Comment

Aug 26, 2015
“Dorothy Must Die Stories” is a collection of three stories taking place in Paige’s “Dorothy Must Die” universe. The first story, “No Place Like Oz”, follows the tyrannical Dorothy’s return to Oz, and her terrifying rise to power. “The Witch Must Burn” follows the serving maid Jellia as she goes to work for Glinda the Good Witch, and her first hand witness to the slow dilapidation of Oz. The third and final story is “The Wizard Returns”, which is about the Wizard and his return to Oz, and his alliance with the flying monkeys during a time of unrest in Oz. While “Dorothy Must Die Stories” takes place in the same world as Danielle Paige’s main “Dorothy Must Die” series, this book is simply an expansion on the main storyline. For the most part, “Dorothy Must Die Stories” is an entertaining collection of stories. “No Place Like Oz” and “The Witch Must Burn” both have gripping plots that will keep readers interested and on the edge of their seats. Unfortunately, “The Wizard Returns” falls short. Its plot is somewhat dull, and it feels as though it drags on for chapters without advancing in any way. The characters in the first two stories are wonderfully well written, and it is fantastic to see Dorothy’s rise to power, as well as Jellia’s reasoning to join the Wicked Witches’ resistance group from the “Dorothy Must Die” series. Sadly, the characterization of the Wizard is not very interesting, and “The Wizard Returns” is yet another author’s attempt at redeeming him. Paige’s version of Oz is expanded in these three stories, and the new views and settings investigated are wonderfully well-written. Overall, the author of this review highly recommends “No Place Like Oz” and “The Witch Must Burn”, but doesn’t particularly recommend “The Wizard Returns”. None of these stories contain a great deal of symbolism or deeper meanings, and would not make very good essay books or ‘book talk’ books. Due to some scary content, the author of this review believes “Dorothy Must Die Stories” to be suitable for ages twelve and up.