Okay, I found this book while browsing the bookshelves of Barnes and Noble and not only fell in love with the cover, but the concept behind the story. Who wouldn't like a dystopian version of Oz! Boy was I let down when I read this. 
 Let us begin with the reasons. 
 Disappointment ONE: I usually try to avoid first person narratives. The reason being is because it begins the story with an unreliable narration. You can't trust that what the character is seeing is ACTUALLY how it is going. You also tend to get bogged down with how the character FEELS and what they are thinking and not with the plot of the story. This is the case with Amy. Some people might say that she is a realistic character but she is NOT. She doesn't even have one friend? Not even a fellow "trailer trash" kid? No one?! Her assistant principal is even disrespectful to her? 
 "Really, Amy? Fighting with a pregnant girl? You've always had a hard time keeping your mouth shut when it's good for you, but this even low for you." 
 COME ON! As a future teacher, I find this insulting. I understand Amy's family issues and her being picked on because she does not live in a house. But just like the instaperfect characters in books, this is just too unrealistic. 
 Disappointment TWO: The complete Mary Sue character development of not only Amy, but of the love interest and most importantly the VILLAIN! DOROTHY! Where did you go? No, seriously, were did Dorothy as a person go? She was replaced with this...this evil mustache twirling cartoon villain. The villains that I love are the ones that I hate loving. The ones that you can see perfectly why they might have become evil and maybe can see yourself doing the same thing if put in their shoes. Dorothy is not one of those. Not as far as I have read and maybe this changes in the story or maybe you get a better understanding in one of the MANY short stories. 
 But that is my two sense. I will give the second book a try because I really love to see how it ends and if my gripes are fixed. Or maybe it's like stopping and staring at a car wreck on the highway. You just can't look away and you have to see if it turns out alright.