The Latest Oz Reading

Yes, another roundup of Oz, Ozzy, Oz-related, and Oz-adjacent books I've read this year:

• The first of two books I've read before, but now have new editions, is Mary Louise and Josie O'Gorman by "Edith Van Dyne". In this case, Ms. Van Dyne is not L. Frank Baum, as the book was published in 1922, three years after he died. This is from after Emma Speed Sampson writing the series. This is also the final book by "Edith Van Dyne" for my collection, as I now have all titles published under that name. Back to the book, though, this is badly misnamed, as Mary Louise is barely in it. This is definitely Josie's book, and she is certainly the more interesting character. When Mary Louise offers to turn the mansion she inherited (it's much too large for a young couple, just married) over to the Dorfield Children's Home Society, it sets a whole series of events into motion when a mysterious woman comes to town and presents two children to the society. Their story raises suspicions, and the girls believe they may not be orphans. This puts Josie O'Gorman, Girl Detective, on the trail, and she ends up traveling to Atlanta and Indiana, taking on new identities and occupations to uncover the mystery. Naturally, in the end, the family is reunited and the bad people get their just rewards. But it's no wonder that this was the last book to feature Mary Louise in the title, as Josie is certainly the star.
• The second book I already have an earlier edition of, but it seemed appropriate to get the new, hardcover edition of The Gardener's Boy of Oz by Phyllis ann Karr after having read The Scorecrow of Oz earlier. Pon is now King of Jinxland, but as it's Queen Gloria who actually rus things, he has little to do, and decides to try fishing his father, King Phearce, out of the pond he was buried in. Enlisting the aid of Grewl, the former King Krewl and now the gardener's boy, they succeed, only for the three of them to slip further into the pond and into all kinds of adventures underground, even making their way to the other side of the world and having an audience with Tititi-Hoochoo. Candy Longtaw, meanwhile, is a Native American girl who ends up having adventures of her own, and even coming up with a novel way to cross the Deadly Desert. In the end, everyone meets up and secrets are uncovered, families are reunited, and lots of other stuff happens. It's a big, sprawling book that touches on a lot of other bits of Oz, but Karr also creates a lot of new lore as well. It had been a very long time since I'd last read it, so this was a nice revisit.
• Under the Influence of Oz by Marin Elizabeth Xiques and Chris Dulabone isn't really an Oz book, as it continues the authors' previous adventures in Goblin Grotto, a land underneath Oz inhabited by (naturally) goblins. The inhabitants of Heartbreak Hostel, a home for the homeless, seem to be losing their memories and identities, and hostile forces are moving in to take advantage and turn the hostel into a money-making resort. Of course it all works out in the end, and the Cowardly Lion and Tik-Tok come in towards the end to bring in an Oz element.
• Stairway to Oz by Robin Hess. Ryan is visiting his grandparents in Colorado. Curiosity gets the best of him, and he opens the locked door into the basement, where he finds himself in the Nome Kingdom! Yes, his grandparents' house is the one previously owned by the Shaggy Man's brother. Like Shaggy's brother, Ryan ran into trouble with the Nomes, but he manages to deal with them. But there's been a coup in the Nome Kingdom, and the new King intends to invade Oz! Ryan recruits his grandparents, some Nomes who prefer King Kaliko, and other allies to save the day and rid Oz of the Nomes. I liked the premise of the starway, and that Ryan actually brought adults to Oz with him.
• And finally (for now), The Brides of Maracoor by Gregory Maguire, the first of the "Another Day" trilogy that follows Rain, Elphaba's granddaughter, after the events of Out of Oz. Rain and Iskinaary, the Goose, wash up on the shore of an island inhabited by seven women who have important spiritual duties to perform. Suffering amnesia, Rain's presence upsets the balance of life on the island. Lucikles, the examiner from the mainland, comes for his annual visit, and doesn't know what to do, but decides to let Rain stay there until he can get instructions. He arrives on the mainland in the aftermath of an invasion, and it is some time before he can make his report and receive those instructions. Then things start to get very interesting. Other than Rain—and it even takes a while for her to enter the story—there isn't a lot of Oz in this book, but events at the end indicate that may change as the series progresses. Maguire paints a fascinating portrait of this new part of his world, which is something like ancient Greece but with the efficiency of the Roman or Chinese civil service. He is definitely setting something up, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing what happens next.

And that's all the books I have right now. But there will be more of these reports, as I also have a surprisingly large pile of comic books and graphic novels here.