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.**

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.

Ugh I REALLY wanted to love this book, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it. The writing was just not it. The sentences were choppy yet overly complicated for no reason? Maybe whatever writing style this is just isn’t for me, but it was basically unreadable.

Ultimately, nothing really happened in the book either. I don’t think there was a need for this book. It was clearly just a last ditch money grab because Wicked is back in the public eye.

Thank you William Morrow for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Summary: "Elphie" reveals the formative years of young Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, as she navigates a peculiar childhood marked by family struggles, budding friendships, and the early stirrings of her unique identity in the magical land of Oz.

My review: While Elphie offers an intriguing glimpse into the formative years of the iconic Wicked Witch of the West, its writing style makes for a challenging read. The short, repetitive sentences often skirt around the point, leaving the narrative feeling disjointed and making it difficult to stay engaged. However, the book does succeed in deepening our understanding of Elphaba's early life. Watching her evolve and witnessing her complex relationships with her religious father, sister Nessarose, and mischievous baby brother Shell adds depth to her character. For fans of Wicked, Elphie provides a meaningful—if somewhat uneven—prelude to her legendary story.

Genres/Themes: Fiction / Fantasy - Contemporary / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology / Fantasy - Epic

Elphie is scheduled for publication on March 25, 2025, by William Morrow.

this was such a cute prequel especially with the wicked movie coming out! love these characters & elphaba’s growth!!

very flowery but a very coool boook that gave a much better and clearer view of Elphaba than we had the opportunity to obtain prior. 3.5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thank you to William Morrow Books via NetGalley for this ARC!

I have loved both the musical “Wicked” and Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked” since I was in middle school. With the movie coming out, I was interested to see what this book would add to the story of Elphaba. I’ll confess, it took me a while to get into the story. The language was flowery and at times, it felt more vibe than plot. But overall, I enjoyed the experience to watch Elphie grow

First, thank you to William Morrow Publishing, Gregory Maguire, and NetGalley for allowing me to preview this book before its March 25, 2025 release date.

I wanted to love this bc I just finished Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and absolutely loved it. The writing, the story, the characters, I loved all of it. But this...I can't believe that this was written by the same author. I wanted to DNF it, but I kept going bc it is such a privilege to be chosen for an Advanced Reader Copy. I gave this 2 ⭐️ because the last 25% wasn't that bad.

This book, especially in the first half, is discombobulated, disjointed, and just plain boring. The writing is 2nd person, meaning that the narrator speaks directly to the reader saying things such as "YOU will not have to worry about them since WE will not see them again in this story." It is very jarring narration bc it comes on so sporadically that it immediately takes the reader out of the story. Further, the chapters in the first half of the book are either 1-2 pages or 15, there is very little in between. Extremely short chapters can be effective in certain stories but distracting in cases such as this.

While this is supposed to be a PRQUEL to the Wicked books, if a person hasn't read Wicked (NOT, I repeat, NOT just having watched the movie/musical), one will be quite lost. This story follows the Thropp family as they search for the family of Turtle Heart. If you have not read Wicked, you will not know who Turtle Heart is or why they would be trying to find his family. I felt like only in the last 25% did the author finally get around to telling Elphaba's story in relation to why she is like she is in Wicked.

Overall, this was a wholly disappointing book and one that I would not recommend.

This book was everything I dreamed and then some. I was so honored to have been given the privilege to read this arc ebook version and my gratitude cannot be expressed in words alone.
I have been a Wicked fan since the early 2000s beginning with the play, moving onto all of the novels, and of course the newest motion picture. This book will be a perfect addition to any Wicked fan's TBR pile.