The Scarecrow is a mad scientist, the Tin Woodman a sadistic military commander, the Cowardly Lion a ravenous beast, and Dorothy a vainglorious tyrant obsessed with stealing the land's magic and enslaving its people. When Kansas teenager Amy Gumm is carried away by a tornado, she arrives in a nightmarish version of Oz. And now no one is safe.Ī former writer for television, Paige makes her YA debut with this edgy update of Baum's classic series. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. There's still a road of yellow brick-but even that's crumbling. 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. But I never expected Oz to look like this. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. 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?

And I have a mission: Remove the Tin Woodman's heart. I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked. My name is Amy Gumm-and I'm the other girl from Kansas. Start at the beginning and discover your new series to binge! Of course, it helps that the maniacally OCD Dorothy is a prize heel, which actually may not be entirely her fault.The New York Times bestselling first book in a dark series that reimagines the Oz saga, from debut author Danielle Paige.

She even struggles with her mission to off a beloved character - it's like a Star Wars nerd being thrown into that galaxy and told to pop a cap in Han Solo. Her tale mirrors that of Dorothy in all the right ways, but it's never a paint-by-numbers redo. With her pet rat, Star, Amy is the perfect protagonist for Paige's series. Certain new and notable players join the mix, including Glinda's witchy twin sister, Glamora the enigmatic Nox, a potential love interest for Amy in the Order and the formerly flying monkey Ollie.

Paige doesn't reinvent the wheel but instead takes a world that most of pop culture has been raised on and builds from it her own modern mythology. The remaining witches in Oz have now formed the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, and they recruit Amy to help their cause and put her through training in order to go undercover in the Emerald City, discover Dorothy's weaknesses and assassinate her. The good is now wicked, and the wicked are, well, kind of good. This Dorothy is a cruel, sexed-up ruler who doesn't think twice about eliminating those who get in her way or even just slightly annoy her. Dorothy back in the day was all about helping free Munchkins and making everyone happy.

Dorothy must die