Rating: 
Summary: Wickedly Awesome
Review: I bought this book, when I found out that I was going to New York to see the musical version of it. I found that the ending to the book was very sad and depressing compared to the musical. The book was written very well, and except for the ending, I enjoyed it so much, I went out and bought all the rest of the authors novels.The way that Gregory drew you into Elphie's pain and anguish was unbelievable. It brought you to tears when Dorothy murdered her. I hope that this review was helpful for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Huh?
Review: This book has gotten lots of positive reviews, and in some ways, I do see it's merit. The characters are well developed, and the whole idea of a backstory to the Wicked Witch of the West (and OZ itself) is really fun. But...I can't say that I really enjoyed it. Here's why: First, there were lots of grammatical mistakes. At first, I thought that these were perhaps in correlation with some of the ambiguities in the story...that maybe the grammatical mistakes were being used to enhance that intended feeling of confusion. Later, I decided Maguire had a bad editor. Second, the flow of the story just didn't seem to be smooth (well, not smooth enough to keep my interest for prolonged periods.) This criticism, however, comes from my own personal preferences in reading. I like to be entertained. Sure, I like a little backstory, recurring themes, and (of course) foreshadowing. But in some spots, these elements became too overwhelming, hindering the movement of the story. "Enough, already" became one of my own recurring themes. Third, I thought that the detailed sexual "exploits" of the characters were too overplayed. At first, I thought that Maguire was just using elaborate, and gratuitous explanations to emphasize the natural human (or animal, perhaps?) instincts of the characters, and indeed, the sexual acts described did do this. However, it again became too much to bear, overpowering the story. Too much time was spent on descriptions of the sexual atmosphere, time in which more important details could have been divulged. Fourth, and finally, the philisophical attitude permeating the novel became overpowering itself. It seemed that Maguire wanted his readers to sit back and ponder (or marvel) at every little detail. Everything had some deeper, intense psychological context. By the end of the book this intended "ooh just think about this for a minute, isn't it deep?" tone had battered me over the head. Again, too much! In summation, yeah, the book is ok. It's interesting, some of the details are neat, unexpected little tidbits of OZ gradually unfold, and the idea is really exciting. But, all in all, it just didn't "blow me away."
Rating: 
Summary: Ending Leaves Something To Be Desired
Review: This is my first reading of Maguire, and of reading a jilted fairy tale in general, and I must say I am very impressed. The characters are well planned and well developed. Each action is backed up by reasoning of some sort (she acts X way because Y happened to her, etc). Oz is well formed in the reader's mind throughout the book, and made even easier through the occasionally needed map found at the beginning.
However, the last chapter of the book leaves something to be desired. I understand that it must have been hard to conform to the original tale and keep his characters true to what he had created, but the story just seems to drag its feet at the end, and then come to a messy and strange conclusion. I desired more finality to the book, but that isn't to say the ending was horrid.
Some of the best parts of this book are the philosophical questions and occasional answers that are raised. If for nothing else, it is interesting to read the philosophical stand points taken on evil, the human soul, etc.
Overall it was the ending that dropped a star from this book. Otherwise, it was a fantastic read.
Rating:
Summary: brilliant...
Review: I read this book after learning of the broadway show, and while both have completely different plots, both, I believe, are truly spectacular.
Wicked is such marvelous storytelling, with brilliantly sculpted characters and intense questioning of human nature. I loved reading it, and I cried when I finished simply because I had run out of story to read!! Gosh, it was good! ;^) Brilliant!!
Rating:
Summary: What is the True Nature of Evil?
Review: By far one of the best and wonderfully written books I have ever read. It takes place from the birth of Elphaba (the wicked witch of the west) all the way to her death by Dorothy. It shows a completely different side of Elphaba and understand that she was just vastly misunderstood, all the way to her sad and unfortunate ending. We also meet Glinda who starts out as a selfish stuck up brat, her turns into a more loving and caring person after who encounters with Elphaba and the death of a teacher and back into a ditzy woman who is still nice, except she sort of betrays Elphaba at the end by giving Dorothy the only thing Elphaba would have left of her family...the ruby slippers. And we also meet Nessarose, the religious nut who becomes the wicked with of the east. I can't stress enough how well written and enthralling this read is. I was sad at the witch's death and the end of the book. I NEED TO READ IT AGAIN! I would rank it right up there with the original OZ.
