have tried to recreate stories that have been around for ages, and some succeed, while others tend to fall terribly, terribly short; this book is a success in my opinion. I'd received a copy directly from the author to read and review, this is the first I've done like this and, I am quite glad I did.

The Emerald City takes place at the glamorous Osland Academy in Seattle, and our heroine, Gail, was shipped off their by her Aunt and Uncle (who have little or no problem paying the $40,000 tuition), however, there is something unique about Osland Academy, the students and just the atmosphere in general - especially considering that no matter how hard she tries, Gail cannot curse or utter a single bad word no matter how angry she might get.

We have the standard cast of characters - but in a unique light. You have Gail, who is our dear little Kansas girl (Dorothy); Lydia, our scatter-brained girl (Scarecrow); Leandra, who truth be told is pretty much afraid of everything (Cowardly Lion); Nick, the cute-senior boy who lacks a heart (Tin Man). The Witches represented in this story are essentially the teachers - you have the good and the bad of course. Miss West is of course the root of all evil in our story, because she was the evil one in the original Wizard of Oz. Nigashi is essentially the wicked witch of the east, though she doesn't die from a house landing on her, she does die however. We also have the winged monkeys, in the form of the Student Council members led by Diana, a senator's daughter; and they call themselves the Winged.

The story flows easily enough, with only a few hang ups where there is the occasional word missing in a sentence or something of that nature. Beyond that, I honestly, only put this book down to sleep and go see Hunger Games last night. It took me a little less than a day to read. The action is quick and the few battle sequences are filled with awesome. I love the concept of the Rift Watchers and their essences that they control - and the depth of the plan that was hatched and Gail ultimately had to uncover was truly interesting in its creation. I also loved the inclusion of the Fremont Troll in Seattle (The Emerald City) as a tie in for the location of Principal Osland. ...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Maryann rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, fantasy

I recommend this book for young adults. I enjoyed the storyline and the author is very creative with the characters. I liked Gail's "I don't take crap from anyone" attitude and her friend Lydia was great with her "mis"quotes. However, some parts of the book dragged on. The main characters are in high school and their dialog fit in with that genre. Inspired by the Wizard of Oz, but not a total copy of the story. Overall, a good book.

I was given this book by the author and the Goodreads group Basi ...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Tara-Jayne (♥ I Read, I Love ♥) Bell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-read, read-2012

I really loved this :) I loved the storyline and the pace of the book :)

http://basicallybooks1994.blogspot.com/

Full review will be as soon as :) ...more

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