From the Bookshelf of Once Upon A Fairy Tale…

Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die, #1)

Danielle Paige

Start date: August 11, 2015

Finish date: April 16, 2016

Discussion: Recommendations

Why we're reading this: This is a retelling of "The Wizard of Oz", but not like you remember it. This is a new darker Oz, where t…more
[close] This is a retelling of "The Wizard of Oz", but not like you remember it. This is a new darker Oz, where the lines between good and wicked have blurred. Dorothy is not a sweet little girl anymore. She is a power hungry villain! And the twists don't stop there...but i wont spoil anything. Enjoy :)

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Recommendations

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By Kathy · 1 post · 10 views

last updated Dec 10, 2020 03:38PM

Short excerpt :)
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last updated Sep 26, 2020 06:36AM

What Members Thought

Mar 31, 2014 Brianna rated it really liked it

Retellings are really starting to become one of my favorite genres. So when I saw that this book involved a darker Oz, I knew i had to try it. It all sounded too intriguing for me to pass up, and I'm really glad I didn't.

The main character of this story was Amy. I didn't warm to her immediately, since she let mostly everyone walk all over her. The fact that this didn't change for the better part of the story was a bit annoying, but she did definitely end up changing, and coming into her own. I Retellings are really starting to become one of my favorite genres. So when I saw that this book involved a darker Oz, I knew i had to try it. It all sounded too intriguing for me to pass up, and I'm really glad I didn't.

The main character of this story was Amy. I didn't warm to her immediately, since she let mostly everyone walk all over her. The fact that this didn't change for the better part of the story was a bit annoying, but she did definitely end up changing, and coming into her own. I did love how she wanted to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences, though. I'm really interested in how the events in this story will change her character in the next book of this series.

There were quite a few side characters in this series, and we learned a bare minimum about many of them. I really liked Gert, a grandmotherly witch who helped Amy learn magic. Nox was an intriguing person, and I can definitely see him as a possible love interest for Amy later on. Then, of course, there was Dorothy. You think you know her from the book, and the movie? Think again. She's power-hungry, vain, and pretty evil. The same goes for all of her famous friends, the scarecrow, lion, and Tin Man.

The plot of this book was all about Amy, who started out as a girl from a trailer park in Kansas, getting sent to Oz via tornado. She learns that Good isn't always exactly what it sounds like, and neither is Wicked. Oz wasn't the fairy-tale place she expected, and Amy found out that people thought she was the only person who would be able to kill Dorothy, and restore Oz back to it's normal self.

I really loved the world-building of this novel. Oz was a dark place, with Munhkins and the winged monkeys being enslaved. I really thought it was interesting how the Wicked witches were the ones trying to overthrow Dorothy, and return Oz back to the way it used to be.

With all that said, I'm definitely happy I read this book. There was an interesting main character, a wickedly awesome version of Oz, and insane twists on characters that we all think we know. The story was very creative, and with the abrupt way in which this installment ended, I need the sequel, now! ...more

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