Review - Dorothy Must Die by: Danielle Paige

Title: Dorothy Must Die
Author: Danielle Paige

Series: Dorothy Must Die #1
Pages: 452
Format: Paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins

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 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!

My thoughts: 

If you've read the Oz books when you were little like I did, loved them, and even pretended you were Judy Garland and clicked your heels together like crazy as in the Wizard of Oz movie, then you better stay away from this book. As you may or may not know, the movie, filmed in 1939, is famous for being one of the first examples of the "technicolor" technology. Yet, this book has made that all grey.

When it comes to classics (as in books I've grown up with), I either love or hate the remakes whether it's in written or film form. Dorothy Must Die happens to be one I did not enjoy. I was all tense while starting the movie "Oz, the Great and Powerful"  because I knew I'd either love it or hate it. I ended up loving the new movie. Yet, I was rather annoyed and rather bored while reading the adventures of a girl from Texas who finds herself in Oz, which, in this dimension of reality, is a miserable place where Dorothy has gone evil.

I appreciate the effort, but here are the reasons why I disliked this book:

1. It took a very long time for the story to even actually start. Especially those who know the original will get bored.
2. The main character Amy Gumm is very needy, always complaining. I felt like she didn't even deserve to go to Oz no matter how Oz ended up.
3. When the storyline is supposed to raise your curiosity, it's way too obvious what's going to happen and makes you feel rather silly.
4. I didn't like that there was a love story forced in between when everyone in Oz is suffering. First work, then play, kids!
5. This is going to be a spoiler but Amy can't even kill Dorothy as she's supposed to. I wonder what kind of obstacles the author will come up with as the series proceeds forward. I must admit I'm not really curious.