A prequel to the events of Wicked, this novel explores the early childhood and adolescence of Elphaba, fondly known as “Elphie” at that time. Early parts of the story look at the family influence — from her promiscuous mom and pious dad, to her strained relationship with Nessa and their younger brother. The novel also takes on a lot of early themes later found in Wicked like Elphie’s first encounters with mistreatment of Animals in Oz, and finding her spunk and independence. Please note this (and Wicked) are much different than the musical and are darker in nature. It pained me to give this a low rating but I struggled to get through the novel with its slow-moving plot and little character development. Nothing felt truly pivotal in the way I’d expect for a prequel of such an iconic character.
Thank you to William Morrow Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This started off slowly for me but I ended up tearing through the last half of the book. I love Gregory Maquire. I've been reading his books since I was young (thank you, Tippecanoe County Public Library for that). Elphie! I loved getting to "know" her before Wicked.

Reviews seem to be mixed for this one and unfortunately, I'm with the crew not loving it. The writing style is very distanced from our central character, who the book is named after, and I wanted a deeper insight into this character and not just the world around her. I hope that others find something to love here but it wasn't for me

Thank you NetGalley, William Morris and Gregory Maguire for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a lifelong Wizard of Oz fan, I was enamored with Wicked. I enjoyed the show and I have a copy of the novel signed by Mr. Maguire which is one of my favorite possessions. I was SO excited to get the chance to read Elphie before its release. As the title implies, it is a closer look into Elphaba herself. Although we do learn more about her character, there is something disconnected about this novel. It is less of a story and more like musings or observations. It unfortunately moved VERY slowly due to little plot and confusing writing style. It was somehow both choppy and wordy and so overly complicated that I felt like I was trying to decide a message. I did enjoy the subtle nods to the musical, and I loved the dedication. This book wasn't for me but it does give a more comprehensive look into Elphie's life and background.

With the premiere of the movie version of “Wicked” just a day away, this book was the perfect read. While most people are familiar with Gregory Maguire’s wildly popular “Wicked”, did you know there are actually three more books in that series? And in the upcoming “Elphie”, readers get to learn all about Elphaba’s nomadic upbringing.

Elphie has an unconventional childhood to say the least. She travels throughout Oz with her minister father, her inattentive mother (until she passes in childbirth), her armless sister, her naughty little brother, and a nanny who tries to keep them all in line. Fans of the “Wicked” series will appreciate references that come up later in Elphie’s life. And the backstory of the future villainess helps the reader better understand some of her personality quirks and why she becomes the woman she does.

For me, all of Maguire’s books take some getting used to initially as his writing style is unique. The wit and humor imbued throughout is one of the best things about the book. It’s also very interesting to learn more about such a well-known literary character. Any fan of Maguire’s writing and/or the “Wicked” series will want to add this book to their collection.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 30 years after Wicked was written, we get Elphie, a prequel to the story we know so well. Maguire has a very specific writing style, is not everyone's cup of tea; many people who are reading his work for the first time may find themselves frustrated. For older Wicked fans, I think that this book successfully thrusts us back into the land of Oz. I have always been a big Elphaba fan, any content I can read about her feels like a win. Did this drag on in some parts, yes. Is it still an interesting dive into Elphaba and Nessa's past, yes. I'm not sure how many Wicked fans we have at the library, but I will recommend this title to the right audience.

Elphie: A Wicked Childhood, is a coming-of-age story where young Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, is shaped and molded by the behaviors of those around her, including her unchaste mother and devout father. She suffers jealousy at the arrival of her siblings Nessarose and Shell, She encounters the mistreatment of the Animal populations of Oz, She attempts her first friendship, and she obtains the benefits of an education, until she arrives at the doors of Shiz University, about to meet Galinda.

Having read Wicked and Son of a Witch, I'm not a huge fan of the Wicked book series, which is why I never finished a Lion Among Men or Out of Oz. I do however love the musical that the book is based on, but that does not help with Elphie. I don't know why I thought that this would somehow be better than Wicked because spoiler alert: it wasn't. The writing style is very odd and the pacing of this book is so slow that my eyes were glazing over. I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, I just didn't

First off, thank you so much NetGalley for sending this arc to me before the Wicked movie! Second off, this is EXACTLY what I thought was missing from the first book in the Wicked Years! I thoroughly enjoyed this prequel and I really took my time reading it because I enjoyed it that much. Solid 4 stars from me for sure!

