The Wicked Years: Book 1
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Liked It5 of 5 members found this review helpful “This book became famous (at least in my opinion) because of its success as a Broadway musical. I have not seen the musical yet and while I'm sure it's excellent, I am so thrilled that I chose to read the book first. For those of you who don't know, there existed another side to the story about...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It3 of 6 members found this review helpful “I hated this book from start to finish. I've heard that the musical is totally different, but could not stand this book.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“really good! but i wouldnt recommend it for younger readers.”
Drey O wrote this review 48 minutes ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“my book club will not let me forget I recommended this book - we all hated it.”
Esther S wrote this review 4 hours ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Hearing the "other side of the story" was quite intriquing. This is a book you need to read several times to uncover all of the layers. Keep in mind that this is not the musical. It is much darker and convoluted. I believe you can appreciate both (I love the musical) if you accept that they are not really related.”
Jennifer C wrote this review 5 hours ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Sorry to see it end. First sci fi/fantasy book I've read and enjoyed as an adult.”
Amy T wrote this review yesterday. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“argh, it just went ON and ON and ON. The writer just didn't seem to know when to end the book”
Lisa S wrote this review yesterday. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book was really hard for me to get through. I started reading it because I went to see the musical, which is absolutely fabulous and I highly reccomend it! The book however was a bit of a let down. The whole thing was very much a downer, very pessimistic, and ugly throughout. The beginning there were a few parts that I found even slightly offensive, whether this was by author design or not, I'm not sure, but I almost gave it up in the first couple of chapters. But I really hate not finishing a book. It picked up during the middle though. I enjoyed Elphaba's years at Shiz and especially her few months with...[SPOILER ALERT]Fiyero[SPOILER ALERT]. But the rest of the book just dragged and was depressing. I realized it probably didn't have a happy ending since in the Wizard of OZ the Wicked Witch dies although in the musical they do sort of give you one. I thought at least you would get some resolution or some pay off for reading the whole thing through, but the essential message came across like all life was meaningless and there is no point trying to change anything for the better becuase eveything is just going to continue to be horrible or something equally depressing. Leaving you, like, 'That's it??' So this isn't a book I'd reccomend to anyone. If you want to enjoy it as it should have been written, a beautiful story, that still has heartache and meaning but doesn't leave you wanting to go bump yourself off or something go see the musical instead. You will laugh, you will cry, you will enjoy it. Unlike this book. I know there is more in this series, the Lion book and the Son of a Witch story, which will tell Lirr's story. I don't know if I can bring myself to read those now. I hate not finishing a series but it took me 6 months to force my way through Wicked, I don't know if I can convince myself to torture myself again for the sake of finishing the series. Just to put it in perspective, I am a literature major, I have to read a 300-400+ book each week, during the semester, while this book had 519 pages it shouldn't have taken me 6 months. I read New Moon a 600 something book in less than two days for example. So if you do decide to brave this book just go in forewarned. For me, it just wasn't my cup of tea.”
NeoSerenity wrote this review yesterday. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“(Borrowed from the library). I though that this would be a good read over the Christmas holiday. Boy was I wrong and disappointed! I am probably one of the few who did not enjoy this book. Why? Because it seemed too wordy (referenced my dictionary too many times). It was not an easy read (too many times I was asking myself “what did he mean by that description?”; I kept reading the same thing more than once to interpret the meaning. Also, I’m not much of a fantasy reader. If I get to a quarter of the way through the book then it is likely that I will finish it even though I don’t find it that interesting. Even though this book did not out right bore me, I kept reading it which could mean that I have a high pain threshold. At least I can add this type of book (fantasy books that are too wordy and not easy to read) to my list of types of books that I know I would not enjoy.
Dee R wrote this review 2 days ago. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
To Parents: This is not a book for children. This is an adult fantasy book so don’t think that just because you know that the ‘Wizard of Oz’ was a safe read that this book would also be OK for them to read. On the other hand, if you allow your teenager to read romance novels then this book would be OK for them to read because it is a little less graphic.”“Fantastic!!”
Emily E wrote this review 3 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
““Wicked” is an outstanding book, musical, and story. It gets stuck in your head, and I had to read it again. (Is it possible for it to be more satisfying the second time? Yes.) G. M. takes our childhood fantasy of the “Wizard of Oz”, and shakes it up for an imaginative adult version of what it would be like to grow up as Elphaba, (or Glinda, or with ruling dictator Wizard of Oz, or green for that matter.) It addresses who was the Wicked Witch of the West, why is she green, and is she truly wicked because she was born that way or because of the hard life she lived and the choices she made? The mysterious Clock of the Time Dragon and even more mysterious Yackle follow and guide the happenings of Elphaba’s life. She has a self destructive passion to do good, and thinks for herself by questioning everything she is taught. Introduced is the too charming and innocent Dorothy, along with the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow when the Witch attempts to claim her sister’s shoes. In the end, I believe that she was hardened by the events in her life. The love she has known has broken her heart, and the love she wanted was never received. She was betrayed by her best friend, and refused forgiveness from the one person who could have given it to her. These events in her life is what made her wicked. I choose to believe that she was killed in the end, because of the realistic results of her blinding rage and anger. But, this is for you to choose for yourself. G. M. will encourage you to think and rationalize this for yourself.”
Jimmy W wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“12/21 = Am halfway through and not enjoying. All the politics lead to a dull book. The backstory of Elphaba's family and her childhood were interesting, but Shiz and now Emerald City are boring. Plus the author keep switching character point of views. Usually I don't mind that, but in this book there's no pay off... there seems to be no reason for the author switching... it's just the story continued through different characters. So far each character hasn't offered any special insight that a general 3rd person or even just Elphaba would offer.”
Wendy Bell wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
