Review: No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige

No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige
Dorothy Must Die #0.5
Release Date: November 12th, 2013 by HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult > Fantasy > Retelling
Source: Bought for Kindle
Find It: Amazon || GoodReads || B&N
Summary 

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.

Perfect for fans of Alex Flinn, Marissa Meyer, and Gregory Maguire, No Place Like Oz is a dark reimagining of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Building off of its rich mythology, Danielle Paige creates an edgy, thrilling story for teens that chronicles the rise and fall of one of the literature’s most beloved characters. This digital original novella is a prequel that sets the stage for the forthcoming novel Dorothy Must Die.

I'm not gonna lie, it took me forever to read through No Place Like Oz which is strange right? Considering how much I love Wizard Of Oz? But I don't know, there was something about it that just rubbed me the wrong way...

I did want to finish it though because Dorothy Must Die is coming out soon and I thought I'd get a little inside on what this series is about.

No Place Like Oz does a great job of setting you up for the next book by telling you a story about Dorothy. A new story. She's come back to Oz to help save Glinda but the characters in this book are nothing like the ones you've read in the classics or have seen in the movie adaptation. Hell, they're nothing like the ones even seen in Wicked! I can tell you this much, this. book. is. crazy. Completely off the rocker crazy.

The plot moves a little slowly and it takes awhile for you to bump into any familiar faces but once you do, it takes off from there! Like I said, Dorothy is back in Oz with the help from a gift from Glinda and this time she's brought her Aunt and Uncle with her.

In the beginning of the book we see what Dorothy's life is like after coming back from Oz. Her Aunt had thrown her a birthday party and invited some girls from her school who I suppose don't really like her and Dorothy's attitude through out the whole even really spoke a lot about her character. She didn't appreciate the effort from her Aunt all she was obsessed with was getting back to Oz. And once they got there... her character took an even worse turn.

I think the thing that really rubbed me the wrong way about this book was Dorothy. Everything she did and said was completely out of character. I know there was an element that encouraged this from here but it still rubbed me the wrong way. The fact that she was acting this way and the fact that she wasn't the level headed Dorothy we've grown to know and love. She should had been aware something was wrong. She should had been able to step back and fix it. It seemed like her heart wasn't with her Aunt and Uncle anymore but filled with hunger for power.

Ozma leaned down and patted Toto on the head. He was so happy to be back that he was running in circles. "And this is little Tutu?" He snarled at her. Toto didn't like it when people got his name wrong. "Toto," I corrected quickly.

I honestly loved that Ozma made an appearance in this book and I wish we were able to know more about her.

While this installment left me aching for the next book, like I said, it still sort of left a bad taste in my mouth just because of Dorothy's attitude.