The Latest Oz Re-Reading

First, I'm rereading Pharaoh, Eloise Jarvis McGraw's only adult novel. It's been a while, and forgot just how long it is (over 500 pages)! Plus, my pleasure reading time is limited right now, so I didn't want to spend too long reading it before tackling some lighter, Ozzier fare. Since Pharaoh is divided into four parts, I'd take a break after each part. So, between parts 1 and 2, I reread Thorns and Private Files in Oz by Melody Grandy and Chris Dulabone, since it ties into the Seven Blue Mountains of Oz trilogy I recently wrapped up. Well, the ties are very loose as it turns out, and despite what some told me, Zim Greenleaf does not appear in this book. (It seems it ties into one of the stories in the third Seven Blue Mountains book, Zim Greenleaf of Oz, but I don't recall it now.) It does start off in Oogaboo, as one might expect from the title. Hank the Mule goes up there to visit Files and Ozga, and the three of them set off to explore a forest just south of Oogaboo, where they find a deserted castle overgrown with rosebushes. They find that the surrounding woods do not allow them to leave, and Ozga discovers new powers over plants. Eventually, they discover the with Nevou and why she enchanted everybody in Cerune. It was a pleasant little read, but as you may already be able to tell not terribly memorable (I finished it last weekend, and already most of it has faded.)