Genre: Middle Reader Fiction - Fantasy
My Rating: 10/10
My first thought while reading this book was that it reminded me a lot of Roald Dahl's books. The strange silliness and crazy plot had the same feel to the books I have always loved (BFG, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, etc...). Add to that the illustrations throughout the book, and I found the Gumm Street Girls to be absolutely entertaining. The story starts off with four very different girls who all live on the same street. They don't necessarily get along, but that makes their adventures all the more fun! One girl, Ivy, has recently moved into the neighborhood and seems to have a strange past. Since the girls all are forced to take piano lessons from the strange Mr. Staccato, they end up discovering that their teacher has Dorothy's ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz in a display case in his house. When he disappears one night, and leaves the ruby slippers to Ivy, it is not long before a crazy woman named Cha-Cha shows up. Not only does Cha-Cha bear a striking resemblance to the Wicked Witch from Oz, but she also sends the four girls into Spoz (a twisted, underworld version of Oz where everything is either pink or made from potatoes to please the nasty twins - Bling-Bling and Coco).
The story soon becomes a race to save the ruby slippers and the girls begin to unravel a little bit of Ivy's secret past.
I found the story to be perfectly silly and creepy at the same time. The girls each have strengths and weaknesses that help them navigate through Spoz, and give the story a great start for the rest of the series that is yet to be published. If you liked The Wizard of Oz (book or movie), and books like The Series of Unfortunate Events or Roald Dahl's classics, you are sure to enjoy this book!
Order this from Inkwood Books HERE
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