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A review by sierra_color
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
2.0
Okay, first thing's first, this book could have been so much better.
What is it's main problem?
Well, it boils down to characters. Specifically, Amy. She was literally just another Maddison (the bully in the first few pages of the book) but instead of being popular, she's a bullied loner.
Now, why do I say this? Isn't Amy supposed to kill Dorothy? Isn't she supposed to be the good girl here?
Well, yes. But the thing is she IS SO JUDGY AND PASSIVE AGRRESIVE.
If a character wears something she doesn't like, she just describes it in this demeaning manor, she is also for some reason, obsessed with cleavage. Literally. She described herself as flat chested, and then all the other girl characters who are "bad" and care about how they look are described as showing their cleavage. I don't.. understand?? Why does she care? I thought she was supposed to be different from Maddison or Dorothy, but I guess not.
Also, she literally has no character development. She's the same at the beginning, but near the end she's a LITTLE bit braver, and now has fighting skills. Also, the relationships between characters sucks ass.
Gert (one of the witches) and Amy's relationship doesn't feel real. It doesn't feel genuine. Why should Amy care about Gert? When Gert has done.. some not so good things to her. So it doesn't make sense WHY Amy trusts Gert. I would've liked it if Gert had understood what Amy had been through in her life, about Amy's mom, and maybe Gert had a similar family member, and so, when she was training to be a witch, Gert always had that horrible voice in the back of her head too. So her and Amy would have a mutual understanding, and Amy would have someone she can finally confine in. But no, instead, Gert can read minds.
You know what that sounds like?
Lazy writing.
This book is full of it. Tired clichés.
Everything feminine and pink is bad. Glitter is bad unless the main character is wearing it.
The popular girl is just a bitch who's pregnant. Dorothy is just another version of said popular girl. But now she has magic powers and can murder, wonderful.
This BOOK COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH MORE!
We could have seen how Dorothy and Amy were alike. But instead we were told. And even though I was told throughout this book that Dorothy and Amy are SO SIMILAR I still do not know HOW. What would've been cool is to see that. Like Amy wants validation, and to be loved. That's how they could've been alike, and Dorothy is just a twisted version of that. BUT NOOOOOOO.
THE AUTHOR HAS TO LITERALLY SHOVE IT IN MY FACE. LIKE GOOD GOD.
What would've been SO great is to see how like, wanting love, or wanting too much of love, can be dangerous. That love can be toxic. But instead we got.. this. :/
Also, is no one else creeped out by the tin man?
And not in a good way either, he is a legit creep. Like, imagine falling in love with a girl that you met while she was a kid, and you were a grown ass adult.
The author clearly didn't THINK when writing this book, and that sucks, because, again, it could have been SO COOL! Like, one way of showing how Dorothy was vain would've been to use a mirror, and while Dorothy uses a mirror to gaze at herself, Amy uses to it gaze within herself. And we could see how these two characters are reflections of each other, actual foils, but instead we got a classic teen drama villain who has no motivation, and a classic YA protagonist, and to be honest, there are better things to read than this book. The concept is so amazing and unique, but the execution is subpar. I'd skip out on this one. I should have listened to my high school self when she first read it, because she thought it was disappointing too. Sigh, well, at least I got another book marked off my yearly reading challenge.
What is it's main problem?
Well, it boils down to characters. Specifically, Amy. She was literally just another Maddison (the bully in the first few pages of the book) but instead of being popular, she's a bullied loner.
Now, why do I say this? Isn't Amy supposed to kill Dorothy? Isn't she supposed to be the good girl here?
Well, yes. But the thing is she IS SO JUDGY AND PASSIVE AGRRESIVE.
If a character wears something she doesn't like, she just describes it in this demeaning manor, she is also for some reason, obsessed with cleavage. Literally. She described herself as flat chested, and then all the other girl characters who are "bad" and care about how they look are described as showing their cleavage. I don't.. understand?? Why does she care? I thought she was supposed to be different from Maddison or Dorothy, but I guess not.
Also, she literally has no character development. She's the same at the beginning, but near the end she's a LITTLE bit braver, and now has fighting skills. Also, the relationships between characters sucks ass.
Gert (one of the witches) and Amy's relationship doesn't feel real. It doesn't feel genuine. Why should Amy care about Gert? When Gert has done.. some not so good things to her. So it doesn't make sense WHY Amy trusts Gert. I would've liked it if Gert had understood what Amy had been through in her life, about Amy's mom, and maybe Gert had a similar family member, and so, when she was training to be a witch, Gert always had that horrible voice in the back of her head too. So her and Amy would have a mutual understanding, and Amy would have someone she can finally confine in. But no, instead, Gert can read minds.
You know what that sounds like?
Lazy writing.
This book is full of it. Tired clichés.
Everything feminine and pink is bad. Glitter is bad unless the main character is wearing it.
The popular girl is just a bitch who's pregnant. Dorothy is just another version of said popular girl. But now she has magic powers and can murder, wonderful.
This BOOK COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH MORE!
We could have seen how Dorothy and Amy were alike. But instead we were told. And even though I was told throughout this book that Dorothy and Amy are SO SIMILAR I still do not know HOW. What would've been cool is to see that. Like Amy wants validation, and to be loved. That's how they could've been alike, and Dorothy is just a twisted version of that. BUT NOOOOOOO.
THE AUTHOR HAS TO LITERALLY SHOVE IT IN MY FACE. LIKE GOOD GOD.
What would've been SO great is to see how like, wanting love, or wanting too much of love, can be dangerous. That love can be toxic. But instead we got.. this. :/
Also, is no one else creeped out by the tin man?
And not in a good way either, he is a legit creep. Like, imagine falling in love with a girl that you met while she was a kid, and you were a grown ass adult.
The author clearly didn't THINK when writing this book, and that sucks, because, again, it could have been SO COOL! Like, one way of showing how Dorothy was vain would've been to use a mirror, and while Dorothy uses a mirror to gaze at herself, Amy uses to it gaze within herself. And we could see how these two characters are reflections of each other, actual foils, but instead we got a classic teen drama villain who has no motivation, and a classic YA protagonist, and to be honest, there are better things to read than this book. The concept is so amazing and unique, but the execution is subpar. I'd skip out on this one. I should have listened to my high school self when she first read it, because she thought it was disappointing too. Sigh, well, at least I got another book marked off my yearly reading challenge.