Book Review & Recommendation: The Battle for Oz

4 stars for The Battle For Oz by Jeyna Grace

Estimated publication date: 15 September
- Amazon US
- Amazon UK
- The Book Depository

The Battle For Oz reimagines L. Frank Baum’s canonical classic while also taking a page (and character or two) out of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.  

When a new queen endeavors to take over the city of Oz once again, Dorothy Gale and Alice Liddel must come together to fight off the wicked magic. With help from Toto and the Tin Man, Scarecrow and The Mad Hatter, the young women travel to earth and back and face impossible circumstances. In all the chaos and commotion, while Alice and Dorothy struggle to discover the key to saving the city, along the way they find themselves discovering the meaning of friendship. 

Source: Goodreads

I was kindly given a copy by the publishers through Netgalley, with many thanks to the author and publisher.

Let me start of by pointing out how beautiful this cover is! It looks absolutely stunning and if that isn't enough to already intrigue  you and pull you in towards the story, then the blurb will for sure!

Netgalley Description:
When a foreign queen invades Oz and steals its citizens’ magic, the land turns to someone who has aided them before: Dorothy. But the silver-slippered girl has grown up, and in her years away from Oz the game has changed. So, in order to defeat this new and unfamiliar enemy, Dorothy seeks the aid of Alice, a legendary woman who once famously defeated a queen.

I was immediately drawn to this book. I found it a lovely and very clever idea. I'm a big fan of fairy tales and the collaboration of fairy tales etc. It says a lot that Once Upon A Time is one of my favourite tv-shows so, even if directed to a younger audience, this story was right up my ally.

An old acquaintance is banned from her kingdom. As she finds herself in the outskirts of her old kingdom, she uses the smallest of magic to move to another realm. She fully intends on taking over this new land and being there new queen. And this time she does not intend on being defeated. She will be the new queen of Oz.

With the New Queen having stolen all the magic in Oz and every citizen scared of losing their head, they call upon Dorothy to come and save her.After all, she saved Oz once before. But this queen proves to be stronger and more wicked than what Dorothy had to face before, she needs help. She searches for Alice, a girl who once before came face to face with a queen.

Will the two girls manage to defeat the new queen together, or is Oz forever lost?

When two all time favourite stories get merged together in some sort of alternative sequel, it is bound to put a smile on anyone's face. Even someone who hasn't read the classic story of Alice in Wonderland and/or The Wizard of Oz, is still familiar with the characters and the general story plot. The beauty of this book is that you don't need much to almost no background knowledge to be able to read this story.

The characters are absolutely adorable and the story is quick and excitable. The world of Oz is the perfect setting for this magical story and I felt right at home. The language use felt like it was mainly directed to a young/teen audience, but that doesn't take away the fact that both younger and older readers will absolutely adore this story. I found it an incredibly enjoyable read.

A story I definitely want to add to my book collection!