In a small religious town in 1886 in Sunbonnet, Kansas, a tornado hits and causes substantial damage. Although most houses were salvageable, the Gales house was ripped from its foundation and dropped back down. Dorothy Gale lived with her aunt and uncle and although the aftermath of the tornado was devastating, Dorothy’s disappearance was more so. As the town looked for her for days, it was the 4th day she was found unharmed with her dog Toto sleeping in a pumpkin patch.
After Oz is the story after Dorothy visits Oz. Her recount has her ending up in a hospital for crazies. She is the youngest at age 11.
While telling her story, there becomes similarities to actual events, when the meanest woman in their town, is found dead with her face melted off
The story is told by two perspectives. The woman psychologist, unheard of in these days, and a religious man who is part of the town
I liked this story. It was a quick read with intelligent prose. I enjoyed the more advanced vocabulary which was used in very appropriate and purposeful ways.
After Oz displays the kindness of small towns, but there is also underlying disdain and anger with most of the townsfolk.

This was clever and written in a way that it read like an investigation. I enjoyed going back to oz in such a different way. Was sad to learn of the authors passing.

This was a very interesting take on the Wizard of Oz and I liked it. It was rage-inducing with how they were treating her but at least she had someone in her corner trying to help her! This was my 1st book by Gordon McAlpine but will not be my last!

#AfterOz
#NetGalley

🌪️ This book is described as a retelling of The Wizard of Oz, but I disagree with that categorization. Rather, it is a continuation of Dorothy’s story after she returns to Kansas.

🌪️ I absolutely loved this book!

🌪️ I will state up front that the book’s tone is quite rigid. It is very factual and almost dry. Of course there is a narrative, fueled mostly by fear and ignorance, but I would almost liken the story to a police report or a doctor’s chart… at least at times. And while that sounds negative, it really isn’t. I think the narrative worked exceptionally well considering the direction of the story.

🌪️ You can read the synopsis for details, and I won’t spoil any plot points, but I found the entire story to be creative, interesting, unsettling, and very plausible. Imagine how people in the late 19th century would react to hearing Dorothy’s stories about a faraway land with magical creatures, wizards, and witches! The story vividly portrays the obvious prejudices of the time, which not only struck fear in the local townspeople but were also exploited for nefarious reasons by others.

🌪️ Dorothy isn’t the main character in this book. She only appears in a few scenes! This decision was genius and made me love the book even more.

🌪️ If you are a Wizard of Oz fan or if you enjoy dark, reimagined stories, you’ll likely enjoy this one.

Thank you @netgalley and @CrookedLaneBooks for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

The premise to this book.. omg I wanted to love it so bad. It was like the historical mystery/horror of my dreams but the execution just didn’t do it for me. It started off strong but after the 25% mark, it just kept going in circles and it didn’t keep my interest.

Ever wondered what really happened to Dorothy after she left Oz? 🌪️ After Oz by Gordon McAlpine dives into some unexpected truths that’ll make you rethink everything you thought you knew! Aunty Em and Uncle Henry? Not as sweet as we imagined! 😲 #AfterOz #BookThoughts #TwistedTales

Perfect for fans of the Wizard of Oz. What happens to Dorothy after she returns to Kansas? Her family doesn't believe her stories and thinks she's a killer.

What an interesting thought for the plot! What happened to Dorothy after she came back to Kansas with the fantastical story of Oz? Such a fun, fast paced, creative read!

I'm a huge Wizard of Oz fan, so I was excited to have a retelling/book about when happens when Dorothy returns from Oz.

Unfortunately, although the premise was fantastic, the book itself wasn't my favorite. The writing style didn't really work for me, and I felt like a lot of parts were slow and/or repeated. I guess I just like faster paced mysteries.

I am glad I read this because it was an interesting idea.

After Oz isn’t really about the magical world of Oz as you might expect. Instead, it focuses on Dorothy returning home and telling people her story, only to be blamed for a woman’s death. The town believes her claim of killing the Wicked Witch of the West has led to this death, and Dorothy is caught in a whirlwind of suspicion. This is more of a light murder mystery, with two main POVs—one from a townsperson who is adamant that Dorothy is guilty, and the other from a doctor trying to prove her innocence. While the story had some interesting moments, it didn’t fully capture the magic and whimsy of Oz.

