I’ve been a devoted fan of the Wicked series since my teenage years. I’ve read all four of the Wicked Years novels, as well as the three Another Day novels, and throughout it all, the one thing I’ve always craved was more of Elphaba. I wanted to understand who she truly was and the events that shaped her into the person we meet in Wicked.

So when I saw that Maguire was releasing a story about her childhood, I was over the moon.

Unfortunately, I fell back to Earth pretty quickly.

The book begins with Elphaba as a very young toddler, with the focus on her parents and Nanny. This sets the stage for the dominant theme of the book: that Elphaba became who she was because of the people around her, how they treated her, and how she saw them treat each other.

This first third of the novel was very slow. Like, push through because I have faith in the author it’ll get better.

As the book progresses through Elphaba’s childhood, the pace picks up, and by her pre-teen years, I found myself fully engaged and invested in the story. I finally started enjoying it toward the end.

However, the biggest letdown for me was that, with one or two minor exceptions, there were no major revelations—no big epiphanies or deeper insights into who Elphaba is or how she became the witch we know and love.

I struggled with my rating because it felt almost blasphemous to give a Wicked book less than three stars. However, since I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who isn’t a die-hard fan of the series, I settled on two and a half stars. ⭐️⭐️.5 (Rounded up for NetGalley)

Thank you to NetGalley for my free e-reader copy in exchange for an honest review

I was so excited for this book & it didn't disappoint. For fans of Wicked - the novel - this is a fantastic addition to the series. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Exquisitely written book, and after watching Wicked, this was a great way to start the story line from the beginning. Appreciate the details that Maguire puts into the book, a lot of thought goes into the descriptions. While the book seemed long in some parts, it ended wonderfully and kept me feeling fulfilled. It has been ages since I read the Wicked series, and will soon be re-reading them shortly.

Overall, the book was well written and I did really enjoy it. Thank you for this advance reading copy!

The style of this book is somewhat atypical, and takes some time to adjust to. Overall an interesting exploration of the character Elphaba. I strongly recommend reading Wicked first as fans who have only seen the musical (or seen the Part 1 film!!) will find themselves lost. A generally enjoyable read.

It’s been at least ten years since I read Wicked and its sequel, so I remember very little except the books being dense. As a result, I went into this with low expectations and even then it was a disappointing read.

The prose is oddly poetic but also disjointed. I understand why some people don’t like his writing, but I liked its originality and some of his cleverer turns of phrase. The lilting style however can’t save the book from its lack of a plot. Nothing happens. There is no discernible storyline outside of Elphaba’s family wandering around the countryside. When anything remotely interesting does occur, it’s oddly anticlimactic and without urgency.

I suppose you gain some insight into Elphie’s upbringing, but I’d just recommend you read the TLDR.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC.

Stellar. Surpasses all expectations, giving us that deep dive into Elphie's background that we've wanted for so long. Gregory Maguire has a rich library of also-fabulous books, so load up your list and get swept away by them. He's one of the best storytellers of our time, and we are forever changed whenever we experience them.

Elphie is the young tale of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. This book takes us on the story of her youth and her trials as the green girl.

The book was a hard read at times and maybe gave a glimpse of who Elphie will become with her interactions with her Father, Nessa and animals. Not sure this book was necessary in the Wicked world to bring character explanation.

The writing was hard at times and many times I had to push through my thoughts to not finish. I wanted more wicked than it was able to provided and with the movie coming out I thought it would provide a good base of history for wicked. However I did finish it and was not changed for good.

🧙‍♀️ WICKED fans, you’re in for a treat! ✨

Elphie by Gregory Maguire, releasing March 25, 2025, is a fascinating return to the world of Oz, offering a glimpse into the untold backstories that shaped Elphaba before she became the Wicked Witch of the West. Think of it as a collection of behind-the-scenes moments, diving deep into her complicated relationships, her struggles with being “different,” and the choices that defined her path.

