* AssPull: It's implied Tip couldn't simply just rule Oz as king as the people would've only accepted Princess Ozma, the rightful heir. This despite everyone being fine with a talking scarecrow as the king, Emerald City being gullible enough to think a con-artist was a wizard and also accept him as their king, and no one knowing who Ozma even is.
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: As noted elsewhere, there are several ways you could interpret Tip[[spoiler:/Ozma]], particularly if you're going to look at it through a more modern [[spoiler:transgender]] perspective. Modern ''Oz'' writers often speculate on how [[spoiler:Ozma transitioned into her role as a female ruler]], and try to expand on it or make it significantly less seamless of a transition than the one Baum presents. Read for example, [[spoiler:''Fanfic/OzmaSeesHerself'' by Edward Einhorn]]
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Jack Pumpkinhead was enough of one that Baum retconned his apparent death at the end of this book so that Jack simply replaces his heads when they rot.
** In the theatre adaptation of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman were fan favorites; hence why they appear in this book while Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion and the Wizard were absent. Baum had underestimated the popularity of these characters, however. Fans of the book clamoured for them to appear again, which they would in subsequent books.
* FandomSpecificPlot: Giving Tip [[spoiler:gender dysphoria]] before [[spoiler:the transformation into Ozma]]. See ''Webcomic/YellowBrickRamble'', for example.
* FanficFuel: The psychological implications of Tip's abusive upbringing and [[spoiler:Tip/Ozma's genderbending]].
* HilariousInHindsight: Jinjur is depicted as a redhead. "Ginger" has become a slang for redhead -- though some might even consider the book a TropeMaker or TropeCodifier.
* ItWasHisSled: Everyone knows that [[spoiler:Tip is really Princess Ozma]], which is revealed at the end of the novel.
* LGBTFanbase: Tip [[spoiler:or more to the point, Ozma]] is popular with trans people due to the idea of [[spoiler:the gender one was raised as being a lie and one's true self actually being another gender]] having extremely obvious {{applicability}}. Unless you're an FTM -- then Tip being forced into being turned back into a girl again against his wishes is nightmarish.
* NightmareFuel: Mombi, who's played relatively seriously compared to everyone else. In particular, the scene where she tells Tip that she intends to turn him into a marble statue is unsettling, from the buildup to how cold her statements are.
* RainbowLens: [[spoiler:Tip]] is a popular example of this trope, which analyzers and future adaptations have toyed around with. He was born [[spoiler:a girl]] but was [[spoiler:magically transformed into a boy as a baby and raised as male]]. Later on, he learns the truth and is turned back [[spoiler:into his true form, Ozma]] (which, depending on his VagueAge, occured in pre-adolescence or adolescence). All the genderbending makes it popular to reinterpret [[spoiler:Ozma]] through a UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} lens.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
** Enough fans disliked the reveal that the Wizard had been complicit in Ozma's kidnapping that Baum retconed it away when the Wizard came back for ''Literature/DorothyAndTheWizardInOz''.
** The absence of Dorothy in this book was a big complaint among readers at the time it came out, which is why she returns as the protagonist in the next novel.
* ValuesResonance: [[spoiler:Tip]] initially complains about having to be turned back into a girl after living as a boy. His friends comfort him by telling him that being a girl isn't bad. They can still be friends-- girls are just as nice as boys, and they're just as good students as boys. After transforming, [[spoiler:Ozma]] doesn't complain.