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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this a long time ago before anyone had ever heard of it (and long before the musical appeared), and with the announcement of a 4th and final book was reminded how much I loved this one, which then led to me remembering that I had not read any of the sequels.
I loved Maguire's twist on the Oz story so much back then that I read each successive book he produced. Now that the series has been finished, I think I'm going to just have to read 1-4 from start to finish when the new one comes out.
I loved Maguire's twist on the Oz story so much back then that I read each successive book he produced. Now that the series has been finished, I think I'm going to just have to read 1-4 from start to finish when the new one comes out.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wicked is one of those retellings that I’m not quite sure about in all honesty. I love the Oz tales, don’t get me wrong, but I do think the way this story was written was too much. Perhaps it’s because there’s so many details about different characters, or the fact that I’ve seen the musical adaptation too many times, but I found myself very distracted while reading. I will say, though, the points that Gregory Maguire brings up in this retelling of The Wizard of Oz are incredibly interesting. I really enjoyed the - while not new as of my reading in 2025 - different takes on the characters and found their motivations complex and intriguing. I do think that this is a worthwhile read, even if one only reads it once.
I had no idea this book was so genuinely good. The prose is gorgeous, the characters identifiable, the plot gripping. Plus it's delightfully weird. So much more than I expected!
boring. Stopped reading about a third of the way through and am sending it off to the second hand book store. I'm glad that I bought it second hand myself and didn't waste $$ on buying it new.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
The original story of the Wizard of Oz was, by far, a better story. Not sure why the author felt the need to mess with it like they did
I got like 60% of the way through before stopping. It was very dour and cynical, with little redeeming qualities. I thought the writing occasionally pretty and liked the talk about religion and evil though.
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did not enjoy the style of writing and the plot was extremely slow. I didn’t get invested in any of the characters and didn’t care for the philosophical reflections that seemed constant with no apparent realizations or revelations. Maybe I’m just too stupid to enjoy this book😅