Dorothy Must Die

Synopsis

Amy Gumm, a high school student living in Kansas, has a dismal life, bullied at school for her snarky demeanor, and her mother is a neglectful alcoholic and addict. After a falling out with her mother, Amy's trailer is caught in a tornado and transported to the Land of Oz, but is trapped in a canyon. She is rescued by a mysterious boy named Pete who tells her to go to the Emerald City. Amy, accompanied by her mother's pet rat, Star, and a punk goth Munchkin named Indigo, learns Oz has been conquered by Dorothy Gale, now a power-hungry self-proclaimed princess and dictator. Rescuing a crucified wingless flying monkey, Ollie, Amy encounters the Tin Woodman, Dorothy's grand inquisitor and protector, who arrests her and kills Indigo, Ollie fleeing.

Amy reunites with Pete who claims to be a gardener in the royal palace and tells her she will be rescued. On the night of her "fate worse than death", Amy is rescued by Mombi, a member of a secret society called the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, who wish to free Oz from Dorothy's control. The group includes Grandma Gert, Mombi, Glinda's twin sister Glamora, and several teenage warriors including a warlock named Nox who wishes to avenge his family. The Order reveals they recruited Amy to train her in magic and then assassinate Dorothy. Amy agrees and is taught how to use magic, armed with an enchanted dagger. The Order attempts to eliminate the Cowardly Lion, now a ravenous monster who absorbs the fear of others, but the attack fails, leading to Gert's death.

The Order move on with their main plan, magically disguising Amy as a maid in the royal palace. They inform her an unnamed agent of theirs will be watching her. Amy, under the alias of Astrid, encounters the delusional Princess Ozma, and learns the Wizard himself has returned to Oz. Amy also encounters Ollie, who has sneaked into the palace to rescue his sister Maude from the Scarecrow, who has become a mad scientist and performs inhuman experiments on Ozians. Amy breaks into the Scarecrow's underground laboratory and rescues Maude, but has to saw off her wings to prevent Dorothy from controlling her. Ollie and Maude flee. The next day, the Tin Woodman searches for the culprit, and Jellia Jamb, Dorothy's handmaid, takes the blame, revealing herself to be Amy's backup. Jellia tries to assassinate Dorothy, but is maimed by the Lion.

A large gala is held in the palace. Amy, working as a waitress, discovers the Scarecrow has turned Jellia into a zombie servant. Amy reunites with Nox, and uses the Tin Woodman as a distraction to take Dorothy to her chamber, where she attempts the assassination; but she is thwarted by Toto and the Tin Woodman. As the Order storm the palace, Amy tackles Dorothy over a balcony, but the latter teleports herself safely away using her ruby slippers. Amy is rescued by Ollie and Maude, using makeshift wings, and taken to Pete and the Wizard, who tells her a way to defeat Dorothy is to slay her companions and bring him the brain, heart, and courage he bestowed upon them. The Tin Woodman appears; Amy slays the Woodman, taking his heart before flying away to safety with the monkeys, accompanied by Ozma, who reveals that she is Pete's true identity.

Main characters

Prequels

A prequel, No Place Like Oz, was released in e-book format on November 12, 2013 through HarperCollins. The story is set before the events in Dorothy Must Die, but after Dorothy's first trip to Oz. It follows Dorothy as she decides to return to Oz, because she misses the adventure, fame, and vibrancy of the magical world. Her life in Kansas is so lackluster that she returns regardless of the cost to others. Another prequel, The Witch Must Burn, was later published, and a third, The Wizard Returns, was published with the first two in book form in March 2015. The fourth novella, Heart of Tin, was released on July 28, 2015. The fifth novella, The Straw King, was released on November 10, 2015, and the sixth novella, Ruler of Beasts, was released on February 16, 2016. The three will be released in a paperback book titled Dorothy Must Die Stories: Volume #2. Amazon has listed a seventh novella order of the wicked released June 28, 2016. The eighth novella "Dark Side of the Rainbow" published January 31, 2017

Sequels

A sequel titled The Wicked Will Rise was published on March 30, 2015, following the events of Dorothy Must Die. The third installment of the series titled Yellow Brick War was published on March 15, 2016. A fourth book, The End of Oz, is planned to be released March 14, 2017.

Reception

Nerdist gave Dorothy Must Die a positive review, commenting that "In less skilled hands, all this could make for a trite take on well-worn territory. But Paige gives Amy a strong voice and an even stronger point of view." Kirkus Reviews gave a mostly positive review, stating "In the end, it’s just another violent dystopian series opener for all its yellow-brick veneer, but it’s a whole lot more fun than many of its ilk." A senior editor for the School Library Journal praised the work as being "gory, grim, and fast-paced".