I DNF’d at 20%, I love wicked and was so excited to read this but I could not get past the writing style , it was almost like a mix of old English and poetry (but not) and made it impossible to follow or understand what was going on.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the arc .

A captivating story of family, rootlessness, and trying to find belonging, Elphie: A Wicked Childhood dives into the hard life of the traveling missionary family that Elphaba is born into. As Elphaba is a strange and unexplainable addition to the family, she is also a major support for keeping her unusual set of siblings and her distracted father together. Maguire’s book holds a unique look at belonging despite differences and the need for each individual to find their own sense of self and value through their unique experiences and perspectives. This book gives a glimpse at some of the hardships, explorations, questions, and understandings that shape Elphaba into the timeless character of the Wicked Witch of the West. As I read this book, it was so easy to fall into the world of Oz and to connect with the young Elphaba. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for access to this immersive and wondrous story!

As we all know Wicked is a beloved musical that is taking the world by storm once again this time on the big screen.
This reignited my love for the books and really made me want to revisit the Gregory Maguire collection.

I will state this for everyone, THE WICKED BOOKS ARE NOT LITTLE CHILD APPROPERATE.

with that being said. I personally liked Elphie and if you can get your hands on the special edition hard cover, its so pretty, also there is a map, we all know we love a good book map. However it also wasnt my favorite out of the series.

If your like me and have read the other four books, this is a nice little treat. If you havent , then this is a good place to start you dont really need to read the other ones first.

Gregory Maguire has a unique writing style and isnt for everyone, if you have a hard time with the writing styles in LOTR or any book where there is quite a bit of alliteration and imagery this may not be for you.

Elphie, you guessed it is about our greenest gal Elphaba. This story illustrates her journey from childhood to where we meet her in the wicked series at SHIZ.

All in all it was a good read, a nice little treat. Im not sure it added much to the original four books as we really did get a good understanding of her past. However i dont think it takes away from anything either.

Again i want to state THE WICKED BOOK SERIES IS NOT FOR SMALL CHILDREN.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow
#Elphie #NetGalley

Absolutely loved this book! Elphie is perfect for fans of Wicked. I loved the musical and the book had a lot of interesting tid bits.

What a gift it is to be able to dive back into Maguire's Oz, with a peek behind the curtain at a time even further back before Dorothy dropped in. Visiting Elphaba's childhood - when she was simply Elphie - is as engaging and enthralling...and, dare I say, bewitching, as Maguire has ever been, and I loved every second of this new chapter in the green girl's story. (Though I'm reminded how much I utterly LOATHE the books' version of Nessarose, who is simply abhorrent, exceedingly sanctimonious, and just...the worst. Nessa in the musical and the new film is simply annoying, while it is so, so easy to see the seeds of wickedness in her in the books.) The pages cannot help but fly by like the pages of Elphaba's Grimmerie as it intuits the next spell she needs, and every bit of it is magic. Thank you, Gregory Maguire, for giving us the chance to revisit this world in an all-new way.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this early! With the current buzz around all things Wicked, I was excited to dive into this. I loved it, and I also didn't. I guess I had expected and hoped for more Elphie and less.... Oz politics? I know most books revolve around that in some way, but I just thought this would dive deeper into her / herself.

The cover is stunning though. I love how they all look together!

as someone who haven't read wicked but was really intriguide to learn more about elphaba early childhood, i jumped at the occasion of reading this quick and easy read. it didn't disappoint. witty, funny, provocative at times, elphie: a wicked childhood is a delight to every reader eager for a light-hearted adventure while also tackling hard themes.

This one just wasn’t for me, it was very confusing and rambled all over the place. I really wanted to like this but it honestly just doesn’t make sense.

Before I started this book, I was warned that the Gregory Maguire’s Wicked series were nothing like the movie. I still hoped the book would answer some questions as “Elphie” was released after the movie.
For starters, we can tell Elphaba’s story is being narrated by an outside spectator that we will never meet. It is more of outside looking in at young Elphie’s relationships with her deceased mother, overly devout father, and siblings. There are also other characters such as the opinionated older nanny, the Indigenous cook, the shop owner, and the scheming landlady who will do anything to get remarried. Other than the shopkeeper who challenges Elphaba to want more for herself, they are not that important in my opinion.
This book focuses on Elphie’s childhood, and how a search for her mother/father’s lover’s tribe propels her into the prestigious academy, Shiz. I liked learning about childhood Elphie, but I felt that the sibling/ family relationship was drawn out too much. There wasn’t even anything out of the ordinary there, and was boring at times. The ending was very bittersweet though, and showcased the strong bond between Elphie and her family.
I would have liked to see more emphasis on Elphaba’s power and connection to the animals. Like others, I wasn’t really a fan of the writing style. It was very choppy for me. In addition to this, I did not like how the indigenous tribe were depicted as, and detected heavy racial overtones.
There was also some parts of the story that were bought up but didn’t go anywhere such as: vengeance for Turtle heart’s murder, and the ski’oti (bears?)
Also thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is March 25, 2025

I enjoyed it. The book is a bit wordy and has tons and tons of details. I know that a lot of details are suppose to help the storyline and break down what happens to Elphie as a child. I loved all the extra backstory and clarification but I never felt they were all that mysterious. I felt Wicked was pretty good at explaining Alphaba and her destiny. But overall it was a lengthy, but easy to read and enjoyable read.

