No Place Like Oz (Dorothy Must Die #0.5) by Danielle Paige
Title: No Place Like Oz
Series: Dorothy Must Die, #0.5
Author: Danielle Paige
Published: HarperCollins; 2013
196 pages, kindle edition
Source: Gifted to me (from Sarah)
Rating: 2 stars
Description (from Goodreads):
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.
My Thoughts:
No Place Like Oz introduced a simply fascinating world with potentially great characters, but it wasn't that great. I know, I know, its a Wizard of Oz retelling - it has to be great, right?
Wrong.
I never thought that I would dislike a retelling of this nature. I mean not only do I simply adore the movie, but retellings are one of my all-time favourite genres. I thought this would have easily been a new favourite of mine.
No such luck however.
Dorothy was a bitch. I'm sorry, excuse my language, but seriously? She whined, she whinged, she yelled at and was simply rude to everyone who even dared to be nice to her. Her aunt and uncle cared about her and wanted nothing but the best for her, so how does she repay them? With mind control and then embarrasses and mocks them. She is horrible to everyone for no reason other than the fact that she thinks she is so damn high and mighty. She is so obviously better than them... expect she isn't really.
Another downer was that the plot was too rushed. A big problem I find with novellas in general, but what makes this worse is that No Place Like Oz easily has enough storyline to fill an entire novel double its size. It didn't need to be rushed. There were so many parts that could have done with more description, more elaboration and more planning.
What got this up to two stars is simple: the idea. I mean its an absolutely amazing and original idea. We have had Wizard of Oz spin-offs before, but never have we had a futuristic book set with Dorothy going back to Oz. Well, I have never heard or read any. Its a wonderful idea and I simply loved seeing the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman and Glinda and the whole crew back together. I wanted more, more, more about what had transpired in Oz while Dorothy was gone - more about the Forest of Fear trees, the Yellow Brick Road, the Wizard, the pixies, the Scarecrow's reign - I wanted to explore it all.
In the end, I felt like this wasn't enough. It lack that special something that I was expecting it to have. I didn't like the characters, especially Dorothy, and the plot was a little too dull for me to be too engaged. I look forward to Dorothy Must Tell regardless, but I hope it is better than this was.
No Place Like Oz introduced a simply fascinating world with potentially great characters, but it wasn't that great. I know, I know, its a Wizard of Oz retelling - it has to be great, right?
Wrong.
I never thought that I would dislike a retelling of this nature. I mean not only do I simply adore the movie, but retellings are one of my all-time favourite genres. I thought this would have easily been a new favourite of mine.
No such luck however.
Dorothy was a bitch. I'm sorry, excuse my language, but seriously? She whined, she whinged, she yelled at and was simply rude to everyone who even dared to be nice to her. Her aunt and uncle cared about her and wanted nothing but the best for her, so how does she repay them? With mind control and then embarrasses and mocks them. She is horrible to everyone for no reason other than the fact that she thinks she is so damn high and mighty. She is so obviously better than them... expect she isn't really.
Another downer was that the plot was too rushed. A big problem I find with novellas in general, but what makes this worse is that No Place Like Oz easily has enough storyline to fill an entire novel double its size. It didn't need to be rushed. There were so many parts that could have done with more description, more elaboration and more planning.
What got this up to two stars is simple: the idea. I mean its an absolutely amazing and original idea. We have had Wizard of Oz spin-offs before, but never have we had a futuristic book set with Dorothy going back to Oz. Well, I have never heard or read any. Its a wonderful idea and I simply loved seeing the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman and Glinda and the whole crew back together. I wanted more, more, more about what had transpired in Oz while Dorothy was gone - more about the Forest of Fear trees, the Yellow Brick Road, the Wizard, the pixies, the Scarecrow's reign - I wanted to explore it all.
In the end, I felt like this wasn't enough. It lack that special something that I was expecting it to have. I didn't like the characters, especially Dorothy, and the plot was a little too dull for me to be too engaged. I look forward to Dorothy Must Tell regardless, but I hope it is better than this was.
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