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| "No!" I screamed, but it was too late. The home that had once been mine was spinning down and down and down into the hole. I kept expecting to see it crash into a million pieces, but it just kept on falling as I stood there watching it disappear into the abyss. It was gone without even a sound. I had almost gone with it. Everything I owned was in there. Every piece of ugly clothing. Every bad memory. I was free of all of it. "I'm sorry about your house," my rescuer said... ~~~ |
"Mom!" I called, running to the open door. For a split second, I thought maybe she'd come back for me. Or, if not for me, then at least for Star. But it had just been the wind. For the first time, it occurred to me that the impending tornado might not be a joke...
The mom I'd once known was gone. She was never coming back. Still--whoever she was now--I didn't want her out there on her own. I couldn't trust Tawny to take care of her in a disaster. More than that, I didn't want to be alone. So I picked up my phone and punched in her name. No service. I hung up...
I couldn't even lie down in the bathtub. We didn't have a bathtub any more than we had a basement. Al Roker's voice on the TV had been replaced by static. I was alone.
"Star?" I squeaked. My voice barely made it out of my chest. "Star?" It was the first time in my life that I'd been desperate for the company of my mother's rat. I didn't have anyone else...
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| Underneath the boy's feet, yellow bricks as vivid as a box of new crayons, were almost glowing in start contrast to the blownout, postapocalyptic monochrome of the landscape. The gold path led all the way up to the ravine and then dropped off into nothingness. ~~~
By Danielle Paige
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Dorothy Must Die
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| Judy Garland The Wizard of Oz. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Well, for now, all you need to know is that she's not in Kansas anymore... Danielle Paige has done some research on what happened when she returned.
In fact, you may be surprised to learn that she returned to Oz and is there right now!
But there in Oz, somebody started to whisper "Dorothy Must Die..." Seems our once golded-voice star of song and laughter has changed quite a bit... Dorothy is all grown up and in love with bling, beautiful things and all that magic can bring to make her happy... Oz is almost gone
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| "Aren't you supposed to sing me a song or something?" |
Now, some say that Amy was selected to come to Oz...that may be true, but let me tell you that this young girl is not "molded" from the same stuff as Dorothy was. Her father left the
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| She was the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen. Her hair was red, and her skin was glowing, and her body was radiating a shower of glittering pink sparks. I smacked my head as it came to me. Duh. It must be Glinda. She was supposed to be the Good Witch...I felt my face light up at the sheer insanity of it all. When I'd watched The Wizard of Oz with my mother, Glinda had always been my favorite character--because who wouldn't want to travel around in a flying soap bubble wearing an awesome dress... ~~~ |
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| Ahead of us, we heard a screechy, unearthly caterwaul. Star squealed in response. I sped up to see what was going on. Then I wished I hadn't seen it at all. A few paces off, something was tied to a pole at the edge of the road. The something was furry. It screeched again... "The crime of sass?" I whispered angrily. They'd made that a crime... "let's get you down from there." I made a move to untie him, but Indigo grabbed my wrist. She was almost shaking... "No!" Indigo cried. But she didn't try to stop me. Within seconds I'd gotten him free. I caught him in my arms--he was heavier than he looked--and as I laid him carefully down on the yellow bricks, I felt two rough, balk little stumps on his shoulder blades...It took me a second to realize what they were, and when I did, I felt sick to my stomach. This monkey had once had wings..." ~~~ |
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| She seemed perfect. And yet, as I approached, an uneasy feeling prevented me from calling out her name. Something wasn't right. From far off, she looked beautiful, ethereal, otherworldly. But up close, there was something ugly about her. Something wrong with her face... But that smile. It was--I don't know how else to put it--kind of super-gross. It stretched unnaturally wide, spreading out maniacally all the way across her jaw from one cheekbone to the other, and it was twitching at the corners like her lips had been pinned into place. "What's with her mouth?"... It's PermaSmile... ~~~ |
Before she knew it, Indigo and Ollie was down on their knees, bowing in front of a girl. Fortunately, it turned out to be an illusion.
As readers learn about those that appeared in the original story, they will quickly discover that they are almost completely the opposite of what they once were!
Most of this book is acquainting readers to all the new characters and their personalities. One thing it was hard to take for Amy was that she discovered herself in the midst of witches--immediately assuming they were wicked, which they were, but...not...LOL You know it's bad when the wicked witches had to band together to try to solve the problems in Oz! At least that's what Amy was told when she was, more or less, told that she must join them.
Which turned out not to be so bad, since she was immediately placed in training...and it was by the boy who had originally saved her from going over into the big pit! And the head witch, Gert, said she was going to use her "Get Witch Quick" scheme to get Amy ready for what they needed from her!
With all of the programs such as Grimm and Once Upon a Time, it is clear that the latest craze to turn all fairy tales into dark stories of danger and disaster, it is not surprising that Dorothy Must Die is the latest. Conceptually, you will see a comparison to the earlier version...but that's about all...Everything is different. And even the characters will change mid-story as you find out more and more about who is working behind the scenes to return Oz to its former glory! The author has done a great job in creating a "dark" version, I think. Those who enjoy Grimm like I do will be quite satisfied with this contemporary version of the old tale.
For me, I enjoyed it...but for a story that will be popular through decades to come, we'll have to wait and see...For myself, I'd much rather be singing along in the musical version...LOL. Still, I would highly recommend this for those who enjoy updates of earlier fantasy or sci fi stories!
GABixlerReviews
Danielle Paige is a graduate of Columbia University and currently lives in New York City. Before turning to young adult literature, she worked in the television industry, where she received a Writers Guild of America Award and was nominated for several Daytime Emmys. Dorothy Must Die is her first novel.
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