The Dark Side of the Rainbow: 9 Good Guys Gone Very, Very Bad
by Danielle Page – Author, ‘Dorothy Must Die’
When I told people I had written a book in which Dorothy Gale of Kansas was the villain, almost everyone had the same response: “Uh, what?”
The Dorothy of L. Frank Baum’s Oz books is the Little Miss Perfect of children’s literature. She’s got a sweet, wide-eyed innocence and an ever-optimistic outlook on life. She sees the good in everyone and tries to treat others as she’d like to be treated. Dorothy’s got her values in order too: this is the girl who could have been princess of her own personal fairyland, but decided to go back to Kansas instead–because she missed her family.
In the popular imagination, Dorothy Gale is about as Good as it gets. In my book, Dorothy Must Die (HarperCollins, $17.99), she’s a vain, evil dictator who needs to be taken out before she destroys Oz.
Where do I get off messing with Dorothy like this? Look, just hear me out.
I like Dorothy, I promise! One thing I love about Baum’s character is that, for all her sweetness, she’s no Pollyanna. She has a no-nonsense, Midwestern toughness about her that makes her easy to admire. She’s a nice girl, sure, but she’s not a doormat. Mess with her, and she just might melt you. (By accident, of course.)