Beware spoilers for the end of the novel.
This is a copy-paste of my thoughts from the review of the book on
Storygraph - only this time the font is bigger. ;)
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A well-deserved children lit's classic! I had a blast reading it.
My only complaint is that I enjoyed it so much that I feel too guilty not to give it full five stars. If I were to be more objective, I would deduct half a star for two aspects of the ending that disappointed me:
1. Every single friend of Dorothy's becoming a ruler feels lazy and far-fetched. Also, a bit disturbing once you sit to think about it a bit more. It feels like the author was desperate to give his remaining Oz character A Purpose, to make them so occupied that they don't have the time to miss Dorothy too much once she inevitably leaves Oz - and he couldn't come up with anything else than becoming a ruler to fit these criteria.
And, goodness, nowhere does it seem more lazy and unsatisfying than in Tin Woodman's case. Tin Woodman becoming a ruler is the author's way of distracting Tin Woodman from his inevitable heartbreak when, after he reunites with his sweetheart, he discovers that she's not interested in marrying a man made entirely of tin. (Maybe they remain, respectfully, friends. Maybe she's too freaked out by Tin Woodman to continue any relationship with him. I don't think that she'll turn out to be a obsessed with tin General Grievous girlie but who knows? It sure would be sweet if she wanted him still despite him no longer possessing any flesh.) The very reason why Tin Woodman longed for a heart was to be able to love his sweetheart and reunite with her, yet we're supposed to believe that he would abandon all that and feel completely fullfilled by becoming a ruler of some people whom he barely even knows? Tin Woodman deserved better than this.
2. Dorothy's arrival in Kansas feels cut too short. I would expand the final scene just a little bit more to give it more punch.
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