Saturday, May 6, 2017

Crown Review #44 - Dorothy Must Die

Dorothy Must Die - Danielle Paige


Rating: 1.5/5 Stars
Series: Dorothy Must Die, #1
Length: 452 Pages
Purchase: [Amazon] | [Barnes & Noble]

!Slight Spoilers Ahead!

Synopsis:
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.
______________________________________________________________________


“This is where it all began for her, you know. I don’t know why you’re here or who brought you, Pink Hair, but if you’re here, it means it’s all beginning for you, too. You’re like her in so many ways, but I can tell you’re different. I can’t help you. I’m not powerful enough. But you can help yourself. Prove me right. Don’t make the same mistakes she made.”


When I picked up this book, I really thought I was going to like it. I really did. I have to say that I have seen the classic Wizard of Oz movie, but I never read the actual stories. I originally thought this was interesting to see Dorothy and the gang turn wicked in the Land of Oz and away from home. I hate to say this, but we are far away from Oz as well in this book. 

Amy Gumm, a girl from Tennessee, arrives in the Land of Oz after a tornado sweeps through her home. The moment she lands in Oz, she notices that this is not the story everyone knows and loves. She quickly finds out that "she's" the reason why Oz is like the way it is now. Who is "She?" Dorothy. Dorothy happened. Dorothy came back because home was no longer home and she was made a Princess of Oz for saving the land the last time she was there. Somehow, she became some ruthless ruler and everything went downhill.

Learning from the story, Dorothy set a couple rules for Happiness. It is Oz after all and there needs to be happiness right? Sure, under Dorothy's definition. If she's happy, all is good. However, if you hurt anyone's happiness just a teeny tiny little bit, you are severely punished. These simple laws are outrageous. In simpler terms, the laws are pretty much set to make Dorothy better, and everyone else worse. Happy, right? Who knew Dorothy was pretty much breaking her own law?

As Amy continues, she's quickly met by Dorothy and is thrown in the Palace's dungeon where the Wicked comes and rescues her. Remember, Good is Wicked, and Wicked is Good. This makes it confusing, but understandable once you see that everything is complete opposite now.  Amy somehow goes through training and is super good after like a day or two of training and she has go fight with Boss like characters (pretty much Dorothy and her Gang). I do not see how this training was matched up in skills and abilities. Also, welcome Insta-Love. You know, mostly everyone hates Insta-Love, but this was the worse case of Insta-Love I have ever seen. There this boy and Amy takes a sudden interest in, and the boy does the vice versa. However, nothing is built up for it except for one line and many mentioning like "he's hot" and "I can't stop looking." There is like no chemistry in the relationship at all. It was just a bad case of it.

If you think there was going to be a battle between Amy and Dorothy, you think it would be epic showdown of some sort? Right? NOPE. Dorothy is like a tiny dog. She think's she strong, but when she knows she's targeted, she runs. She doesn't even stand up or put her hands up to defend herself. She just runs. I am even surprised that Toto fights better than her. HER DOG. Dorothy doesn't even get a scratch on her. If you want a fight, show that the opponent is vulnerable, not invincible. As I said, there are many points, but nothing was ever built up on it and added to give it more depth to it.

Reading the story was simple, but many things weren't even adding up. However, when I was at the 90% mark, I came across this link detailing about the publishing company behind it. I was not happy about learning it and it made me disappointed that I even picked this book and paid for it. (I got it on sale for $2 on Amazon, but still). I sat there wondering if I should finish the book. The only reason I did finish it was because I only had 10% left so I might as well finish it. The only thing that I'm happy about is the fact that I know I don't even want to continue the series. They won't be collecting much from me anymore. I even debated wether or not to write a review. I did so I can write everything wrong with it.

Overall, the book is simple to read, but lacks in details for plots to give the story depth. Also, don't support the company.

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