Lyman Frank Baum

Dorothy's aunt and uncle get acquainted with Oz after they lose their farm and Ozma invites them to live with her.

The Emerald City of Oz

The plot meanders aimlessly yet again, with no real sense of stakes or consequences since everything will inevitably be tidily resolved within a few pages while the character Ozma barely reacts. By the end, the author L. Frank Baum disingenuously claims there will be no more Oz stories, despite the fact that this is only the sixth book out of an eventual fourteen in the series. It's a disappointing lack of direction and payoff that makes one question whether the remaining eight books will just be more of the same tedious wheel-spinning. While the Oz books are classics, this particular entry feels like a placeholder with no substantial narrative arc or progression. Readers may want to set their expectations accordingly.

Liana

I liked this last story the most. All the characters come together and it’s so beautiful 

Hannah Alexander 

Sam Pulliam

To be angry once in a while is really good fun, because it makes others so miserable. But to be angry morning, noon and night, as I am, grows monotonous and prevents my gaining any other pleasure in life.”

I have a lot of thoughts about this book. To start with, the author’s note made me smile because Baum talks about the kids who have sent him letters with ideas for his Oz books. As I was reading, I tried to guess what the kids might have suggested and I’m so sure that the school pills, pills you take to learn everything you need at school, were their idea. I also think this book is incredibly funny. The Nome King and the Whimsies particularly made me laugh out loud. This book also included some more anti-capitalist themes but he is sure to say that the way Oz works would only work in Oz. I wonder if Baum felt that way or if he was saying it to appease someone else. 

I also was pleased to see Baum playing with a narrative structure he hadn’t tried before in previous books. He went back and forth between the Nome King and Dorothy and I was excited to see how these plot lines came together but they just… didn’t really. The ending felt a little cheap. I also think the VERY end of the book had some anti-immigrant rhetoric and I was a bit confused? I don’t want to spoil anything but it was strange. Baum made the ending seem like this is the last book in the series but clearly there’s at least eight more to go so I’m interested to see what’s going to happen next.

The Emerald City of Oz

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