The Wizard Returns

by Danielle Paige

On Sale: 03/03/2015

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The Wizard Returns

by Danielle Paige

On Sale: 03/03/2015

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About the Book

The Wizard left Oz in a hot air balloon—or did he? This digital original novella is the third installment in the prequel arc to the edgy and exciting New York Times bestseller Dorothy Must Die.

Dorothy Gale is back . . . and she's not the sweet little heroine of Oz anymore. She's power-hungry and vicious, and she leaves a trail of destruction beneath her spike-heeled, magical shoes. But she wasn't always in charge. There used to be a different ruler of Oz. Someone who also came from the Other Place, and who stole power for himself. They called him the Wizard.

The story goes that when a young Dorothy revealed the Wizard as a fraud, the man behind the curtain fled Oz in his hot air balloon. But in The Wizard Returns, he wakes in a field of poppies to find out that not only had he never left, but that he has no memory of who—or where—he is. As he undergoes a series of tests to uncover his memories, he finds that the very girl who threw him from the Emerald Palace is in control. And that Oz may be his destiny after all.

The Wizard Returns by Danielle Paige is a dark and compelling reimagining of a beloved classic and is perfect for fans of Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Beastly by Alex Flinn, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire.

Critical Praise

PRAISE FOR DOROTHY MUST DIE: “Gone are the days of rainbows, Lollipop Guilds and pretty much anything to sing about in a major key. For those willing to go on a quest with a heroine more attuned to our times than the Dust Bowl era, there’s no place like it. — USA Today

“Readers of Baum’s books will take special delight in seeing new twists on the old characters, and they will greet the surprise climactic turnabout with the smugness of insiders.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Dorothy Must Die is kind of the ultimate in girl-powered literature. You’ve got empowered heroines, sure, but Paige also conjures a formidable villainess in Dorothy and some manipulative lady revolutionaries. Here, women and girls are allowed to be anything. This really is a woman’s world.” — Nerdist.com

“Debut author Paige doesn’t hold back in this fast-paced action novel. Give this cinematic upper-YA novel to fans of A. G. Howard’s Splintered, Frank Beddor’s Looking Glass Wars, and TV shows such as Once Upon a Time and Grimm.” — School Library Journal

“Paige delivers a solid, intense, and strange narrative that draws deeply on its source material.” — Publishers Weekly

“[Dorothy Must Die] strikes a similar tone to Marisa Meyer’s Cinder series, with its blend of fantasy, humor, and horror, and it will likely inspire fans of that series to make their way to the Emerald City.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Paige has spirited readers back to The Wizard of Oz. It’s a classic made more sinister.” — ALA Booklist