No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige

No Place Like Oz (Dorothy Must Die prequel novella) by Danielle Paige

Rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis: After returning to Kansas, Dorothy Gale has realized that the dreary fields of Kansas don’t compare to the vibrant landscapes of Oz. And although she’s happy to be reunited with Aunt Em, she misses her friends from the yellow brick road. But most of all, Dorothy misses the fame and the adventure. In Kansas she’s just another prairie girl, but in Oz she was a hero. So Dorothy is willing to do anything to get back, because there really is no place like Oz. But returning to the land she left comes at a price, and after Dorothy is through with it, Oz will never be the same.

Review: I recently finished reading Dorothy Must Die and I really loved it. I'm loving my fairy tale re-tellings at the moment and reading that book did nothing to stop the obsession and it left me wanting to learn more about this world that Danielle Paige has created. However, I'm not quite willing to part with X amount of hard earned cash for the sequels (not least because I'm desperately hoping that book number 2 won't follow the pattern of sequel books being not so great) so, while I wait for my local library to order them in I decided to have a little hunt on the internet to see if there were any other books/tales from this world I could find. Low and behold - there are a bunch! Now I only bought this one novella and you can do that OR you can buy the bind up editions of all the novellas available. No Place Like Oz interested me though because this is the story of how Dorothy ended up back in Oz after going home, and how the events in Dorothy Must Die came to be.

I liked that we got to see some of Dorothy's life back in Kansas, and that we got a better glimpse at the struggles she faced there. This novella was a really good length and so we spent plenty of time in both Kansas and Oz and learnt more about both of them.
 Bullies are something that both Dorothy and Amy have in common in this series and it was nice to see how they each deal with it. Dorothy is torn - she doesn't fit in at home anymore and actually regrets her decision to go back to Kansas, even more so once her bully makes an appearance. Seeing this makes you realise just why Dorothy likes the way magic feels and the power it gives her.

When we meet Dorothy in DMD, she's been crazed by power for a long time and it was really interesting to see that change take place in No Place Like Oz and to see how her thoughts on using magic change over the course of this novella. At one point, Dorothy makes the distinct statement that "It wasn't right. I do realise that. People aren't little marionettes to be pulled this way and that without their say-so in the matter. On the other hand, just because it wasn't right didn't mean it wasn't fun." This statement really struck me as marking the change from the Dorothy Gale from the movie and the Dorothy Gale we meet in DMD and I loved that she did make this statement in the novella - I think it shows you a lot about Dorothy and her struggle to fit in.

Despite knowing all of this about Dorothy - I never felt sorry for her. Yes she's being told conflicting stories from everyone she meets but she also jumps to her own conclusions and that leads her to doing what she does in the final few scenes. There was never really any reason to victimise her aunt and uncle and yet she does so without a second thought, yet they're only looking after her and trying to protect her. All of this means that you finish the book with the same perception of Dorothy as you get in DMD which I think is a mark of a really talented writer. It would have been so easy for Danielle to make Dorothy the victim and make the readers feel sorry for her but she doesn't do that. She explains why Dorothy became power crazed but that's all and I really liked that.

I loved that Ozma played such a big part in this novella because we see that she's actually a really strong person who wants to do right by her people and I really felt for her - all she wanted was a friend and Dorothy could have benefited from that as well, but she chose not to. All I wanted to do was give Ozma a hug, she just seems like she needs someone to tell her that she's doing a good job.

The one thing about this novella and about DMD actually is that, although they're really engaging when you're reading them, I found that once I put them down; I could leave them for a couple of days or even a couple of weeks before picking them back up again. The plot and the characters are amazing and well thought out and engaging when you're reading them but, I found that I wasn't in any hurry to find out what happened next (until the final fight in DMD - then I was hooked till the very end). This is the only thing that let it down for me but, it doesn't stop me from wanting to pick up the sequels in any way.

If you've read Dorothy Must Die and want to know more, I would definitely recommend reading this novella at least because it does explain how we get to DMD and the motives behind why Dorothy does what she does.

Image and synopsis from Goodreads. Quote is taken directly from the novella. No Copyright Intended.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis: I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero. But when you're 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. But I never expected Oz to look like this. A place where Good Witches can't be trusted and Wicked Witches just might be the good guys. A place where even the yellow brick road is crumbling. What happened? Dorothy. My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas. I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, and I've been given a mission:

REMOVE THE TIN WOODMAN'S HEART.
STEAL THE SCARECROW'S BRAIN.

TAKE THE LION'S COURAGE.

And then: DOROTHY MUST DIE.