The structure of Elphie is anything but straightforward—it’s told through fragmented flashbacks, with a narrator who shifts between speaking directly to the reader and stepping into the characters’ voices. At times, this can feel disjointed, but it also creates a unique and immersive reading experience that pulls you into the story.

While the book doesn’t offer the strong moral lessons that made Wicked so memorable, it’s still rich with Oz lore. For long-time fans, it’s a nostalgic dive into the world of Munchkinland, the Emerald City, and beyond. For me—someone who hasn’t yet read the original series—it left me excited to finally dive into Wicked and see how it all ties together.

If you’re ready to revisit Oz and uncover more layers of Elphaba’s character, Elphie will cast its spell. It’s not a perfect read, but it’s a magical one, full of the intrigue and complexity that Gregory Maguire does best.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Would I recommend it? Definitely to long-time fans of the series or anyone who loves diving into morally complex characters and richly imagined worlds.

#GoodReadsReview #Elphie #GregoryMaguire #WickedPrequel #OzLore

Just as I loved reading Wicked back in the 90s, it was a pleasure to read more about the childhood of no-nonsense, knowledge-hungry Elphaba and her crucial discovery of Animals.

I am obsessed with Wicked the musical, and read the book in high school because of it. Somehow, I got through it then. After starting this book, I’m not sure how I did. Unfortunately, I had to DNF this one primarily due to the writing style. Maguire’s sentences are choppy and stilted and odd and I was just not drawn into the story at all. Not for me!

I love Gregory Maguire’s books. Sometimes, they are a bit slow, but they are still interesting enough that I finish them. But when it came to Elphie, I just couldn’t do it; I had to put it into my DNF pile. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it had to be done. I made it about halfway, but getting to that point was rough. I felt like every time I sat to read it, there was a fight within myself to even open the book.

I know some will scoff at this because the Wicked book series is fantastic, so by default, this must be as well. I also made that presumption, and it fell short of my expectations. So, despite this being from one of my favorite authors, I walked away and read something else instead of causing myself grief and discontent while reading.

DNF: I tried. I really tried to read and enjoy this book. As someone who has devoured multiple Gregory Maguire books (including the original Wicked), I was so excited to see this on NetGalley. I was one of those nerds who could tell you all of the differences between Wicked and the musical adaptation on Broadway. Needless, to say, BIG Gregory Maguire fan.

I got about 25% of the way through the book, and I just couldn't. The writing was stilted. The story was uninteresting. I'm sure there are people out there who will like this, but I am not one of them. I have only not finished two books in the past few years, and this was one of them.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

I was struggling on how to properly review this book. I've ben a fan of the musical for years and went into reading this with an open mind because I knew that the book universe was vastly different than that of the musical. My thoughts about the book changed throughout reading, but in the end I'm truly leaning towards 1.5 stars.

Firstly, the beginning of the book is really hard to read. I also knew this going in- the writing style is not that of the norm. It's repetitive and weird, because it's not like most things I've read. I felt like I had to turn my reading comprehension skills to triple to even try to follow along. Eventually, around 20-25% of the way through the book, the style changed some. We actually had people talking properly instead of it being mixed in and unclear. I'm not sure if this was a stylistic choice due to how young Elphie was and how little she truly remembered. At the age I believe she was, she truly wouldn't remember much of anything, if at all. I almost thought maybe this was supposed to be added on from stories she was told later on in life- more like random things she was told rather than storytelling.

Once the style of writing changed, it was easier to understand but it's still different from most so it took me a bit to read and understand. At least, I hope I was following/understanding correctly.

There were discrepancies around age and mentioning Elphie was 13, then she said she was almost a teen, and then she was 13 again. Time doesn't seem to flow and I'm not sure how we're jumping. It's not really made clear.

Shell is honestly creepy, but most of the characters are just awful, including Elphie. It's not a surprise how Elphie, Nessa, and Shell act with how they're being raised- by either their parents or Nanny. Again, I had heard things before beginning this story, not having read the original series before, so I thought this would be a great introduction. I learned things and saw some differences between that of the Wicked book universe and the Wicked musical universe, which was enlightening.

