The Witch of Zal

12-year-old Dorveday struggles to be a model Zalan—condescending to the robot servants, intolerant of anyone different, and obedient to the whims of the oppressive Ministry. Then the Ministry tries to take her pet robotic dog. She runs away—and lands in magical Oz. After the Witch of the East blows herself up and the Wicked Witch of the West threatens to kill Dorveday over East's magic shoes, Dorveday follows the yellow brick road to the Emerald City, where the Wizard of Oz might help. Along the way, she picks up strange companions: A Victorian straw man with the inner strength to face witches without fear. A clockwork tin man so soft he rusts himself with tears. A lion so scared he hides behind children. And Cian, a runaway servant boy with the confidence to lead when she cannot. Can they be "real" friends if they aren't human? Zalans say no. And yet…together they face brain-sucking zombicorns, raging rivers, and deadly hypnotic butterflies. But what worries Dorveday even more than the deadly dangers she faces in Oz is that Zal's Ministry will send her mother through soul-crushing Rehabilitation to punish her for Dorveday's escape. Can Dorveday find a way home in time to save her mother...and maybe find a way to change her world as well?

Dorveday's trip down the yellow brick road opens her eyes to joys not available to her on Zal--friendship, nature, animals, and magic. As she journeys through time and space, she realizes being different isn't wrong...and it might just save her world.