Ace Publishing
352 Pages
Growing up, one of my least favorite movies was “The Wizard of Oz.” In my opinion, it is one of the scariest movies of all time. I know many of you will laugh at that, but those flying monkeys and melting women are pretty darn scary. Now that you’re done laughing, I will tell you that while I don’t love that movie, I respect its impact on pop culture. Additionally, I love continued stories of old classics. Toto by AJ Hackwith is one of those continuing stories. And it is amazing.
Toto is an almost overlooked character in the original movie. He’s just a little dog who seems to be along for the ride. In Toto, we get to relive the story from Oz from the point of view of this canine. Oz is a different place from only a foot off the ground. Dogs notice different things than humans, or brainless scarecrows. Not only do they look differently, but they also smell differently. These smells can change the narrative that we’ve all known and loved over the years.
Toto’s romp along the Yellow Brick Road finds his owner meeting up with a motley crew of misfits, most of whom rub Toto the wrong way. He isn’t a very trusting dog. He sees ulterior motives in all their moves, and he must protect Dorothy from them. Behind the scenes, there are shenanigans afoot. Deals are made, and the dog seems to be more in charge than Victor Fleming ever gave him credit for.
Toto by AJ Hackwith is wildly irreverent and snarky. It’s everything we love about “The Wizard of Oz” and so much more. The dog’s voice throughout this book is disillusioned with everything that is happening. He loves Dorothy, but she’s a teenager. She can’t be fully trusted to make the right decisions. He must be the voice of reason and lead her out of danger and back to Kansas.
This is a very entertaining book. It was fun to read and moved fast through the action. Hackwith has other books that I definitely need to read after this one. While I am not a huge fan of fantasy, sometimes I run across a series that I feel the need to read. If her book, The Library of the Unwritten is written as well as Toto, I have a feeling that I will love it, too.
If you want to revisit some of your youth, but see it in a different light, try Toto by AJ Hackwith. This raucous romp through nostalgia will feel familiar even with a new, sharper edge to it. It was so much fun to read. It makes me wonder where the Red Brick Road went to, or are there others besides the two we see in the movie. Maybe someday that mystery will be solved with its own book. The possibilities are endless.
Craig Bacon loves revisiting old favorites with new twists. He has a few books to read that follow that idea. Stay tuned for those reviews.