** spoiler alert ** This book made me unbelievably happy. I've wanted to read this book for as long as I can remember, but I've never managed to find it - until I walked into a charity shop after complaining that I've never found it & it was sitting there. 50p. Bargain. Needless to say I snapped it up & made it mine from the moment I saw it.

Now, the first half, obviously familiar - it's the story I know and love with only a few notable differences. Silver shoes instead of Ruby, you know, only minor differences what don't make much of an impact on the actual story. But the little differences in the book compared to the '39 adaptation of it make it all that bit more amazing in my eyes.

I felt that the characters were far more clear than I anticipated prior to reading this book. They seem to be used and far more developed than they were in the film. You got their backstory, something what was only touched on in the film...

The bit I loved most, however, was the fact it didn't seem anticlimactic after Oz flew off in his balloon and Dorothy didn't just get to go home. The journey over to see Glinda the witch of the South, the flying monkeys, china dolls... it just made me melt inside! It made the story for me. Made it so much better than the movie.

I have always, always, loved The Wizard of Oz, from the day I watched it when I was 5. But the book, oh the book, it's surpassed all my expectations. Now I just want to read the other goodness-knows how many others in the series... <3