Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

What? A YA book after what I said in my last post? All right, I had this book mentally marked as a possible read for the high school library, in other words, a work-related read. It was on sale (at my favourite book shop - you will note the trend), so I snapped it up. Oh, and I suppose I need to confess something else. While I have never liked the original Oz story, I enjoyed Wicked! by Greg Maguire, and adored the stage play Wicked! even more. Which leads me to the sentiment: Dorothy must die! After everything she did to Elphie... A book title capturing my own thoughts! How could I resist?

Amy Gumm is a not your regular teen. She has grown up in a trailer park, with a mother high on medication and a father who went AWOL years ago. She is constantly being bullied and ousted at school. Until. Until a tornado takes her to Oz - to face a bully much worse than any high school could hold - Dorothy.

I enjoyed it. I liked that Amy landed in Oz and didn't take a third of the book to accept it. She just got on and dealt. In fact, 'getting on with it and dealing' was her main character trait. She was capable, strong and followed her own mind. I also enjoyed that she didn't blindly trust every person she met along the way. I also liked that she used her harder upbringing in a positive way. She realised that it gave her strength and made her capable.

Granted, I think a lot of my enjoyment came from the fact that I totally despise Dorothy. Having said that, one wonders what would cause someone to go to the level of selfish evilness that she has. Yes, yes, it is explained, but I don't buy it. It was the same problem I had with The Neverending Story (I am going on a completely old memory here) - destruction of the world which will inevitably lead to ... POOF? Logically, I am not sure I can buy this.

I am a bit reserved for the next book, although I already have it (specials are wonderful!). I hope this doesn't end up with a focus on a romance - again. So far it hasn't ventured there, but the ground work has been laid.

If there is one HUGE criticism, it is of the idiot who wrote the synopsis on the back (and on Goodreads). Why, on all that is good, would someone write the thing the reader learns in the penultimate chapter on the back of the book (or in the synopsis on Goodreads)? If you do happen to pick this up - don't read it. It is one HUGE spoiler.

I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads, although, I think it is probably more of a 3.5.