Review: So it's only taken me three months to get started on the pile of books I got for Christmas, but I've finally finished the first one and I really enjoyed it. Dorothy Must Die was probably the book I was most looking forward to reading and it didn't let me down! We follow Amy Gumm, the other girl from Kansas, who has no friends besides her mothers pet rat and even then it's a rocky friendship. Her mother is a drunk who would rather go out on the town with her friend than stay behind with her daughter when there's a tornado warning in force, leaving Amy to force the wonderful world of Oz alone. Great - what could go wrong in Oz I hear you ask. Try just about everything...

I really enjoyed this book. The way that Danielle twisted the world and characters that we (think) we know and love was so different and kept me hooked right till the very end. Everything you think you know about Oz is essentially flipped in this story but even then, nothing is as it seems. Just because the Wicked Witches are working together to stop Dorothy, it doesn't mean they can be trusted. They're called the Wicked Witches for a reason after all. Everyone in this story has an agenda and everyone has secrets and that impacts how the story unfolds because Amy, our heroine, is only told enough information to keep her alive, which means Amy (and therefore us as readers) are kind of on our own in this story because you can't trust anyone, which is different from a lot of books I've read before. There's usually one character, or a group of characters that the main character can trust, but not in this book.

I loved Amy as the main character. I thought she was strong and witty and clever. All too often in YA books, the main character has moments of what I like to call great stupidity - where they do the one thing they're not meant to do, purely for the sake of proving someone wrong. What was really refreshing in this book was that Amy was smart about pretty much everything. For me, there wasn't really a moment of great stupidity - everything she did made sense to me as a reader. Even deviating from what the Order of the Wicked told her to do (which wasn't much to be honest) still felt like a smart move, even if it did put the original plan in jeopardy. It gave both Amy and us as readers more information about Dorothy and her 'friends' and what they're reign is like. She doesn't pull her punches either. She knows that the witches aren't telling her everything, and that she's at a distinct disadvantage next to Dorothy, and she lets everyone know that she's not happy about it. It's refreshing to have such a perceptive main character who understands the position she's been forced into and immediately starts thinking about what happens next rather than someone who lets themselves be dictated to by those in a higher position of authority.

I really enjoyed the scenes with the Order of the Wicked. The idea that the Wicked Witches have banded together to help overthrow Dorothy was really interesting and I loved how each of their distinct personalities helped to prepare Amy for her time as a spy. I loved Glamora who is Glinda's sister and how she had tried to turn her room in the caves into a boudoir kind of place. Her talents seemed rather useless at the time but, once the story moves on, you realise that actually, what she taught Amy was as useful as the fight training she was given. It kind of reminded me of the phrase 'don't judge a book by it's cover' because Amy kind of dismissed Glamora when she met her but she actually taught her some valuable information. I also loved Gert. She seemd to be the most human of the witches and could empathise in some way with Amy's situation and really tried to help her. Her methods could be a bit shady at times (she is a Wicked Witch after all) but I really liked her character and the part she played in preparing Amy to take down Dorothy. Mombi however, is the wild card of the bunch. Even now, I'm not entirely sure what to make of her. She definitely has something up her sleeves and seems to be the most wicked out of all the witches. I think she's only with the Order to save herself and, once Dorothy is overthrown, Mombi will make a move to take over herself. That's what I think will happen anyway.

Oh Nox. Nox is a complete mystery to us, to Amy and even to himself. It's alluded that the witches have done something to him to make him into such a good fighter and you can definitely see them doing that. He's very focused on the aim of the mission. Everything he does is about killing Dorothy - that is the only thing that matters to him - but, you can see something changing in him, especially towards the end of the book. I'm really interested in seeing how he develops over the rest of the series and how he's going to grow as a person. Another prediction of mine (or wish, depending on how you look at it) is that Nox is going to realise that the witches have done something to him and will rebel against the order and go to find Amy to help her. That's what I want to happen.

The Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow and the Lion are terrifying characters. You wouldn't want to run into any of them in a light alley, let alone a dark one! The 'modifications' that the Wizard gave them have changed them in ways you can't even imagine. What I loved about these characters was that Danielle built them up to be these terrifying characters who will do anything for Dorothy but then, she also showed their weaknesses. Specifically, in this book, the Tin Man's weakness. As the story progressed, I found myself feeling sorry for him because he just wants Dorothy to notice him as something more than a guard. The Scarecrow and the Lion not so much - we saw more of them being cruel than not, but the Tin Man - yeah, I definitely ended up feeling sorry for him.

This book was so amazing. The only thing that let it down a little for me was the ending - it did seem a little abrupt BUT book 2 is already out and book 3 is coming out this year so it's not too much of a problem for me. Plus, there's a book of novella's as well set in this world that Danielle has created which I can't wait to get my hands on. The world, the characters and...just everything about this book was so interesting and engaging and it really lived up to my expectations. If you enjoy retelling's of stories then this is one to pick up!

Image from Goodreads - no Copyright Intended