Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

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Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige


                Dorothy Must Die has been on my radar for a while. It’s the story of Amy Gunn, a teenage girl who lives in a trailer park in Kansas. She doesn’t have many friends, is known as Salvation Amy because of the clothes she wears, and has an alcoholic mother. One day her trailer is swept up in a tornado and she is whisked away to Oz. But this isn’t the Oz that she remembers from the stories. This world is different. It’s different because Dorothy returned from Kansas and is now harboring all of its magic for her own uses. Now Amy, as the other “outlander” is believed by some to be the only way to get rid of Dorothy. The Revolutionary Order of the Wicked is now training her to kill Dorothy.
                I imagined that this story was going to be extremely dark, a little grisly, with a kick ass heroine that would be able to execute the plan with no problem. That isn’t exactly what happened. This story was extremely dark, a little gruesome and though not terrifying the world itself was really well developed and imagined. I could see this world taking shape. I could see how one person, in this case Dorothy’s, greed could remove magic from such a special and iconic place. I could even see how a group of people who would normally hate each other could band together in order to fight against a common enemy. Amy was the problem. I have had this happen before when I just didn’t connect with the protagonist. I kept with the series because I really enjoyed the story and ended up being burned in the end. (I’m looking at you Tris from the Divergent Series.) I don’t know if I am willing to take that chance again. Amy was just a boring character to me. I didn’t believe in her at all. I questioned every decision she made throughout the book. If she had been amazing instead of simply a mediocre, teenager filled with angst I would have probably loved this story.

                Alas I didn’t love Dorothy Must Die. I didn’t hate it though either. This was an extremely strong story with a premise I can stand behind. Some people may even love it and love Amy but seeing how her and I are butting heads I am giving this 3.5 out of 5 stars. I really liked the idea of Dorothy coming back and raising hell in Oz. I read this book in no time and for the most part enjoyed it. I just can’t get over Amy. There were a few other things that made me think twice and I do still have a few questions about the story so I might eventually get to the sequel. But I won’t make any promises. 

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