Chapter 52 actually made me highly uncomfortable because Shell is being sexualized and mentioning sexual excitement over tomatoes of all things? We're sexualizing tomatoes and a child. The last I had read before this, he was 5. All of a sudden he's 8 soon after in a chapter, so I'm really not sure what age he was. Regardless, we're talking about a child between the age of 5 and 8. Why does anything relating to sexual excitement need to be mentioned? What is happening here? Also, I get that their mom was all about being out there. That's fine. But mentioning her breasts just being out, in a weird way I might add, 5 times within the first 4 chapters seemed unnecessary. I get it. With the amount of books I've read in my life, I feel like I'm not saying that it's necessarily a bad thing, but the way it was done was weird. It felt off, but that's just an opinion.

Overall, I'm glad I read this for the insight into this world but there were some things that didn't need to be added. The plot kind of seemed non-existent half of the time. I get that plans can change but the main goal, once I started to understand what was happening, seemed to be: fine Turtle Heart's family. A lot got in the way of that, and it seemed to just end poorly.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Gregory Maguire for the opportunity to read Elphie in exchange for an honest review.
As a long-time fan of the Wicked quartet, I was excited for a novel about the childhood of one of my favorite literary characters. Alas, this book added some depth to Elphaba, but was not written the same way Maguire's previous novels were. In fact, it's like he was trying for an omniscient narrator with a more child-like air, but it just came across as bad writing and wasn't executed well.

The story follows Elphie through her childhood as she learns how the world views her and her green skin. Her sister, Nessa, is born without arms, and the birth of their brother, Shell, kills their mother. The first 30% of the novel is the younger years and feels almost plotless (though it's not, it's just Elphie's parents and the narration make for a not-so-exciting plot). Once the reader gets past that, they get a bit more about Elphaba: who she starts to become as a person and how she thinks, especially about Animals and the growing world around her.

Elphaba takes a job as a seamstress for a while while looking for information about a glass blower named Turtle Heart who may have ties to their family. Elphaba is smart and is encouraged to leave her family to gain a better education.

And that's about it. There isn't much to say except I am not a DNFer. I can't not finish something I start and I was hoping the book would get better, which it did to some degree. I enjoyed it for what it is in regards to a character, but it wasn't written in a way that most would enjoy. Also, one may think this is more young adult because of the themes and the fact that Elphaba is a child throughout, but there's not much entertainment value for a younger reader here, and there are some more adult complexities that a younger reader would not pick up on.

I absolutely LOVE Wicked and this one immediately drew me in because of the title! It was alright. I will say that it was a very quick read which I can appreciate! Thank you NetGalley for my ARC! 3.5 stars

This story fills us in on the life of Elphaba from her infancy to her starting at Shiz University. This book is not necessarily fast paced and is more along the lines of a character study. Fans of the Wicked series may like having this take on Elphie & Nessa's backstories. It isn't only about Elphie. It also is about events and people in her life that would mold who she ultimately became. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing an ARC. You can check this one out when it publishes March 25, 2025!

"Elphie" by Gregory Maguire offers an intriguing premise, but the dense and complex writing style makes it a challenging read. While the concept has potential, the lack of sufficient backstory for the main character leaves the narrative feeling incomplete and the protagonist hard to connect with. Fans of elaborate prose might enjoy it, but for others, the story may feel inaccessible and underdeveloped. A mixed experience overall.**

This story definitely made me sympathetic to Elphie. The first bit of it was a lot of world and character building. That was necessary for the story . I am hoping going into reading Wicked that I will look at the storyline differently and objectively. It makes you think that if you just switch out her being green with any number if race or disability then it is no different than what is happening in this day and age. 3 Stars

Having just binged The Wicked Years ahead of the new movie adaptation of the Broadway musical, I was so excited to request this, but for some reason I found it really difficult to get into. So I'm going to DNF for now and revisit it in the future. Thank you so much to HarperCollins for the opportunity for an early read.