Rating:
Summary: Gets better.
Review: While at first I had a hard time getting into this book eventually the means satisfy the end. You end up feeling incredible empathy for Elphaba and somewhat annoyed by the undeserving ending she received. You also grow to love Maguires' writing style and I am definetely interested in reading his other books now.
Rating:
Summary: Book Review
Review: "Ill get you my pretty! And your little dog too!" Whenever an adult here in the United States hears this particular phrase, nostalgia takes over. Remembering the old days when once a year The Wizard of Oz would air on TV and all the family members would gather around the television set ready for an adventure with Dorothy to the Land of Oz. Children were fascinated by the conflicts and struggle between the "innocent" Dorothy and the evil green-skinned witch.
Just recently, a new book, Wicked, by Gregory Maguire was released and has given readers such as a I a whole new perspective on The Wizard of Oz.
We often times think we know who and what is evil and sometimes why. Maguire meddles with "why" more than the whom and what, really testing our ideas of stereotypes and fixed ideas we all have. The Wicked Witch of the West seems hardly the same girl, Elphaba. You see, the wicked witch has a name. Just by reading the first couple of pages, a cornucopia of questions tumble through my head. How is the Wicked Witch of the West from the East? How is Galinda (later Glinda) the Good of the North also from the East? Where's Dorothy? Maguire doesn't even bring Dorothy into the picture till nearly the end of the story; and he doesn't paint her kindly when she's introduced into the novel.
Wicked is the untold story of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and her unfortunate skin. Elphaba wasn't born evil, just green. After all, she had a mother and a father. And like most families, they had their secrets. The moment she arrived into the world, her parents were horrified at the site of their baby just because she was a lovely shade of chartreuse. Elphaba eventually grows into a young woman and attends college where she meets her new roommate, Galinda. They both felt the moment they laid eyes on each other they would be loathing one another till their school days were done. After all, Galinda was a high maintenance Ms. Popular and Elphaba was well, green. But after due consideration, they grow to like each other and become best friends. Elphaba excelled in politics and became a freedom fighter and was involved in the underground resistance movement to ring social rights to the thinking Animals.
But life for Elphaba soon took a drastic turn for her. Her best friend Galinda stabs her in the back by taking the ruby slippers (which belonged to Elphaba's sister) and suffering the loss of her one true love. Since Elphaba couldn't save her love, she decides no good deed goes unpunished and becomes wicked.
Wicked creates a great fantasy world of Oz to get lost in. That's the one place where I was lost. There was so much detail it was a little hard to follow the story line at times. But over this entire book was a definite page-turner. We learn the Elphaba's life is great sorrow, and now when watching The Wizard of Oz, it makes you think. It gives you a look at an American classic from a different angle. Wicked is a book I definitely recommend for some older audiences since it's very complicated to understand and comprehend. But all I have to say is a lot happened before Dorothy dropped in.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars from me!!
Review: I was glued to this book from the moment I picked it up until the last word on the last page. Definitely give this book a shot. You don't even need to be a diehard Wizard of Oz fan to love this story. If you love a really gripping and completely unique plot, and a detailed read, you will love Wicked. (I would not recommend this for "skimmers.") The setting in Oz is one of the most unique I have ever come across in literature... and you will just love Elphaba. She will stick in your mind for a long time after you are finished reading. I read this book just before seeing the inspired broadway musical and, although they are entirely different, they compliment each other very nicely. Wicked is simply a one-of-a-kind novel and I highly recommend it. 5 stars from me!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent story.
Review: Fabulous read -- couldn't put it down. Combines magical realism with political commentary and surprisingly good character development.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing book!
Review: I loved this book. I bought it after reading reviews that were so so and was scared of what I was getting. WOW it was worth it!!! You'll never hear the story of Oz again the same way!
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