Novella November: No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige

No Place Like Oz is the ambitious prequel to Dorothy Must Die, which is one of my anticipated books of 2014 by far. I think readers should definitely pick up No Place Like Oz before reading Dorothy Must Die because it's a quick read and it readers a good taste of what Dorothy Must Die will be like. After reading No Place Like Oz, I'm definitely not as excited for Dorothy Must Die as I was when I had initially heard about it on Epic Reads' Tea Time. No Place Like Oz is overly ambitious and it didn't quite fill me with wonder like the 1939 movie and the original novels did.

The Dorothy that Danielle Paige has created in this novella is extremely petulant and she was constantly on my nerves. I understand that's she fed up with regular life and she craves something more, but that doesn't give her the right to act nasty and obnoxious towards Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. Dorothy doesn't want to be a farmgirl, she wants to live in Oz, she wants to live in a world with magic and adventure. I really understand how Dorothy feels, the feeling that you want more than this from life, but Dorothy truly needs to get over herself. There becomes a point where being cranky, throwing tantrums, and thinking you know best for everyone else is enough. I seriously applaud Aunt Em and Uncle Henry because I really don't know how they manage to deal with Dorothy because nothing they do for her is ever enough.

No Place Like Oz is pretty predictable and I wasn't all that eager to find out what happened next. I really wish there was  more cameos from my favorite Ozian characters, I think readers of Baum's original novels will appreciate this e-Novella the most due to the appearance of Ozma, the renowned ruler of Oz.  Besides the appearance of Ozma who I loved in this book, No Place Like Oz isn't all that interesting, it merely sets up Dorothy Must Die. Honestly, if you don't read this novella, you're not missing out on much because barely anything happens throughout the course of this novella.

While I'm not overly enthusiastic about No Place Like Oz, it was entertaining and a nice change of pace from all of the dystopian books I've been reading. No Place Like Oz isn't what one would expect from a Wizard Of Oz "sequel/retelling" , it's way more angsty and unappealing. Hopefully, Dorothy Must Die is stronger in plot and development than No Place Like Oz was.