Dorothy Must Die

By: Danielle Paige

Narrated by: Devon Sorvari

Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2014 Full Fathom Five, LLC (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

3.5 stars

3.5 stars rating. It gave Emerald City Confidential video game vibes and I lived for that part!

The premise is good, but...

If you can get past an idiotic, Mary Sue-ish main character, and the forced, cringe-worthy background romance... then the story isn't too bad.

great book

the person was awesome disguising her voice with all the different character I felt like I was there and in the book

Magical

It's an amazing story, has magic and that makes it really good to me. I can't wait to "read" the next one...

Not for me.

I guess this book just wasn't what I expected. Could have been more. I stop here.

AMAZING

Loved it! This book is so good! It's a must read! It's awesome for any age and I will make my kids read it to!

Solid YA alternate-Oz story

Fun re-imagining of the world of Oz and how the the happy ending isn’t necessarily happily “ever after.” The basic premise of a second girl from Kansas arriving in Oz, becoming a trained assassin and clever spy, and expected to blindly kill Dorothy without much backstory or explanation, is rather ludicrous and leads to obvious screw ups. But, the idea of a high schooler saving the day is the not-credible premise of many a YA series, right?

I like the color imagery and the twists on the various characters and creatures from the original Oz. There’s occasional cussing, torture, and bloody death, but it’s more pulpy comic-level violence. The narrator is fantastic, even if she doesn’t really make MC Amy sound like a teenager (I prefer the MC sounding 20 to 10). I recommend waiting for a sale, so you can get all four books for the price of two, especially because these books are more like four parts of a single book.

Good story, but disappointing ending

What did you love best about Dorothy Must Die?

Interesting story line, continuing the Oz story.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed listening to this book right up until the ending, which I felt was very disappointing.

a good listen

very good book only reason I say the story gets 4 out of 5 stars is because the end happens a little to quick and its a very big part of the books

A Twisted Look at the World of Oz

Which character – as performed by Devon Sorvari – was your favorite?

At first, I had a difficult time listening to Devon Sorvari, but after a while her voice grew on me to the point that I actually enjoyed her performance. She did Amy Gumm a lot of justice and pushed me to step inside the shoes of Amy. I felt and thought how Amy thought. I hated Dorothy just like Amy did!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed the twisted nature of a classic "fairy" tale. It was original and creative. Amy, who lives in a trailer park in Kansas, has had a rough life. Her mother is an alcoholic and abandons her quite often. Amy has had to raise herself. One night, she gets caught up in a tornado that transplants her into Oz. She realizes that Oz has changed substantially from the story she has read and she meets a very different but familiar cast of characters. Dorothy rules Oz but the power has gone to her head. I seriously wanted to uppercut Dorothy myself because of how much of a spoiled brat she turned into since she had returned to Oz. She is a total witch with a capital B. Amy gets trained by the Order of the Wicked to assassinate Dorothy to bring order back to Oz, but will she be successful?