Rating: 
Summary: loved loved loved it
Review: This book was hard to set down because I kept wanting to read it. I was initially on the defense of the original Wizard of Oz story but this book was written so well. After I finished the book I couldn't get the characters or the story out of my head for weeks. If you're craving something imaginative but more mature than most things out there, read this!
Rating: 
Summary: A book to make me long for a rating system for literature
Review: I just finished "Wicked". Buried deep within the prose is a pretty good story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and how she got the title. A caricature becomes a character, one for whom I felt empathy by the end.Be forewarned. If you're expecting "Wicked" to be a retelling of the events of "The Wizard of Oz", it's not. Dorothy's house doesn't land on Nessarose until the book is 80% over. This is Elphaba's story from birth to death. I am irritated that Mr. Maguire confuses "adult" with "profane". It seems a given today that authors "prove" they're writing for adults by throwing in gratuitous profanity (at least one "F"-word and multiple others). And, I'd like to know how descriptions of defecation and urination add to the story? Natural acts? Certainly, but a decent editor would have excised these incidents and it wouldn't have harmed Elphaba's story. This is the type of book for which libraries were made. Borrow it, don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: A story within a story
Review: Very adept at creating a story within a story. We get to really see what the "Wicked Witch" is like, and why she was the way she was. This character was someone that anyone could imagine as a friend or at least acquaitance. We follow the "Wicked Witch" of the West's life from birth to death. From her strange beginnings, to her not so strange life in the Emerald City, to her strange endings. She has a real passion for Animals (intelligent animals) and pursues how to make them more free. She becomes a recluse by the end however, and does not know how to right some of the wrongs that have happened throughout her life. Sometimes while following the story, you can't help but feel sorry for her- someone who just seems to have a life that doesn't want to go right. Gregory Maguire is an adept storyteller, weaving magic within a magic fairytale. At times though, I found the book to be strange- too strange- as if the author would remember that it was a fantasy and wanted to make it more fantastical. I would say that it would have been easier to keep reading if he had continued the strangeness throughout the book, or cut the strangeness out altogether to make her life seem more "real."
Rating: 
Summary: Very Imaginative
Review: Yes, that wicked witch... In this satirical fictional biography, Maguire traces the history of the wicked witch from her birth in Oz to her death at the hands of the "innocent" child, Dorothy. It's Maguire theory that the witch (named Elphalba) wasn't really the wicked person that The Wizard Of Oz portrayed her to be. Instead, Maguire proposes the idea that she was a victim of circumstance and political espionage. Though slow at times, this is one of the most imaginative books that I've read in a very long time. It is often very humorous (Elphalba was once the college roomate and good friend of Glinda the Good Witch!). Throughout the satire, Maguire also contemplates on nature of evil. This is adult fantasy at it's finest (definitely not a child's fairy tale). After reading this, I don't think I'll ever look at The Wizard Of Oz the same way again.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: Vividly real, much less of a metaphor book than the Oz books, achingly true characters. Very much worth the read. Definately an adult book though, or for more advanced young adult readers. Not a light story.
Rating: 
Summary: A great plot wrapped up in a ton of useless prattle
Review: It takes serious, but rewarding effort to stay tuned in to this book and read it. I found myself skipping over some of the pages due to the endless prattle in an attempt to find where the story moved on. Too many charachters are introduced into the story in a small period of time along with some very odd manner of speaking, which makes it an additionally hard read as you need to take down notes to keep track of the charachters. Even the story itself is unnecessarially wordy. When I saw this book in the book store I figured it would be a nice relaxing, interesting read and shed some good 'behind the scenes' light on the Wizzard of Oz. It has a good story to it, but it's wrapped up in alot of words and it takes some page turning to find the story.
Had I known it was full of odd religious, and political euphamisms I would have probably looked for something else on the new release stand. I found the detailed cultural refrences interesting but not wholly an important enough part of the book to really go on about it as much as it did. The odd scenes depicting bizarre sexualism were also out of place and not necessary leaving me to decide that this book will not be for my daughter (of 13 years) to read later, as is our usual custom. Don't get me wrong, it's a good book with a good story. I will never look at the Wizard of Oz again with the same eyes. It's just a hard to read book that will probably end up on my bookbank shelves and not added to my library.
Rating:
Summary: A nice companion piece
Review: Having seen the show, it's kind of nice to see the book "tied-in" to the musical. It's the same thing as the original book's publsihing, but this version has a few nice, quailty pictures added in. The story of the musical and the book itself differs so don't buy this book expecting the story of the musical. If you're a theatre fan, and would like a different cover, then by all means buy it and add it to your collection. I myself have my copy of the book, in its original form, signed and bought this copy to re-read without ruining my orignial :) Don't buy this book with the big expectation that it's completely different from its original publishing. Buy this book for its incredible story and depth, and buy whatever cover you fancy...in my opinion, both designs are wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: One of my new favorites
Review: when i purchased this book, i thought that it might be a little too "young reader" for my tastes, but i decided to give it a chance. I didn't put it down for more than a few hours at a time until it was finished. the characters are engaging, the plot is very creative, and the only thing that was bad about this book was the end. the end came too soon for me.
Rating:
Summary: Book = 5 stars...calling it a "tie-in" = no stars
Review: If you've got a copy of "Wicked" with its other cover and can live without a few pages of pics from the Broadway show, don't get this version too. Maybe I've got a mixed-up idea of a "tie-in," but to me it's not changing the cover to match the musical poster and adding in pictures. I assumed it was a rewrite so that the book and the musical stories matched more. Wrong. It's the same as the other cover. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE "Wicked." But I can't help but feel cheated. To call it a tie-in when it's the same book only with musical pictures, IMHO is false advertisement. Bottom line ~ BUY the book...but only one...not both.
Rating:
Summary: wicked an new spin on an old story
Review: Wicked the book by Greogrey Magurie will help you question the long time favorite The Wizard of Oz. This book helps introduce the readers to the different sides of our favorite characters and relaize why one is so wicked. Wheather its learning about Glinda a snobby teen or her soon to be best friend Elphaba a kind green-colored teen who wants some understaanding of the world around her. This book will keep you hooked to the very last sentence.
| 