I wanted to love this but with everything going on in politics right now, I need an escape. With this being so politically heavy (about Oz), it was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review!
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 3
Pace: 3
Plot development: 3
Characters: 3
Enjoyability: 3
Ease of Reading: 2

Overall rating: 3 out of 5

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for this arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

I always thought that the Wicked books were insane and so chaotic, but that's why I liked them so much when I was younger. And then of course, I loved the musical. With the movie adaptation of the musical coming out in just a few days and knowing that it draws a bit more from the book, I was excited to read this. I really struggled with reading this. I'm used to difficult writing (my whole field of focus includes British Modernism, like, come on!) and I STRUGGLED. The narrative was also kind of boring to me? It was great to read about Elphaba's life before Shiz but there was a lot about the political landscape in Oz that I just found convoluted and confusing? I wanted a focus on Elphie but no. What's here is some confusing political drama that occasionally visited Elphie.

Oh my goodness, never in my life have I been so excited for a new wicked book. Gregory McGuire’s other series are a big. Miss for me, but this one was so good. I know it was written just for the fans, but it was so cute!

Almost 30 years since the publication of Wicked, we get a prequel following Elphie from childhood to University.

What I hoped would be an insight into Elphaba’s childhood was instead a delve into the politics of Oz during Elphaba’s childhood and adolescence. Unfortunately this was a difficult read due to the slow moving plot and odd writing style. Other fans of Wicked and the series may find this enjoyable, but I did not.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited for this book because of the new Wicked movie. I’ve devoured this book in a few days and am very glad I got to spend some time with Elphaba as she grew up before the movie comes out. I’m very excited to read Wicked next. I hope that they release a book like this for Galinda as well. It’s very nice seeing where she comes from, how she grew up and why she is the way she is.

Well i guess i will be reread the entire wicked series. I loved this so so much. Icing on the top of the cake

Elphie is meant to be a prequel to Wicked and tells the story of Elphaba, future Wicked Witch of the West, during her childhood before she heads off to Oz and meets Galinda.

I loved Wicked and the way it truly had me questioning everything I knew about the Wizard of Oz, so I undoubtedly jumped at the opportunity to read Elphie. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed. I spent the entire first part of the book feeling like I was simply rereading the beginning of Wicked & then spent the other parts feeling as if the writing style was disjointed and sometimes hard to tolerate. Where in Wicked Elphaba was relatable & easy to understand, in Elphie she appeared to have less character development which could simply be because she was so much younger. You were granted some insight into the relationships she had and how over time they somewhat helped shaped her but to me it seemed to fall flat in comparison to Wicked. Overall I give it 2.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley & HarperCollins Publishing for providing me with an ARC for my honest review.

I was excited when I got approved for this galley! I loved Wicked (the book first and then the show many, many years later), and it was so nice to be back in that world again with Elphaba. The way Maguire writes is so charming and it gives me such cozy vibes.

This book fills in some holes in Wicked, showing Elphaba (Elphie as she's called when she's young) at different ages, growing up with her nomad family. The first time she meets and talks to an Animal, Nessa growing up along with her, Shell's birth and her mother's death, Nanny, who is such a cranky old lady that you can't help but love her, and so many side characters that help her grow into the powerful woman we all know.

I can't imagine watching the Broadway show and then jumping into this book, not having read the original series (or at least the first book). The writing would feel overly flourished and sometimes like Maguire is just along for the ride with the reader not actually writing the story. But that's what I've always loved about this series. It feels like an old fairy tale with fantastical villains and things so ugly that they're beautiful.

It was a shorter book than the others in the series and I wished there was more, not that it was needed. It was like catching up with an old friend, you never want to say goodbye at the end of the night. Guess that means I'll have to reread Wicked all over again.

As a Wicked fan- I really wanted to love this. Unfortunately, it fell very, very flat. It was also a hard read. Wicked is a very accessible story and the writing style of this is not the same.

Thank you Net Galley for sending me an arc of Elphie. Read this to my oldest. We loved it Perfect for fans of the series and also fans excited for the upcoming film!

I thought this was a worthy successor to the Wicked series, it answered some things that I was hoping for. I've been a huge Wicked and Gregory Maguire since Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and each book has the lore and heart that the original Oz books had. I enjoyed getting to know Elphie as a child and that each part worked overall. It was written in a way that I was expecting and enjoyed about the rest of the series. I'm excited for more in Oz or anything that Gregory Maguire has waiting.