Rating: 
Summary: Amazing...
Review: Normally I prefer non-fiction, but this has become one of my all-time favorite books. At over 400 pages it's a huge book, but I read it in two days -- couldn't put it down! A fascinating look at human nature, and an incredibly new take on an old story. Don't miss it!
Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: There's a reason the vast majority of people rate this book so well. It's not about "something happening" and it's certainly better than anything Rowling has ever done. This book is about exploring the complexity of people and as a character study of that nature, it succeeds very well. For people looking for a story with a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end, with lots of black and white characters, pass up this book. Instead, Macguire is trying to take the reader into the conflicts and self doubt of a character that has been perceived as the apotheosis of evil. Macguire shows us that evil is relative and in the eye of the beholder. Following the Witch from birth to death is a wonderful glimpse into the psyche of someone who has followed a meandering path to where she is. This book will leave you thinking.
Rating: 
Summary: Wicked Warning!
Review: I cannot understand the good reviews for this book. Apparently, fans of the "Oz" books like it. I've only seen the movie and I liked the premise, but this book has no plot, no character development, no tension. Just random acts. When she's attaching wings to monkeys, we want to know why.
Rating:
Summary: A Wicked Good Read
Review: I bought this for my wife for Christmas and just took my turn reading it. What great fun! It's not just that Maguire retells this familiar story in a different way, but he gives every character a moral ambiguity and depth that left me wondering at the end who was wicked and who wasn't. I also took Elphaba, Wicked Witch of the West, to heart -- well-intentioned but brattishly immature, at times petulant or at other times playful. I can't wait to read his take on Cinderella's step-sister...
Rating:
Summary: unbelievably imaginative
Review: This book kept me enthralled from the first page until the end. If you have ever seen the Wizard of Oz and wondered what REALLY happened, read this book. This is not a child's book but an intelligent insight as to how people can be misperceived. It has wonderful parodies on life as we know it and deep characters that you can really become attached to. Gregory Maguire manages to do all this while still maintaining the storyline in the Wizard of Oz. You'll never look at Dorothy and Toto the same again.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought-provoking and entertaining read!
Review: If you enjoyed the story of the Wizard of Oz, this is an excellent companion piece. In the original, you saw Oz through the eyes of a stranger, Dorthy Gale. In Wicked, you see it through the eyes of the "Wicked" Witch of the West. But more interesting, you get to know the side characters much more intimately: the Wizard, Glinda, the "Wicked" Witch of the East. You come to understand the Witch of the West's (aka Elphaba) motivations, and how misunderstandings, grudges, timing, misconceptions play an important in the "creation" of a person's identity and ultimately their life; thereby asking the question, "what is evil really?"I also felt that Maguire captured the tone and language that Baum had set in the original story. P.S. Understanding where the winged monkeys come from now, they definitely seem less scary!
Rating: 
Summary: Great premise, but doesn't quite follow through
Review: I was very excited by the premise of this book. It is an enjoyable and sometimes thought provoking read. However, I must admit that I was disappointed. I expected a character study of the Wicked Witch of the West which explained her slow descent into evil. Instead, I found her to be a fairly consistently likable character who has a sudden, inexplicable personality change. Otherwise, I found the book to be a pleasant diversion.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting reading.
Review: This book was different than what I had expected. It was highly theological and political. I thought that it might be a little more fairytale-like when I bought it. It was very interesting reading. It's neat hearing the story from the villain's perspective. I felt sorry for her throughout the book.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely amazing...
Review: Virtually everyone, child and adult, knows the tale of "The Wizard Of Oz" in and out, yes? Truly, before reading "Wicked: The Life and Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West," I had only childhood memories of the characters, specifically and most pronounced, The Wicked Witch herself. What a frightful creature she was, full of malice and evil. Yet, in "Wicked," I was allowed to meet "the real" Witch, as it were, from her childhood innocence, to her ungainly, evolutionary teen years at university, through her life's great love affair, and on to her ultimate date with fate at the hands of a confused girl from Kansas. This person, this green girl, lived and breathed for me throughout the pages of "Wicked." I read and reread the last parts over and over again. I found myself going back through the book to the happiest points in her difficult life again and again, almost in reverent homage to such a wondrous, misunderstood life. I applaud the author, truly, and am indebted to him, for taking me on such a journey, and for breathing such life and magic into someone I have always known, had always feared, and now will always think wistfully upon. The Wicked Witch Of The West.
Rating:
Summary: Inventive re-thinking of Childhood Stories
Review: This is an interesting read, taking icons of childhood and examining them with an adult point of view. Maguire does an excellent job of character development, and at the same time paints a fascinating picture of the geographies, technologies, and politics of Oz. His wicked witch is a tormented - and very honest - character worthy of Ayn Rand, if Rand had thrown a little magic into "ATLAS SHRUGGED." OK, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but Elphaba's odyssey is fascinating.
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