The Witch Must Burn is the second book of the prequel trilogy to Dorothy Must Die. It's not necessary to have read Dorothy Must Die or No Place Like Oz in order to enjoy this one, but you can read reviews of them by clicking on the titles.
No Place Like Oz, the first prequel in Dorothy Must Die: Stories, was kind of dark. Dorothy was the quintessential nasty, angsty teen... to the umpteenth degree! So it was really refreshing to get into The Witch Must Burn, told from Jellia's point of view.
Jellia is a servant, the head ladies' maid, in Dorothy's castle. Even though she's just a teen herself, she's still old enough to remember what Oz was like under Ozma. Right from the beginning of the novella, the reader can sense her depression regarding Dorothy's rule. She misses Ozma, and worries about her. She despairs that things could ever improve again. On top of that, she still has to work for the very mercurial and often mean Dorothy, and keep a big secret. (You know I never give things away in my reviews! You'll have to read the book to find out more!)
My heart went out to Jellia! She's trying so hard to please Dorothy and to shield her subordinates from Dorothy's wrath. She's not a naively blind follower, though- she knows that Dorothy is in the wrong. She just doesn't know what to do about it. Yet. (*wink wink nudge nudge*)
If you've read Dorothy Must Die, you'll know what needs to be done. Even if you've read it, though, you'll still be surprised at the path that Jellia takes to get there. I know I was! It was heartbreaking in places, but always inspiring, what with Jellia's never-say-die attitude. There were even a few parts that were almost reminiscent of mad scientist horror tales, so it was a perfect October read for me.
The only small quibble I had was with the reader (I listened to the audiobook of The Witch Must Burn)- she just wasn't my taste. I can't exactly put my finger on anything in particular that was wrong; I think the accent just wasn't my cup of tea. It wasn't bad enough to distract me from the story or anything, so there's a good chance that other people will love the narrator.
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