Rating: 
Summary: A fun new perspective on an old classic!
Review: I loved the Wizard of Oz as a child. This book is a great book to read as an adult. It is a prequel to the Wizard of Oz, but written with the Wicked Witch of the West as the heroine instead of as a villain. We get to know Elphaba as an intelligent but lonely girl who is trying to change the world for the better. We are reminded that there are always two sides to every story.
It is a quick read, which is good because I became so engrossed I could barely put it down. The only complaint I had about the book was that there were a couple of scenes that were a little more explicit secually than they needed to be. The author could have easily gotten the same point across without quite as much detail. Unfortunately, one scene was so descriptive that I didn't feel comfortable buying copies for all of my friends and family last Christmas. If you can get past those few pages, the rest of the book is fantastic!
Rating: 
Summary: Wickedly Faboo
Review: I love this book. I can't wait for the movie. From the first page I was sucked into the mythological, symbolical world of Elphabala, and how her descent to being "wicked" was a road paved with good intentions. Maguire sheds a new light on what used to be a one dimensional character and made a plausibly real person - Elphabala is undeniably human - with flaws and gifts - she's a reminder that there's always another side to a story. Wicked is EXCELLENT, but not for younger reads (like under 14).
Rating:
Summary: So Witty It Seems Obvious
Review: This book is a must for anyone who is an OZ fan, espically those who know their geography and politics of OZ. The characters are so well fleshed out and colorfully drawn. Maguire's characters are written with a great deal of symathy and humanity, while also posessing an adult wit. While this book is not for the faint of heart or those who want to hold onto their ideal picture of OZ, it is wonderful for those who have read Baums book as a child and who want to revisit as a grown up.
Rating:
Summary: A psychological portrait of the most stereotypical witch
Review: Gregory Maguire's brilliant debut novel, _Wicked_, is ambitious and incredibly fascinating. Forget everything you thought you knew about Oz and be prepared to have it come into a startling realm of realism. In _Wicked_, the people of Oz live in a modern society that seems very much like our own - complete with sex, violence, and vulgarity. Culturally, Oz is quite different - not to mention the different peoples we don't have - the blue-skinned people of the Vinkus, the Animals (as the Cowardly Lion), the Tiktoks (as the Tin Man), and the many different forms of Munchkins - but it's still fully understandable and relatable to our world, intertwined with Baum's original fantasy realm. _Wicked_ is not only a biography of the Wicked Witch, but a totally different view of Oz. Oz is a land under totalitarian rule from the Great Wizard. Animals (with a capital "A" to distinguish them from the non-talking variety) are fighting for their rights as citizens, while hate crimes against their kind abound. Tiktoks are starting to get minds of their own and great distrust for these mechanical beings is growing throughout. And into this world comes Elphaba (named for the first sounds in Oz's creator's name, L. Frank Baum), a green-skinned girl with an extreme aversion to water who will become the Wicked Witch of the West. _Wicked_ follows Elphaba's entire life, from before her birth to her tragic death at the hands of Dorothy Gale of Kansas. Along the way we meet many memorable new characters, but also Galinda (later to rename herself "Glinda" - the Good Witch of the North), and the previously uncharacterized Wicked Witch of the East. The Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and Dorothy all have cameos, but the book is hardly about them. The characters in _Wicked_ are at once bizarre and completely real, and the journey that Elphaba takes from being a queer child with a skin affliction to the Witch of the West is also believable, even in this fantasy world. I would give this book five stars, were it not for a few complaints that I had. The first half of the book is absolutely phenomenal. From her first appearance at school to age twenty-three, Elphaba is one of the most stunning and captivating characters I've ever come across. From then to her death, she's still the same character, but the book doesn't seem to live up to the expectations created by the excellent first half. The second half seems to try too hard to be symbolic and meaningful - the first half just tells a damn good story. That doesn't mean that the second half isn't worth a read - it definitely is. It simply did not live up to Elphaba's earlier years. I highly recommend this book, but don't expect it to be the fluffy Oz you know. Maguire makes sure that this is not a book for children - it's the real Oz. The beautiful, gritty, culturally diverse, politically corrupt Oz. It is an excellent and surprising read, and Elphaba is a character that will stick with you for a long time. You'll never watch _The Wizard of Oz_ the same way again.
