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A review by gayghostprince
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic friendship, War, Xenophobia, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Colonisation, Dementia, Drug use, Alcohol, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
I never finished this book when I was younger but I was immediately struck by how vile all the adults in this book are upon rereading it.
there are no assault scenes, but people do mention r*pe.
the descriptions and implications about specific groups in this people are racist and stereotypical, but not often aggressively malicious.
a LOT of the treatment of children in this book is upsetting. content warning for family baggage and child neglect.
in addition, late in the book a child is pretty relentlessly bullied by his peers.
I added a minor homophobia warning because the way people describe the two obviously gay characters is often homophobic. just coincidentally describing them as simpering or whatever. the equivalent of calling a gay man a fairy, you know?
the sex scenes in this book are not detailed or graphic but they are also not well written. take that as you will.