Author Gordon MacAlpine muses on the possible reception Dorothy received to her bonkers stories of her experiences in Oz after returning to Kansas in this entertaining story. Using letters from a psychologist and a first person narration from a member of the town, MacAlpine tracks the relief then shock of the townspeople after Dorothy’s dismayed confession of accidentally killing a witch and the subsequent discovery by authorities of a murdered older woman of the town.

In 1896, a female psychologist travels to Kansas after hearing of Dorothy's situation, who is confined at an insane asylum after a hasty trial and verdict. Dr. Evelyn Grace Wilfred is intrigued when she meets Dorothy, and listens avidly to her adventures in Oz. Wilfred is appalled that the girl is in isolation in the asylum, and resolves to get her out.

Wilfred travels to Dorothy's hometown, and begins asking questions, quickly angering residents, who feel that Dorothy got what she deserved as she's a terrible little murdering monster.

The more Wilfred investigates, the more she uncovers, and discovers lots of smalltown and religious prejudice against
-people suffering mental health issues,
-women living by themselves
-women asking questions.

Though some people have found Dorothy's presence in the story to be minimal, I was pleased, as Dorothy was always my least favourite character in Frank L. Baum's story (he's cited as Wilfred's cousin in this novel), Toto being my fave. McAlpine's Dorothy has a tartness to her responses to Wilfred that I found refreshingly interesting.

Wilfred's interest in the case seems arbitrary initially, except for her ire at the injustice of convicting a child of murder on the basis of slim to no evidence and loads of prejudice. Her interest, and approach to the situation, are detailed in chatty, intelligent letters to her mentor, and her true intentions for delving are gradually revealed, explaining why she takes it upon herself to question everything about the case. Wilfred finds credible suspects, and pieces together a messy past and secrets, and reveals the true identity and motive of the murderer.

I liked this book a lot, and actually enjoyed it much more than the original from which it takes inspiration. I was surprised to find out this was the author's last book before he died, and appreciated the publisher's afterward to this entertaining story.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Crooked Lane Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

After Oz by Gordon McAlpine

Thank you to @crookedlanebooks, @netgalley, and the amazing, late #gordonmcalpine, who I sadly discovered only recently, for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my #honestbookreview! This is available now as audiobook, physical copy, and ebook.

I want to start by saying that I am a *huge* Wizard of Oz fan - I discovered the movie at around three years of age where the story got its teeth into me and hasn’t lessened its grip. With that said, it’s incredibly hard for me to find Oz stories that live up to the hype and do the story justice. This surpassed my wildest expectations! This is a slow build that takes the law and order feel of To Kill a Mockingbird and merges it with the story of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz that we all know and love. Already a critical social commentary, After Oz doubles down with lessons on classism, mental health, and the power of the almighty dollar. I recommend this for fans of Wizard of Oz/The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Wicked as well as other readers alike!

TWs: nature disaster, loss of a loved one, religious themes, classism, poverty, mental health, g*slighting, miscarriage of justice, infidelity, ab*ndonment, more

👠👠👠👠👠👠 - 6/5

The premise really intrigued me...it's the story of Dorothy, but in the view of a small-minded religious town in the late 1800s. A tornado wreaks havoc in Kansas, and an 11-year-old girl goes missing. When she is found, she rambling about a magical place with talking animals and talking about having melted a wicked witch.
What makes this all the more frightening to the townsfolk is that an ill-tempered old woman in the town was found murdered in her home, "melted" by having lye thrown in her face. What follows is accounts of her hearing, psychological evaluations and a murder investigation.

Do not go into this book expecting the whimsical story of Oz. This isn't really a retelling of the classic story, but a different one altogether. This story isn't really even about Dorothy per se, but about the small-minded religious community that believes Dorothy to be a murderer and that her delusions are pagan and manifested from evil. It is also about the way religious zealots in the 1800s regarded female doctors. Is is very much a book about prejudice, mental health, bigotry and religion in the 19th century.

