Review--The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige

In this dark, high-octane sequel to the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die, Amy Gumm must do everything in her power to kill Dorothy and free Oz.

To make Oz a free land again, Amy Gumm was given a mission: remove the Tin Woodman’s heart, steal the Scarecrow’s brain, take the Lion’s courage, and then Dorothy must die...

But Dorothy still lives. Now the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked has vanished, and mysterious Princess Ozma might be Amy’s only ally. As Amy learns the truth about her mission, she realizes that she’s only just scratched the surface of Oz’s past—and that Kansas, the home she couldn't wait to leave behind, may also be in danger. In a place where the line between good and evil shifts with just a strong gust of wind, who can Amy trust—and who is really Wicked?

Danielle Paige picks up right where we left off in Dorothy Must Die with The Wicked Will Rise and despite being a fair deal shorter than its predecessor it still packs quite the punch in the storytelling department. After failing in her attempt to kill Dorothy, Amy and the Wicked must recoup. Only thing is that they are separated and Amy has no idea where they or even Nox are.

So begins the trying journey Amy must embark on with only Ozma as her companion. And she’s still just a little bit touched in the head, all things considered. Their first stop happens to be in the treetop village of the Wingless Ones. And that’s where Amy is able to get some guidance and a plan set into motion.

Amy’s goals are still the same. Obtain the Tin Woodman’s heart, the Lion’s courage, and the Scarecrow’s brain. Kill Dorothy. Defeat Glinda. Save Oz. But she knows that in order to get those goals accomplished, she’ll need help. She basically sets out to find that help and hopefully find the Wicked witches along the way.

This series has been a lot of fun so far! It’s definitely an interesting twist to the Oz stories. What I really like are all the surprises and twists that happen in this one. Just when you think you have an idea of what’s happening, Dorothy or Glinda throw a wrench into Amy’s plans and things change drastically. There are other villains too of course, but I won’t name names.

Amy does a lot of growing in this one too. I would’ve thought she’d be done with the growing, but it’s more like changes. You start to see a change in Amy and it’s unclear if she will be better off or not with said changes. I started to get a little scared for her in this one because the changes were getting so deep.

Sadly, it took some 100 odd pages before Nox made an appearance. But even when he was there, I felt like he almost wasn’t. He didn’t seem as big or posing as he did in the first book. He had that whole bad boy attitude and I feel like this Nox is almost an entirely different person than he once was. But it’s fitting I guess since Amy was changing too.

The ending was yet another jaw dropper. Just as I thought I had this series figured out, how each book might go, Danielle totally throws a whammy with this ending! She is definitely keeping readers on their toes with the guessing. Needless to say, I was left feeling a bit puzzled and wanting more. Thankfully, Yellow Brick War releases next year instead of its initial 2017 date! And there’s still a few more novellas to be had as well!

I would totally recommend this series to fans of the beloved classic, though you have to want to read a book that changes the way you see things, like Wicked, but more of a sequel that opens your eyes to what these characters have become! It’s a fun and thrilling read and I am waiting ever so not patiently for the next and final installment!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars