Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige [Review]

Title: Dorothy Must Die
Author: Danielle Paige
Series: Dorothy Must Die #1
Pages: 452
ISBN: 0062280678

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 blue birds. 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 the yellow brick road, though—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:
Remove the Tin Woodman's heart.
Steal the Scarecrow's brain.
Take the Lion's courage.
Then and only then—Dorothy must die!

The premise of Dorothy Must Die had me feeling so full of excitement! I love retellings and this one seemed to have everything that I love about them incorporated into it. It was putting a HUGE twist on a classic, making Dorothy not the innocent little girl from Kansas but rather a destroyer of OZ.  It was original, fun, exciting, and I was eager to get my hands on it.

Overall, I wasn't disappointed. I love the world that Paige created. This was a completely different kind of OZ - one full of darkness where the line between good and evil is a blur for everyone around.

I loved seeing the classic heroine become the villain, Dorothy isn't the character that we know and love though I can see the familiar person within the evil princess she is in this new story. She is still a young girl and this can be seen in her ruling style. Rather than admit to the world she has created she instead insists that everyone is happy - while going completely Queen of Hearts and punishing people for things like wandering eyes.

She is a punisher, and she let the love of magic go to her head.

Her three goons are the lion, the scarecrow, and the tin man - an effect that I especially loved. Of course they would be her warriors and do her bidding and it was great to watch that dynamic. The lion is the leader of her soldiers/protection, the scarecrow is "the brains" doing scientific research to better the princess, and the tin man... well... he plays an interesting role in it all.

Amy was a good protagonist, though it took me a little bit to really get into her world I was eager to go through OZ with her. She had faults, but she didn't hide or run away from them. She wasn't perfect and she definitely makes mistakes but she is human, which means that she too is susceptible to the powers that OZ's magic has over people. 

The Wicked was a wonderful addition and I liked watching their undercover operation. I look forward to spending more time with these witches as the series progresses.

Overall, Dorothy Must Die was a fantastic start to this new series. It was missing something - some microscopic detail that I can't place, but I am extremely eager to see where the following books take it.

If you enjoy retellings, love fantasy, or just really love kick ass heroines - Dorothy Must Die is for you.