Hey, guys! I actually got this book because I wanted to listen to an audiobook while driving myself to school and this was one of the few the library had around when I was looking. I'd heard of it, thought the title alone promised at least a little fun, and I heard Danielle Paige speak at a panel at Yall Fest and she seemed likable enough. I liked it, but it lacked a little extra pizzazz. Since I listened to the audiobook version, I apologize if I misspell a name. I'll let you know what I thought about the presenter though!
The Cover:
The Cover:
It shows Dorothy's stereotypical outfit with red writing over it that looks like blood. Plus, the title is great. It tells you exactly what this book is about. The cover's straight-forward and mildly sinister, just like this book. It's a great cover! Definitely one of my favorites. A+
The Cover:
It shows Dorothy's stereotypical outfit with red writing over it that looks like blood. Plus, the title is great. It tells you exactly what this book is about. The cover's straight-forward and mildly sinister, just like this book. It's a great cover! Definitely one of my favorites. A+
Official Description:
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 Review:
Get prepared to have everything innocent about The Wizard of Oz ruined for you in this book. The Scarecrow who just got a brain? Is now using it for human experimentation. The cowardly lion? He's now using his courage to attack and terrify citizens. Flying monkeys? They're under the control of Dorothy and Glinda, the supposed "Good" Witch of the North. And Dorothy? She's just a sadist.
Reading this book is like having your childhood slowly ruined in a fantasy/dystopian/spy book filled with quite a bit of gore. It was actually pretty cool. Basically, if you mixed Oz with the world of 1984 and add some magic in and then replaced Dorothy with a more sarcastic version of herself, you would get this book.
Amy Gumm was a very snarky character. She was incredibly cynical in every situation, which was great. You get a lot of her insight into the scenes. Possibly too much, in fact. At points, the story slowed down a bit too much because of it.
The supporting characters were all unique, and I enjoyed seeing all of their varying personalities. I liked a bunch of them more than Amy, but the author seemed to avoid any attachment to these supporting characters in any way possible. As soon as you grew to like a character, they would disappear by dying, leaving to go on a mission, or quite literally disappearing. It was actually kind of irritating. We would be introduced to a unique and interesting character only to have them be gone in 20 pages.
The plot was interesting. I was interested to see just how Dorothy's murder would be arranged and how Amy and/or one of the other characters would escape whatever sticky situation they found themselves in.
That being said, the ending of book one was... anticlimatic to say the least. It was as if this was meant to be a stand-alone book, they realized there could be a sequel, and they changed the climax to make this happen. However, that made a good third of this book completely pointless. Amy acted completely out of character, and then, it ended, only to be continued in The Wicked Will Rise.
All in all, it was a unique take on The Wizard of Oz that was funny at times and makes you rethink some stories from your childhood.
Would I recommend it? I don't think so. If I saw someone pick it up at Barnes & Noble and debate whether or not to buy it, I wouldn't snatch it from their hands and tell them no (*cough* Fangirl *cough*) but I wouldn't tell them to definitely pick it either. If you like Wizard of Oz or have nothing else on your list, go for it. It's not my first recommendation though. (Click here for my top recommendations!)
Will I read the sequel, The Wicked Will Rise? I can't tell you that, either. I probably will if I can't find more interesting audiobooks for my car rides to and from school, but I won't go out of my way.
Audiobook Review:
The reader of this audiobook, Devon Sorvari, was great! Her voice wasn't at all irritating, which I think is difficult to find in female narrators. She did a good job distinguishing characters and "performing" her role as a snarky teenager. Her presentation was great.
Phrases:
Don't touch the shoes.
Goth munchkin.
Happy Reading!
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(Note: I'm just going to post on here whenever I read a new book, so I might post a bunch of books in one week or none for two weeks. It won't be very regular. I'll post as much as I can, though! You can be sure to see each new review at either my Twitter or Facebook, so be sure to follow those if you want the most recent updates!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BookshelfSecret
(Note: I'm just going to post on here whenever I read a new book, so I might post a bunch of books in one week or none for two weeks. It won't be very regular. I'll post as much as I can, though! You can be sure to see each new review at either my Twitter or Facebook, so be sure to follow those if you want the most recent updates!)
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