School of Oz (Emerald Academy #1) by Laura Sieveking

Title: School of Oz (Emerald Academy #1)

Author: Laura Sieveking

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Scholastic Australia

Published: 1^st July 2026

Format: Paperback

Pages: 288

Price: $17.99

Synopsis: Welcome to Emerald Academy: School of Oz. Emily Gale, the daughter of Dorothy, is beyond excited to begin at Emerald Academy-the school for the future leaders of Oz. She is reunited with her friends, the Scarecrow’s son, the Tin Woodsman’s daughter, Glinda’s son and the Lion’s son. But then a new boy arrives. Seth has green skin in a distinct pattern that every Ozian knows. Could he be related to the most evil villain Oz had ever known, the Wicked Witch of the South? When a dangerous magic ball is stolen, suspicions rise and fingers begin pointing at Seth. But Emily isn’t sure Seth is as wicked a everyone thinks. And the only hope they have of saving Oz is to trust Seth to go with them along the yellow brick road. For whatever awaits them.

~*~

Emily Gale is Dorothy Gale’s daughter, and she’s spent her life visiting Oz, that magical land her mother first visited during the tornado, where she saved the Munchkins from the Wicked Witches of the East and West, made friends with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman, and Cowardly Lion, and in subsequent books, had lots of other adventures with many others that we didn’t meet in the first book. But they crop up in this book, the first in a new series from Laura Sieveking.

Emily has been invited to the School of Oz, the only person from outside the magical land of the Yellow Brick Road. She’s one of two new students starting in the new term. Seth is the other new student from Quadling country but with a secret, and half a green face that doesn’t endear him to anyone. Emily is lucky, because she already has friends when she arrives: Tina, the Tin Woodsman’s daughter, Leo, the Cowardly Lion’s son, Gwyn, Glinda’s son and Corbin, the Scarecrow’s son. And she gets a warm welcome from Queen Ozma.

Everyone is whispering about whether Seth is related to the Wicked Witch of the South, and as the story goes along, there are tricks in store, things going missing and whispers that follow Seth around, despite his determination that he doesn’t know anything about the witch and his heritage. Emily and her friends want to show everyone that they’re wrong. That they shouldn’t judge Seth. But what is really going on, who can be trusted in this fabulous retelling, or even sequel to the Oz stories?

School of Oz feels like it is probably set about twenty years after the original books, as Emily is fourteen. Things in this book start out calmly, and like a typical school story but with magic as the characters settle in and work out their place in the school. The crux of the story and mystery come into play when a dangerous magical ball is stolen…and every finger points to Seth as the most obvious suspect. Yet, this is too easy. There is much more to the story, and Emily and her friends will be digging a bit deeper to find out what is really going on.

At the heart of this book is the magic of Oz, the history of the books and the characters that made the series what it is. Even if you haven’t read the series, or have only seen the movie based on the first book, it will still make sense. It still works well, and I had read the first book and seen the movie, so many of the characters were familiar. I did learn of some others when I studied children’s literature at university, so I double checked the names and was pleased to know I remembered learning about them, even if I didn’t know which book they were in.

Back to the story. This is a gorgeous and faithful retelling or sequel, whatever you want to call it. It revels in the simplicity of a world with magic, explains how magic works well and ensures that the hints dropped at the start come back and make sense at the end, ensuring that nothing is left to chance or left hanging. It is all developed well, and the story is compelling, taking readers into Oz for the first time or for the thousandth time. And I liked that it all came together to ensure that nobody really needs to have too much prior knowledge, because it touches on the things that happened in the most well-known story in the series.

It feels modern, but also feels timeless and like it could be historical at the same time. It is enjoyable and perfect for a middle grade or young teen audience. It’s the first in a series, and it’ll be interesting to see where it goes and what happens next with the threads that have already been set out.