Review: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on August 23, 2016 | 3 Comments


Review: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle PaigeDorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Series: Dorothy Must Die #1
Published by HarperCollins (4.1.2014)
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 452 pages
Source: I own it


3.5 Stars

I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado - taking you with it - you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow brick road - but even that's crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas.

I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.

I've been trained to fight.

And I have a mission.

My thoughts

I was super excited for this book! After reading Paige’s short story in Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, I was dying to read something else by her. I’d heard great things about this one, and it sounded like it was right up my alley.

In a way, it was. But sadly I found myself a bit disappointed, somehow. I loved how twisted and disturbing this world was, and I like the twist Paige put on all of the old characters. Paige took the world of Oz and put a deliciously dark and creepy spin on things. That was what made this book for me! I love twisted things, so I ate this disturbing world up.  View Spoiler »

Unfortunately, that’s where the enjoyment ended for me. The rest of the story felt pretty cliche I’m afraid. Other than the epic world, this story faded into the background and I found it quite forgettable. (Actually, I had to use Recaptains to refresh my memory of what happened because I’d already forgotten.) The plot toward the end felt rushed and kind of silly at times.

I mostly liked Amy, although she didn’t do it for me as far as a main character goes. I liked her pink hair and sarcasm, but I wasn’t a fan of the super speshul snowflake syndrome she had going on, despite not actually being particularly remarkable. I found her whole “chosen one” thing to be a tad cliche. Sometimes that works, but this time it just didn’t for me.

And here comes my main problem: Nox, and the cliche hot-and-cold relationship he had with Amy. I hated scenes with them together. I hated Nox, and I hated them together. It felt like every other bad boy hot-and-cold relationship in every other YA out there. *eye roll*

Not to say I didn’t like the book, because I did, for the most part. The world made everything worth it. I will definitely read the second book just to revisit this twisted and imaginative world that Paige has created!

 

Overall Assessment

Plot: 3.5/5
Premise: 4.5/5
Writing style: 3/5
Originality: 3.5/5
Characters: 3/5
World-building: 3.5/5
Pace: 4/5
Feels: 2/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 3.5/5

Jessi (Geo)

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3 responses to “Review: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

  1. danielle hammelef

    I have this on my to-read list, but maybe after your review, I’ll move another book up on the waiting list. though the world does intrigue me.

  2. Autumn

    So this book has been on my radar for awhile now, but I was always hesitant. I’ve heard a lot about the “cliche’ aspect and it keeps urging me off.

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