Rating:
Summary: Take a peek under the black cone-shaped hat
Review: and the long, flowing cape that shroud Elphaba in the cover of anonimity she desires. How absolutely fascinating to even think of taking the characters from the Wizard of Oz and delving into their lives...their history, their childhoods, their dreams and their nightmares. If you take things at face value now; believe me when I tell you that you will think twice before passing judgement on anyone or labeling them acccording to what is seen at first glance. When you open this book to see an actual LAND OF OZ map, you will be stunned. This map alone took me a while to digest because there it all is in front of you..that magical land of the red shoes, Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, The Tin Man, Toto and of course the wizard and the Witches! But then Maguire slowly and tauntingly begins to pull back the curtain and revelation upon revelation begin to unfold. It is like he is saying: Didn't you know that these marvelous characters have a history? They had mothers and fathers and home lives and away lives and friends and their homeland had a politics beyond imagining; and Dorothy was just a way of bringing you to this land of mystery with its hates and loves and intrigues and joys and sadness. I applaud the author for even the germ of the idea..take a 'fairy tale' if you will, and breathe the spark of life into their lifeless forms! Take the stick figures and fill them in with the glorious colors of reality. Get this book and prepare to lose yourself in a world of wonder, excitement, and awe. Battle along with the characters in the war of Good and Evil, and try, try very hard to distinguish one from the other. But most of all enjoy! THE UGLY STEPSISTER should be next on your agenda - and I hope Maguire will continue on in this mode of writing.
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Summary: Surprising book!
Review: I picked this up at my Mom's house, and devoured it in a day. I just couldn't put it down, and when I was finished, I thought about it for days afterwards. Deceptively easy to read, it has some really interesting insights both into the nature of good and evil, and into the "back story" of OZ, before Dorothy came along. I found myself quite attached to Elphaba (AKA the Wicked Witch of the West), and was sorry to see her die. Try it...you'll like it. :-)
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Summary: The unseen side of the 'wicked' witch of the west!
Review: What a great book...it is full of mystery, twists and is completely unexpected in so many ways. Who knew how involved the Wicked Witch was in the politics of OZ, or what a spaceshot Gilda is? Very clever book.
I highly recommend this book, although some parts did seem too long (the reason for the four starts, not five).
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I had read Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and expected this book to be as good -- frankly, I was disappointed. The book reads more like a screenplay -- it's very visual, but doesn't really go into the characters the way you would expect. If you "see" a story when you read, this works, but for me it was a disappointment!
Rating:
Summary: Over the rainbow...
Review: This is a great book. At first, it might give some people pause to read a book based on such a well-known character, but Mister Maguire has fleshed out The Wicked Witch of the West to absolutely no end. You meet her family, the many people she finds on her adventures, and most importantly, you see her exploits in the political world of Oz, which is very tight, and endlessly detailed. Why 4 stars, then, you ask? My only complaint was that it was difficult to continue on after a certain book or chapter was done. Maguire writes the book almost like 4 or 5 novellas about different times in the same person's life. But if you're into that sort of thing (and even if you're not), you will enjoy this book a great deal.
Rating:
Summary: Not your mom and dad's Oz
Review: If you want to escape into a typical fairy tale where good and evil are presented in a two-dimensional fashion, this is not the book for you. If you would like to partake in an interesting journey where society, morality, sexuality and politics are made complex by the real question of "What is good and what is evil?", then plop into the comfiest chair and prepare to be spellbound.
"Wicked" is a social commentary made real because Maguire uses fictitious characters from a story so well known by the human world. In believing that we know the characters when we sit down to read this book, Maguire plays on our loyalties and preconceptions about the good and bad elements in the world of Oz. We quickly learn that all is not as it seems and that all evil was not always so and actually may not be; whereas all good was not born pure and perhaps, is selfishly driven.
This book does for Oz what "Wide Sargasso Sea" did for Jane Eyre's mad woman in the attic.
I give the book four stars only because the book ends before it should with some questions unanswered. However, it is well worth the tease.
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