Arabella Grimsbro Versus the "Wonderful" Wizard

Arabella Grimsbro, Book 1

By: Matt Youngmark, L. Baum

Narrated by: Folly Blaine

Arabella Grimsbro is a 15-year-old girl with a mouth like a dock worker and an attitude to match. When she walks into Voyages Through Literature - a cheesy mall store promising virtual reality tours of public domain classics - the last thing she expects is to be whisked away to an actual magical world.

To make things worse, this Oz is very different from the one she saw in a movie when she was little. Ferocious beasts with grizzly bear bodies and tiger heads? A town of creepy, porcelain dolls? The Tin Woodsman lying broken and battered at the bottom of a ditch?

Arabella will need more than surliness and silver slippers to find the answers at the end of this rainbow - or even just survive the trip.

Editor's note: profanity, for real! Arabella Grimsbro curses like a longshoreman. If you are considering purchasing this book for a child, please be aware that, among other obscenities, it features some variant of the word “f--k” 87 times. Eighty-eight, if you include the editor’s note.

©2016 Matt Youngmark (P)2020 Matt Youngmark

Loved it.

I’ve read a few of the books set in Oz but never The Wizard of Oz. Because I thought I already knew the story. I guess not. Now I have to go back and read that just to see how closely this follows it, or what else I’m missing.

A foul-mouthed twist on a classic. I liked it.

...for those with tender toes (and ears) - be fore warned - there's allot of cussing and the "f" word in this really great adaptation of a classic.

But I liked it...the story, the interpretation and the real speak of a teenager experiencing this adventure. (Being foul mouthed without reservation is as normal to a teenager as pizza, texting and going to the Mall to "just hang". Sometimes the words "...oh this is bad!" just don't describe the scene as completely as "...f*#k!" does.)
I met the author at Seattle comicon in the artist section of the event where I was exposed to the adventures of Arabella Grimbro. I was captivated by the author's quick descriptions of her adventures. There are three book featuring Arabella Grimbro. I've just finished the 1st book, this one and very much looking forward to the next two.
I think everyone will find this read enjoyable (despite the cussing); the story is that rich, flows well and a fun read, I also very much enjoyed the person who read the book for Audible. Her voice was spot on; I could really imagine it was Arabella, and her inflections captured the "bad" moments in the story. I recommend this title.