This series of three short stories all related to the Dorothy Must Die series all provide some additional backdrop to the rich world Paige has created in which Dorothy and the other beloved Wizard of Oz characters are evil and corrupt. It’s been a while since I read book two of the series, The Wicked Will Rise. So it was hard for me to remember certain characters (for instance, Jellia, the subject of story #2 … no recollection of her role in the main plot. Whoops!). But the first story (“No Place Like Oz”) does provide some insight into why Dorothy turns evil. Jellia’s discovery that she has magical powers is the subject matter of the second story, and finally, the Wizard himself awakening from a 25-year sleep in the poppy field with major amnesia rounds out these stories.

The writing continues to be imaginative and filled with humor. Author Danielle Paige has a lot of gumption to mess with such canonical characters and turn them on their heel, but she does it with pizzazz. Most of the characters need no introduction, but adding fairies like Ozma, Jellia, and some of the monkeys like Iris, give the world of Oz more depth.

I still need to get the other books in the series, and I’m hopeful they will continue along this same vein.