What I liked about this book was the fact that it presents a different perspective on Dorothy that I had never really considered before. The perspectives in the book alternate between an unknown religious townsperson, and the psychologist, Dr Evelyn Grace Wilford--her investigations, thoughts, and how she was treated by the townsfolk. I enjoyed the unfurling of the murder mystery and Evelyn's discoveries.

Thank you to NetGalley the author and publisher for this chance to read and review this arc.

I thought i was going to like this book and then ended up loving it! This was such an amazing retelling. Dark and twisty. A little wordy at times though. I enjoyed every minute.

Dorothy after she returns to Kansas...The author did an excellent job with the time period and area she lived in. Bible belt in the 1930s was a tough time to have an imagination. The author threw in a murder mystery as well. I found parts to be a bit wordy but overall the story was good.

I liked this! If you're a fan of Wizard Of Oz, I would recommend this. This story takes place after Dorothy returns from Oz which was really interesting. Special Thank You to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Rest In Peace Gordon McAlphine.

I’m looking forward to seeing Wicked so I thought this would be a good time to read this! It was a little too religious for my liking but it was an interesting mystery/thriller like take on The Wizard of Oz

As a big fan of the Wizard of Oz and it's related stories, this was such a fun book to check out! I love seeing a new take on some aspect of this story/characters. The dark focus around Dorothy and her experience after her return to Kansas was such an interesting and missing addition to the stories around this tale.

I highly recommend this to fans of the Wizard of Oz who are interested in reading about Dorothy's dark experience after returning from Oz. As some other reviewers mentioned, I also think this would make a great movie too!

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

In L. Frank Baum's Oz series (yes, there are more books in the canon than the ever popular The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), Dorothy Gale returns to Kansas after her incredible and wonderous journey through Oz with a fantastical tale of her adventures, and later makes subsequent trips to the fairyland, eventually bring her family back with her to Oz to live there for good. Baum's Dorothy is not treated like a young girl suffering from delusions ... but what if she had been?

Gordon McAlpine's final novel (he passed away in 2021 before the publication of this book) After Oz is no fairytale. Firmly rooted in the real world, McAlpine takes the Dorothy story and turns it on his head. How would a God-fearing community in late 1800's Kansas treat a child if they began speaking of a magical land that they visited where they melted a witch? Perhaps you might chalk up such proclamations to an overactive imagination, but what if the town's unlikeable spinster was found dead with her face melted off by lye? Would you believe the child then ... and perhaps accuse her of murder?

Such is the stuff of After Oz, which treats Dorothy not as a Princess of Oz as she comes to be in Baum's later works, but rather a social pariah and murder. Being that the book is titled "After Oz," the story follows the work of a NYC psychologist who comes to Kansas to interview Dorothy at the Topeka Insane Asylum after her trip to Oz and the subsequent unfortunate events. There, she tries to make sense of Dorothy's story and past, and in doing so, uncovers some deeply hidden dark secrets.

I love the ingenuity and creative license that went into writing this intriguing reimagining of the classic Oz tale. As an Oz fanatic (I own the entire canon complete with the beautifully illustrated vintage covers), I appreciate McAlpine bringing something new and thought-provoking to the original Oz story. When viewing Dorothy's tale of scarecrows, tin men, and cowardly lions through a real-world 19th century lens, the magic is stripped away and we are left with a child who would certainly be classified as offbeat and fanciful, if not demented. McAlpine expertly grounds Dorothy's journey to Oz with a narrative not about a girl who journeys to a magical fairyland, but rather one who finds herself imprisoned for telling tall tales that eerily mimic reality.

While the concept of After Oz is stellar, the delivery of the storyline is not the most enthralling or compelling. Spending much of the book in the head of a psychologist as she analyzes a child and puts together pieces of a small town mystery will appeal to some, but not to all, especially those who are looking for a greater focus on Dorothy, who surprisingly plays a minor role in this darkly ominous novel of life on the prairie in 1896.

While I didn't love this one it was indeed an interesting take on The Wizard of Oz. It's a retelling that makes the most sense. And really explains why Dorothy might have made up such a wild story. Though I think it would make a better movie than book. But it was still a good read.