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.
Rating: 
Summary: Maguire just doesn't get it.
Review: Having finished Wicked about 3 days ago, I just read the synopsis of the musical and (even though I own and have practically memorized the album) I discovered that they couldn't be more different. I started and put down the book months ago, but picked it up again after being inspired by the fantastic musical score. I was anxious to fill in the holes between the songs, which seemed to be quite interesting. While the book was fascinating, the hard truth is that the musical story seemed to be twisted for all the right reasons. Maguire, while writing a richly detailed account of Elphaba, who is only somewhat likable, lacks the romantic flair and suspense that the story is aching for. For instance, in the show, Elphaba loses the battle for Fiyero early on to Glinda, so a lot of tension has built up, and the payoff comes near the end, when Fiyero finally falls for Elphie. In the book, well, you'll see. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. What Maguire seems to fail to realize is the old adage, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." It is my belief that the feeling of being ugly or disfigured along with being unlucky in love can create genuine fury in women. Yet, Elphaba (and ESPECIALLY Nessarose) make unwise and slightly evil decisions based on nothing but politics and religion. Plus, the rivalry with the seemingly perfect Galinda could have been so much stronger. I read the whole book waiting for the real oomph to kick in, and it never came. This could have been so much more.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Idea, Excellent Story!
Review: I am a big fan of stories retold from the viewpoint of another character, and this one lives up to its praise. Gregory Maguire does a wonderful job of exploring the nature of good and evil and the idea that there are always two sides to a story. Fans of The Wizard of Oz, both the Baum story and the MGM production, will enjoy this twist on a treasured tale.
Rating:
Summary: More "HUH?" than "HMM."
Review: As my title implies, this book had me alternately wondering what the heck the author was thinking (or not, as the case may be), and coming across a line or two I found mildly interesting or amusing. The premise is a great one, but the execution leaves much to be desired. First of all, fans of the classic Oz series need to know that this is not fairy-tale material. I would not recommend this to a young audience, as alluring as the prospect of Oz stories may be. Maguire includes a lot of sexually explicit material and gore in this book (most of which is totally unnecessary to the plot, creating annoying interruptions). Hey, sex is fine with me, but in literature I prefer when it actually flows with everything else going on. So, with the R-rating warning out of the way, I can go on to my other complaints. Maguire seems unable to make up his mind as to what he wants to do with this story. Is it a political statement? Is it some (rather lame) attempt to address the source of evil in the world? Are we focusing on trying to implement elements of classic Oz? Is this a morality play? Is it just an opportunity to write about bizarre sexual encounters with animals? Or to reiterate one more time that Elphaba is, indeed, green? More flying monkeys would have been an improvement. Maguire has his moments when he does say something interesting in this book (hence two stars, instead of one). Generally, these are few and far between, and you have to recover first from the rest of the utter nonsense and sensationalism he fills this book with. I came to the end wondering why I had wasted so much time. I suppose I was hoping for a grand finale that would bring some insight into why I had read the last several hundred pages - needless to say, it never came.
Rating:
Summary: It lacks a ball of fire
Review: After reading so many rave reviews, I found this book to be a tedious, clicheed and ponderously slow moving dissapointment. It's loaded with ponderous and clunky social commentary; even though I agreed with his opinions, I found the language and dialogue difficult to swallow. And while the Frank L. Baum books and the classic movie are enchanting, this book is a bore.
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