Now before i get into this review, I have to say this. I am not a big fan of the Wizard of Oz (aka the movie). The highest praise i can give for that movie is that i find it....meh. It's not good, it's not bad, it's just kind of...there.

So when i heard that the books were better than the movie, i didn't exactly have a high bar to set. Which in my opinion is the best way to go into this. No expectations whatsoever. and to my surprise, I actually found myself enjoying this book WAY more than i thought i would.

What i can say about this book is that i actually had FUN. It wasn't depressing, violent, or anything like that, i just had plain fun. Which is rare for me when i read a book. Even novels like Narnia have violence and death, but for once, it was nice to read a book where none of that happens, and for the first time in a while i can use this word unironically. "Whimsy". that is the word i would to describe this book. Whimsy. And it was like a breath of fresh air.

There's a few main characters in this book, and for the most part, i can say that i liked all of them. Ojo, the munchkin wasn't annoying, but actually endearing. The Woozy (a block-shaped cat-like creatures) was funny, and the patchwork girl was actually a delight. She has quickly become one of my favorite literary characters. She's just so much fun to be around, and from what i hear, she's in the later oz books which is nice.

I had to think about it for a while, but i think one of the reasons i like the main character so much (ojo, not patchwork) is because, while he has his own adventure and meets up with the other main characters from other novels such as dorothy, the tin man, etc, and they become quick friends with him, he doesn't FEEL like a Gary Stu. He actually feels like a real character with foibles and negative personality traits. It's so rare to see this that it just made the book even more enjoyable.

The best way i can describe this book is with a quote from the middle of the book when they're talking about their prison

"We consider a prisoner unfortunate. He is unfortunate in two ways — because he has done something wrong and because he is deprived of his liberty. Therefore, we should treat him kindly, because of his misfortune, for otherwise he would become hard and bitter and would not be sorry he had done wrong…"

This is the kind of message that's in this book, and it's just so refreshing to see. To see a fantasy world where people aren't getting stabbed every five minutes (ala Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings) but they solve their problems with WORDS. And that's the thing, it feels fantastical. hence FANTASY. And i think a lot of fantasy novels forget that.

Overall, LOVED this book and i hope the rest of the Oz books are this good. This book is over 100 years old but you'd never feel it. 5/5.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz🍒🍒🍒🍒
Land of Oz # 7
By Baum
1913

This book introduces us to Ojo, The Unlucky, a munchkin boy, who sets out on a quest to save his Uncle, Unc Nunkie from starvation, and begins by visiting old friend Dr. Pipt. Dr. Pipt demonstrated his 'Powder of Life' which animates any object it touches with magic words. He invented this powder for his wife, Margolette, to bring a patchwork doll to life to be her slave. However, another of Dr. Pipts inventions, the Liquid of Petrifacation, has spilled on his wife and him turning them to marble. The only way to save his uncle is to find an antidote for the Liquid of Petrification. He needs to find 5 specific ingredients for the antidote.

Ojos searches through Oz, for these 5 ingredients: 1. 3 hairs from the tip of a Woozy tail. 2. A gill ( quarter pint) of water from a dark well. 3. A drop of oil from a live human body. 4. A 6 leaf clover. 5. The left wing of a yellow butterfly
Ojo has collected all but the left wing because Yellow butterfly's only live in the Country of Winkie, where the Tin Man is emperor and he will not allow any living thing to die, even to save another. So they return to Emerald City and enlist the help of the Wizard of Oz. The wizard grants his wish and then renamed him Ojo The Lucky.

An interesting note: Baum wrote an additional chapter, titled 'The Garden of Meats'. It deals with a race of vegetable people, called Mangaboos. These vegetable people grew
"meat people" for food, the plants main feature were heads of human children. Baum was asked to not include the chapter by his editors, and it has been deleted and never found, except in reference.

I love this series....the wacky characters and plots. This is probably one of the best in the series so far......

As with The Emerald City of Oz, this was much better then The Road to Oz, however, I struggle with one aspect of Baums writing. Even though I know that these are primarily books for children, I am continually disappointed with the deus ex machina that concludes every book. I'm starting to find this a bit tedious. As a result, I think I will give the Oz books a break for awhile.

If you enjoy the other books, this one is in the top three recommendations of those I've read thus far.

I'm gonna read all the oz series

The best written in the Oz series so far. The characters are as inventive as ever, and the plot is the most developed of any of the Oz books so far. Baum's growth as a writer is apparent in this homespun fairy tale that is sure to delight.

I'm working my way through the Oz series (in order too), and it's a harder task than I imagined it being. Books 1-5 were easy finds (all in a single volume), but as I try to find the second half of the series (books 6-14) the used bookstores are proving less helpful. On this same note, books 1-5 of Oz were great; image laden, colorful, and cheerful.

In book six, you get the feeling that Baum is getting burnt out on Oz. He can't get away from it and write something "adult," because the letters he is receiving are constantly asking for more Oz! It becomes clear in The Patchwork Girl of Oz that Baum just isn't feeling the magic.

In Patchwork, the Raggedy Ann type girl named Scraps Patchwork is only a minor character. She accompanies our unfortunate boy-munchkin character Ojo and a vain, glass cat with pink brains (you can see them work). This odd bunch sets out to gather an assortment of items needed for a magic spell to turn Ojo's uncle back into a live man after an unfortunate accident with a petrifaction potion.

So the adventure begins. The group meets up with the scarecrow, the tin man, Dorothy, Ozma, and many other odd Oz inhabitants. The characters in this series have now reached a hefty number, and including them all and their set up/back story leaves little room left for the new storyline.

Spoilers...

As the tale progresses, Ojo and his group find all they need for the magic spell except for a final item that is just seemingly impossible. Solution? Enter Glenda the Good and the Wizard of Oz who use magic to straighten everything out. It's a dissatisfying ending and an abrupt one too. Basically, we learn that magic will make everything right no matter what. Listening to this on Hoopla Digtal's audiobook rental site was the silver lining as all the voices in this book were preformed to give the story a lively narrative. Unless, you just demand on slogging through the Oz series for completion's sake, skip this one.

Continuing my reread of Baum's Oz books with this one. After trying to kill the series in book six by closing off Oz to the outside world, he needed the money too badly and went back to the well.

The odd thing is, although he definitely phones in many of the later Oz books, this is the first time since book #3 that there's actually been a plot that didn't boil down to "Dorothy wanders around and meets a bunch of weirdos." Oh, there IS wandering, and there ARE weirdos, but they're mostly in the service of Ojo the Unlucky and his quest to find the magical ingredients to save his uncle, who has been transformed into a statue. As such, it's actually the best book since the third one, (Ozma of Oz, which is actually my favorite book in the series).