Librarian Review:

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige is breathtaking. Fast paced, interesting characters, and an amazing take on the L. Frank Baum series. So many years have passed since Dorothy left Oz and she has returned and taken over. Oz has become a dictatorship and is under Dorothy's iron grip. The original gang is all a part of her army to terrorize Oz. The scarecrow is determined to increase his brain power, The Tin Man is madly in love with Dorothy and completely bitter that she doesn't care, and the Lion has an ability to increase his courage by stealing others fear.

Amy is our new girl from Kansas to end up in Oz. She  is taken in by some of the original witches of Oz who are leading a revolution to take Oz back from the tyranny of Dorothy. It has been decreed that since Amy is from Kansas and the only other "world" girl to end up in Oz that she must be the one to help them defeat Dorothy.

This book is a fantastic start to what will hopefully be a great series. The book is maniac paced, interesting, great characters (of course the writer does have Baum to thank for part of that), really good action, and some humorous moments. As a librarian I highly recommend this read.

Youth Review:

A thrilling novel that puts a dark twist on an already loved story, Dorothy Must Die creates a new adventure full of mystery, romance, and death.

 Follow the yellow brick road into Oz, now a land full of formerly fun loving characters that will kill you in your sleep and enjoy it, flying monkey execution for acts of rebellion, and munchkin slavery. You had better hope that a tornado would come and take you back to Kansas or wherever you came from because Oz is no longer a magical world full of music and laughter.

 In this novel Amy, another girl from Kansas, gets swept u in her trailer and taken to Oz with her pet rat, Star. They arrive in Oz and find out that it is not like it was in the books or movie. Oz is having the magic sucked right out of it, and the reason? Dorothy. She came back to become the “rightful ruler” of Oz, but power and magic went to her head. Now she takes all the magic for herself and forces everyone to do her biding, or else. Now she rules over the land as a dictator, and Amy is the only person who can stop her.

 Amy joins the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, a group of Wicked Witches dedicated to returning Oz to the way it was before Dorothy ever set foot in Munchkin Land. Now she is being trained to fight and kill and she has a mission. Dorothy Must Die.

 The only problem I had with this story was the way the book played out until the end. This is the first in a series, so there is no true ending, but the ending there was not satisfying enough for me, and did not have me sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for more. Will I read the others when they come out? Yes. Will I rush to the bookstore to pick up a copy ASAP? No. All in all, this was a good read and I would recommend it to anyone who is okay with their former perception of the land of Oz and Dorothy being ruined forever. I give this book 7/10 stars.

-Emma