I have always been a sucker for Oz stories.  They were a staple of my young childhood.  And while I loved re-reading them with my granddaughter, I was also a sucker for any twisted Oz stories.  This is one of those stories.

This story is told by Toto.  So since much of the action is seen from about ankle-high, his perspective is a bit different from Dorothy's.  Of course, Toto believes he's the one who cares for Dorothy and he doesn't see that responsibility changing with the new landscape.  But early on in their journey, he starts considering how his life was in Kansas.  Before they got blown away, he was on his way to Animal Control - so much for trying to be a Good Dog.  He began to reason that since all the animals talk and most humans - but not Dorothy - can actually hear him speak, maybe there's no percentage in continuing to be a Good Dog.  Maybe Bad Dogs have more fun? 

Dorothy, being a kind and sweet girl, never imagines any harm will come from befriending folk; whether they be sinister-appearing scarecrows or menacing metal men.  Hence, their little group starts growing.  Unlike the simpler Baum story, there are more characters.  Nick Chopper, the tin man, comes with his sister the Knight; and there's a persistent bluejay who thinks he's a crow and a revolutionary.  And when the little troupe encounters those nasty trees that throw apples, they find themselves separated.  Toto and Crow are alone and it occurs to Toto, that through no fault (or decision) of his, he now has a chance to be a Bad Dog.  He and Crow end up being recruited in a fowl revolution.  It appears that the bird residents of the forest feel they have not been governed well and they mean to put their own on the throne.  The current King of the Forest Beasts is a Tiger named Barth.  The birds have found their own claimant in a Lion with no name and no backbone; a coward, if you will.  Well…a Bad Dog would fit right in with a bunch of revolutionaries with aspirations of dethroning a King, wouldn't he?

The rest of the plot is pretty close to the original.  They are sent by the Wizard on a quest although it doesn't turn out quite like the original. Glinda is there to tell her that she could always go home with her magic shoes and finally someone wants to know why the heck she didn't say that to begin with.  And maybe Dorothy wasn't any happier with the Kansas-that-was any more than Toto was; and maybe she'll find a different path.  Leaving the final question: what's a Good/Bad Dog to do?

While the essence of the same Baum characters are still there, they are a bit twisted - maybe about 45 degrees.  The author does try to bring the story into our 21st century through references to life in Kansas; but the comparisons tend to fall a little flat. The witches (or fairies if you go with the classic trope) are not exactly good nor bad; they just come with a lot of family baggage.  The Wizard is mostly what you'd expect.

The plot is there. The characterizations are there. The plot twists sound awesome. But, for this reader, it never completely gelled.  The idea of seeing the story through the eyes of Toto, who wants to be a Bad Dog, should be hysterical.  But it felt, to me, like the author kept veering away from the land of bad puns and wry observations in favor of keeping the drama.  I would've appreciate the puns and wry observations.  Crow, who is really a bluejay, should have been the comic relief but he wasn't played with enough.  Dorothy spends half the book being sweet and obtuse - totally boring.  The scarecrow had hints of something but the author never went there. The Lion pretty much crept around being quiet and unobtrusive until he wasn't but not until the end. I could go on and criticize each character but in truth, they were doing exactly what the author wanted of them.  I believe this is marketed as a YA but I don't think the current crop of young adults will appreciate it if they don't have a solid grounding in Baum's Oz; they won't get some of the in-jokes or situations.

No recommendation from me.   ~~ Catherine Book

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