BEFORE DOROTHY
Hazel Gaynor
Berkley Publishing Group
June 17, 2025
368 pages
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This is a great book for fans of The Wizard of Oz. The focus is on Auntie Em, Dorothy’s aunt. Dorothy goes to live with her, in
Kansas, after her parents die.
In the movie (I don’t remember much about the book), Emily (Auntie Em) was very secondary. Her character was not developed at all. In Google searches, she is described as “grayed,” which is not complimentary at all. She sounds invisible. She was anything but that.
This story focuses on Emily, long before Dorothy was born. She is the daughter of Irish immigrants and she had two sisters. Emily is a very strong woman, physically and mentally. She is determined to be a successful prairie farmer and wife. But at the same time, she is vulnerable. The reader learns about prairie life, the joys in the early, prosperous years and the devastation of the Dust Bowl and the Depression years in the 1930s.
The description of the Dust Bowl is very vivid. I could feel the grit in my eyes and the dust on my face. As in Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds, we learn how the settlers unknowingly caused The Dust Bowl of the 1930s by over-farming. It is sad to witness…..such long term devastation.
Once Dorothy comes to live with her aunt and uncle there is a period of adjustment for all of them. Along the way, there are lots of hints as to what will come in The Wizard of Oz. It’s fun to recognize the hints. I’m sure there are a few I missed.
Emily’s character is multi-faceted. She shows strength, love, self-doubt, resilience, determination, vulnerability and more. I really liked her. That is a credit to Ms Gaynor.
The story is full of ups and downs of life in Kansas. The “downs” were are difficult. But the end is full of hope for new adventures to come.
At the end of the book are 2 sections written by the author. One includes historical facts about the time period and certain events. The other is about Ms Gaynor’s personal love of The Wizard of Oz. Both were interesting and the perfect way to wrap up this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
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