Overall a rather dull book where not much happens at all. Will likely be a must read for Wicked lovers, but was rather anti climatic.

This book is a captivating prequel that delves into the early life of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West. The story explores Elphaba's childhood, shaped by her complex family dynamics and early encounters with the mistreatment of Animals in Oz. Maguire's storytelling is both enchanting and poignant, offering a deeper understanding of Elphaba's character before her witchy powers fully emerge. Fans of the Wicked series will find this coming-of-age tale both riveting and heartwarming.

If you are a Wicked Years fan, this is a must-have title for your shelf and collection. It expands on character perspectives that weren't always as prominent in the original Wicked novel. The insight this brought really expanded Elphaba's formative years, and I do believe it will brighten anyone still yearning for more from the Wicked Years. I will say this has nothing to do with the Broadway musical or new movie, and I am sure somebody will think it does.

I’m sure people new to the Wicked world will like having Elphaba’s backstory. But from someone who has read the series, seen the Broadway show multiple times, and watched the movie, this book was not necessary. I felt like brand new in formation was given in this book that does not follow along in the book series and could be confusing for those who simply rely on the musical or movie for the storyline. And with the huge success of both, we have to be real knowing there are some people who will not feel it necessary to read the series but may pick up this book with its focus on Elphie. And they’ll just be confused.

This was a hard book for me to finish, simply because the writing style was either painfully simple and choppy or way at the other end of the spectrum of being overly complicated and flowery. There was little to no new information about this beloved character to add to the story we already know and love. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this book, but this one wasn't for me.

Elphie: A Wicked Childhood attempted to give us a better picture of Elphaba Thropp growing up, filling the gaps between her infancy and Shiz University. We follow Elphie to various ages as the book sheds more light onto events that were only brief mentions in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

This one was just not for me. First critique was the writing. Having recently reread Wicked, I am familiar with Maguire’s unique style, however, this was painful. I felt like I was trying to decipher a never-ending riddle. Sentences were chopping and descriptions were bizarre. I spent so much time trying to figured out what he was trying to say, only to realize it wasn’t even pertinent to the story. It was tough to slog through, and unnecessarily so.

Second… nothing really happened? Sure, we get to see young Elphaba interact with her siblings, father, and Animals, but there was nothing really deep that gave us a better picture into what helped shape her into the stubborn and independent thinker we met in Wicked. Was the plot interesting, maybe? Was it necessary to truly understand Elphaba as an adult, no. I’ll admit, I’m a plot vs. character driven reader though, which may have some impact on my harsh critique, but this was just sloooowww.

If you are familiar with his writing style or like a very flowery narrative, and/or want any new nugget from the Wicked universe, give this a try. It takes a bit of brain power to sift through to the meat-and-potatoes of the plot, but I’m sure Maguire’s unique writing is appealing to some… just not me.

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a great deep dive into how Elphie became who she is and provided a better understanding of who she is at her core!

I wanted to love this book so much and I just struggled. It was hard for me to “get attached” and I found myself just not wanting to read it. While I appreciate Elphaba and the need to give background on her childhood, it just didn’t captivate me.

Prequel to wicked- Elphibas childhood. I really wanted to like this so much more than I did. It was ok- I struggled to get through it.

Elphie is a coming-of-age tale about growing up green with an absentee, religious zealot father who keeps her and her two younger siblings on the road while he proselytizes around Oz.

Her father, while his parenting is mostly non-existent, still manages to keep his children out of school with his nomadic lifestyle. Elphie is smart, clever, and probably the most grounded of the Thropps, but she is held back from until she finally gets a push from one of the only people who really has a positive influence on her in the book.

If you love an origin story and enjoyed Wicked (the book!), I would recommend. I will say that Maguire has a unique writing style that may not be for everyone, although I enjoyed it, and this was more of a walk in the woods as opposed to a thrilling adventure.

Personally, I had sympathy for Elphie throughout the book and enjoyed seeing her early personality come through. I loved that we got to see the first instances of Elphie finding some sort of relatedness or connection with Animals, and later, empathy for their mistreatment.

The release date is in March and I plan on getting a physical copy for my shelf!