Review: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

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Title: Dorothy Must Die
Author: Danielle Paige
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 stars)
Published April 2014
Hardcover, 452 Pages

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 blue birds. 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 the yellow brick road, though—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: Remove the Tin Woodman's heart. Steal the Scarecrow's brain. Take the Lion's courage. Then and only then—Dorothy must die!

I received this book at BookCon 2014 when I found out Paige was doing a signing (and for the record, this was one of the highlights of my BookCon experience. I've been looking forward to this book for awhile!). So yes, I read my free signed copy and was so protective of it because that's just what book nerds do.

Now, back to the review. 

Just the idea for this book in general completely captivated me from the start--I mean come on, have you ever heard of Dorothy Gale being depicted as the bad guy, let alone the trashy, bratty, heartless bad guy? Never. Never ever in a million years--which is partially why this book is so iconic and making so many waves. Everyone's intrigued. We all want to know how exactly Paige planned on putting the gold and glory of Kansas and Oz into the role of the villain. (And may I just point it out--Danielle Paige did that part flawlessly.)

This book honestly captivated me from start to finish, and less than a week after BookCon I already tore through it and fell in love with the whole thing...I don't know how I'll be able to find it in my heart to be patient and wait for the second and third installments of the trilogy, which will be published in 2015 and 2017. (I do, however, hope that Paige doesn't turn the trilogy into an extremely long serious--*cough* The Mortal Instruments *cough.*)

As you know with all of my reviews, as much as I gush about the positives, I always have to report on the parts that didn't make me all that happy as well. This is the first review (besides TFiOS. But like I said, TFiOS is the exception to everything) that I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO NEGATIVES TO REPORT ON. As soon as I closed the book, I text Amber to see what she was up to, and then I DMed Steph, another sweet girl we met at BookCon who had already read the book, to gush and rant and vent and just find a place to put all of my feels because I WAS PRACTICALLY EXPLODING WITH FEELS.

Danielle Paige, if you're reading this, props to you. Major, major props. Dorothy Must Die was the best book I've read since The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska. And I have read a lot of books since then. Quite a lot. A colossal amount.

I promise you guys that I'm trying to think of coherent thoughts. It's just...it's been two hours since I've finished the book and I'm still so shocked and amazed. Honestly, if Dorothy Must Die isn't on your to-read list, go add it right now. That's it. Go. Right now. You won't regret it, and that's a promise.

I am filled with so much praise for this book that I can't even form sentences anymore. Thank you so much to Danielle Paige for being such a sweetheart at BookCon and for signing our free copies of the book! Looking forward to the next two books in the trilogy...can 2015 and 2017 come any faster?