Reviews

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum

kitsuneheart's review against another edition

1.0

And thus begins my most hated portion of the Oz books: The Deus Ex Belt endings. At the conclusion of the third Oz book, Ozma obtained a magic belt that would grant her any wish she desired. Now, just when things begin to get tense and Dorothy seems in danger, Ozma wishes her away to safety. It just invalidates the entire danger of the adventure and all of Dorothy's cleverness and that's all I have to say.

glimmerlikebolan's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

sarahanne8382's review against another edition

3.0

Another delightful tale about the land of Oz. Here Dorothy has gone to California to visit her uncle at Hugson's Ranch in California. While riding along in a carriage pulled by the cab horse named Jim, Dorothy, her kitten Eureka, and her cousin Zeb are caught in an earthquake and fall through a crack in the earth to the land of the Mangaboos, where they run into the Wizard, who was also caught in the earthquake. The party eventually finds their way to the magical land of Oz, where Dorothy and the Wizard are reunited with all their old friends. But like all good things, this story, too must come to an end. While the Wizard elects to stay in Oz, the children and animals decide that their place is back in the USA, and so everyone says their goodbyes and Dorothy has yet another wonderful tale to tell Aunt Em and Uncle Henry.

This one dragged a bit for both of us, but once we got to all the happy reunions in Oz, we were both ready to hear some more adventures.

ipanzica's review against another edition

3.0

Dorothy will salt the earth and make the rivers run red with the blood of the people who mildly inconvenience her. There is so much death in this children's book it makes the Grimm brothers look tame. Fewer people die in horror movies than in this book. Though it was entertaining to read and was very creative.

pizzamyheart's review against another edition

3.0

These stories get darker and darker. They also make less and less sense. I think I'm giving up on these books and going to Wikipedia to sum up the rest.

lory_enterenchanted's review against another edition

adventurous dark

2.5

After the delights of Ozma of Oz, I was surprised to find how dark and gloomy this was! A terrifying earthquake leads to encounters with heartless vegetable people, invisible bears, and wooden gargoyles. Even Dorothy's pet cat narrowly escapes committing murder.

And most of this would seemingly have been unnecessary if Dorothy had only remembered earlier to signal Ozma to use the Magic Belt!  I won't even talk about the inconsistencies ...

dallasrobyn's review against another edition

3.0

I just pretty much didn't like this one. There are some interesting characters, but a few things that really bothered me.

First, was the rewriting of the Ozma/Wizard history, told in the previous book. I also really don't like what I would consider "racism"...in assuming that a new people they meet must want to kill them, so they should just fight. These books are pretty shallow, so if they meet a new people, and automatically decide they are bad, they fight, and then it's over, and they were right, those people were bad...but in the real world, that's not really how it works. It's a silly thing, but it bothers me.

There's a lot of interesting peoples in these books, that I'd like to learn more about. :( (especially the braided man).

chocobox's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I wish there wasn’t so much “these people are different and must be awful” or “just like “the vibes are off, let’s kill them.” Kinda feel bad for the Gargoyles, tbh. Not sure hating sound makes them terrible. Also, the retconing ! Baum really was the king of changing backstories in every book. Anyway, Jim the horse sucks and I hate that Eureka the kitten was awful. The end 

lexxluthor's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

ali_enza's review against another edition

5.0

really cute and easy read. all the old favorites come back with some new characters as well!