Lions, and tigers, and bears . . . and evil tinmen and creepy scarecrows and cruel experiments and slave labor and more . . . oh my . . .! To say that Danielle Paige’s Dorthy Must Die takes quite the turn from the traditional Wizard of Oz (well, the kiddie-story-version of the tale, anyway) would be an understatement. It would, however, be a reasonable corroboration of the 1985 movie, Return to Oz, in all it’s terrifying glory.
But what it also does is incorporate elements from author Baum’s subsequent Oz novels, which talk about a Mombi, and an army, which has a Princess Ozma and flying monkeys, that features a broken Oz in need of fixing, that has different factions of Oz ruled by different people, including a Gnome king, that have humans with bicycle wheels for hands and feet, and that feature a Deadly Desert. To be fair, as a child, I had no idea that there even were subsequent books about Oz, and I certainly didn’t read them. But I do remember seeing Return to Oz and having nightmares for maybe a decade afterwards.
Dorothy Must Die is considerably less scary than the movie Return to Oz . . . perhaps partially because I’m older, but more importantly, because it lets the reader into the heads of the actors, and because we’re following Amy, a heavily bullied young woman from a difficult family situation who stumbles into Oz in a tornado. In Oz, she meets the strange and illusive Pete, a band of wicked witches, and many others, as she learns that Oz is a broken place . . . not because Dorothy left, but because she came back.
As Amy puzzles her way through where she is, how she got there, and what she needs to do, she learns a lot about herself, her family, and finds that she’s actually a much stronger person than she’s allowed herself to believe before.
What I Liked About the Book:
- The book begins with Amy taking constant bullying from her peers at school and, while she does stand up to it occasionally (there were definitely some cringe-inducing moments for me when she just couldn’t keep quiet), it’s no big surprise to see how it’s affected her demeanor. The best part, though? Her experiences dealing with bullies at home actually increase her skill set in Kansas and prove to be powerful tools in her skill set. I thought that this was a particularly powerful tool for the author to use to show how it’s possible–indeed, necessary–to learn from experience and use those tools where possible.
2. Much of the tale–at heart–is about Amy finding herself, which is a great tale for any teen to read, but especially one where the protagonist isn’t already in a great family (regardless of socioeconomic status), which seems to be a go-to in YA Lit. Instead, she has an alcohol/drug dependent, depressed mother; a father who’s MIA; a glowing awareness of how much she dislikes her place in the world; and a burning desire to get out as quickly as possible.
3. The characters are many and interesting. Best of all? They turn the saccharine-sweetness of MGM’s movie into something bolder, darker and more in flux.
4. I actually really liked Dorothy as the evil ruler–again, cutting into the uber-sweetness of the MGM tale, it really helped to bring the reader into a different time and place–and to show how people can change. Just as Amy grows in confidence and ability, Dorothy has, too. The good have turned wicked and the wicked work for good–this concept of the personal capacity for change works in both directions, which is a concept that I don’t see often enough in YA Lit.
5. Amy is repeatedly told not to trust anyone. By virtue of this, she’s taught to question the words, acts, motives and honesty behind each and all of the individuals she interacts with, even those she wants to believe in. More importantly, though, it forces her to learn to rely on herself: her own ideas, her own strength, her own capacity and intelligence, in order to formulate a clearer idea of what she is truly capable of accomplishing.
What I Didn’t Love About It:
- I think Amy concluded–in describing what she was seeing around her–that about 90% of the characters looked “about [her] age.” In those words. Exactly. Repeatedly. Enough so that it was a distraction.
2. There’s also inconsistency with how Star’s described. In the beginning (and at various times throughout the story), Star’s Amy’s mom’s beloved pet, and Amy’s disgusted/grossed out/jealous(?) of this critter, but generally dislikes her. However, as Star makes the trip to OZ with Amy, suddenly Star’s Amy’s rat, her close friend, and even her bed companion. All of which is confusing, because it’s like a switch is flipped in Amy in relation to the once-annoying rat.
3. It felt like there were a number of times when I found myself mentally wandering. I was listening to the Audible edition, which was fairly well narrated, but Amy has a tendency to circle in her mind around the same dilemmas repeatedly, with no or little new information to add to them. Sadly, when I’d realize that I’d been spacing, I could immediately tune right back in and not even need to rewind and listen again to what I’d missed.
4. Even after finishing the book, I don’t understand how Dorothy was able to ascend and become the monster beast she is. I think a little more background, a little hint at Dorothy’s internal motivations, would have helped to make this clearer and would have possibly created a basis for further and better ideas. Or why others who are either as powerful or similarly so wouldn’t take issue with her draining of resources for unknown personal use.
5. Astrid’s relationship to the Scarecrow–at least, her suggestively insinuated relationship? SUPER gross.
Overall:
This is a really interesting take on a story that could use a little tarnish on it’s technicolor glory, which I appreciated. It needs better editing, which is my biggest gripe, but otherwise, it makes for an interesting tale!
The Alpha and the Omega: The Endless Ramblings of a YA Lit Lover 