As much as I hate to admit it, I have always had a tendency to find entertainment in things that so bad that they’re good. Whether it’s movies, books, or anything else, there’s something about these corny, awkward, or even dumb finds that is hilarious – I have watched the movie Mean Girls many times (and I mean many times!) and still absolutely love it; I tune into Liza Koshy’s YouTube channel many Wednesdays to enjoy her sass; and my favorite type of jokes? Dad jokes!
Dorothy Must Die sort of fits into this category. In the book, a high schooler from Kansas is summoned by a society of witches in Oz (yes, the Oz from the Wizard of Oz) to help them defeat Dorothy Gale, who has been sucking the magic out of Oz and assuming all the power herself. First things first: that’s a pretty ridiculous plot.
To make matters worse, the characters in Dorothy Must Die are static and flat. I think that Paige made some valiant attempts to create deep characters — she tried to convey the growth that was made by Amy (the main character) throughout the story, and to depict Nox (a warlord who was part of the team that recruited Amy) as tough on the outside but sweet on the inside — but ultimately, they did not pay off. While the efforts were apparent, they failed to rub off on me. You can’t force yourself to grow attached to a character — it either happens, or it doesn’t. In this case, it didn’t.
With all that said, I can’t deny that I really enjoyed reading Dorothy Must Die. It made me cringe, but it also made laugh, and the little sprinkle of romance that it introduced was cute. (Not a swoon-worthy, dream romance, but cute. I will give it that much.) I also was attracted to the general light-heartedness and simplicity that was upheld throughout the course of the story. The predictability of the plot was comforting. I didn’t need to wrack my brain to understand what was going on, and I liked that. I laughed at least once per page or so. Everything felt fresh, easy, and simple.
Dorothy Must Die is not the most well-written book out there, but that is kind of nice. I enjoyed the comfort of its casual nature — both in plot, and in writing style. One thing’s for sure: I will not be able to keep my hands off of the book’s sequels.