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crankylibrarian
Dec 25, 2011crankylibrarian rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
One of the travesties of the 1939 Wizard of Oz film and the play Wicked is that they created an image of Glinda the Good Witch as a fluffy headed, bubble traveling giggler. Nothing could be further from her character in the original Oz books, in which she is a wise and powerful sorceress, charged with protecting the people of Oz and their princess Ozma. In this, the last book in the series, Dorothy accidentally discovers a war brewing between 2 tribes in a remote part of the land. Ozma, dedicated to her duty as peacemaker, immediately flies off to intervene, despite Glinda's misgivings, and soon it's up to Glinda to rescue Dorothy and Ozma from a terrible fate. As in most of Baum's books, the female characters, both good and evil are the strongest and most charismatic. Evil is represented by the vain, arrogant witch Coo-Ee-oh, (whom Dorothy threatens to "whup" as she would her petulant cat) and the amoral dictator's wife who steals brains to increase her own power. Dorothy, Ozma and Glinda form a trio of responsible feminine strength; the triumph of good depends on Glinda's magical knowledge, Ozma's moral authority and Dorothy's practical common sense.