The prequel to DOROTHY MUST DIE, "No Place Like Oz" basically introduces us to the NEW Dorothy -- the one that transpired after the happy little bluebirds in the movie -- and documents her journey from that of a bored little girl in Kansas to that of a power hungry, bitchy dictator... setting the scene for the trilogy that prepares for her murder. 
 While I feel like NO PLACE LIKE OZ was written, in part, to create a bit of sympathy from the reader for this confused version of Dorothy, I can't deny that I really felt nothing positive towards this character, who seemed whiny and spoiled from even page one. 
 That said, I think this novella really does set the scene for the new series, and it was interesting to get some background not only on Dorothy's descent to tyranny, but also some back story to show Glenda's new, evil nature as well as Ozma's dethroning into what seemed to be a drugged state of oblivion. 
 Although many novellas of this type seem to add very little to the story, cashing in on the hype around a popular YA series without really altering the storyline enough to be noticeable, NO PLACE LIKE OZ is actually a worthwhile prequel, helping the reader to really understand the characters and the setting a bit more dynamically.