Umm can I just start by saying wicked is my favorite musical ever. I was so excited to see this release and even more excited to get an early copy. That being said, I did not enjoy the original wicked story in the book form. This book was in my opinion easier to read, but something still fell flat. I think I just prefer it as a musical.

This was an interesting one! I'm a big Wicked fan and enjoyed the book, so I was excited to read another by Gregory Maguire. It was kind of hard to follow but I love the storylines and this world so I kept going. Still fun to learn more of the background!

Thank you NetGalley and Gregory Maguire!

[I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a review.]

Oh, Miss Elphaba. The things one hears these days!

<I><B>Elphie: A Wicked Childhood</B></I> by Gregory Maguire is the author's fourth foray back into the world of <I>The Wicked Years</I> novel series in just a few short years after a long dry spell that might, in the eyes of fans of Maguire's series, be compared to the Ozians' long wait for Ozma to return.

The previous travel back to Maguire's Oz was the <I>Another Day</I> trilogy, a sequel-of-sorts to 'The Wicked Years' that began strongly but ended on a disjointed whimper when the third book was published last year.

Where does that leave "Elphie," a novel which was announced rather suddenly along with the marketing push for the upcoming 'Wicked' adaptation?

Well...

I think that diehard fans of 'The Wicked Years' like myself will get the most enjoyment out of this prequel novel.

Maguire's writing <I>mostly</I> returns to good form here. I had some major disappointments with Maguire's writing in the final novel of the 'Another Day' trilogy, but with exception for a few sections that read like they weren't fully edited or fleshed out, Maguire's writing returns to that engrossing, vibrant, introspective style that I've come to love.

As for why I think the book will appeal mostly to diehard fans of the book series: It simply does not stand on its own merit as a story. Not much happens, and a good majority of the book is simply musing.

Sometimes it reads like we are sitting in Maguire's drawing room, a fire going and a warm cup of tea at hand, as he tells of maybe-stories of perhaps-what-might-have happened in Elphaba's childhood.

Which, for me, someone who has eaten up every book in the series and even adored the 'Another Day' trilogy until the last book, is perfectly fine. But I can see many readers, especially those who are perhaps picking up the book after the release of the "Wicked" film adaptation, being put-off.

The first few sections of the book read like vaguely connected vignettes of Elphaba's childhood, detailing notable instances here and there, but mostly musing on the people and places the characters trek through.

There is a central section of the book where the now-widowed Frex "settles down" for a spell (pardon my pun) as he attempts to find more information about the murdered Turtle Heart while also looking to convert the locals. Truthfully, this is the only part of <I>Elphie</I> that feels like an actual, proper book with narrative and development to propel it forward.

It is here that we witness Elphaba beginning to make connections--threadbare, uneasy, but still--with other people. It is here that the sparks of Elphaba's desire to <I>learn</I> and <I>know</I> the world--and know herself--begin to be flamed. We also see the growing pains of Elphaba's siblings, Nessa and Shell, and come to see how their childhoods would later develop them into the adults they become in later books.

The final section, like the first, returns to telling us about Elphaba and her family as if we are strangers listening to a thirdhand version of a story. What is true of what we read? Did it happen how it happened? We're told that perhaps this happened, but maybe not.

Although we do learn more about the titular Elphaba Thropp in this work, like the character herself, we only know what little bits she begins to understand about herself in childhood. Which is not much and, if the narration's questioning of itself is to be believed, may not even be the the full truth of it.

And indeed, the final paragraph of the novel tells the reader bluntly: "That's how I see it anyway. But what do I know, really? It's all conjecture."

For diehard fans like myself, I would say this is a solid between 3 and 4 stars.

For anyone else? ... Well, what do I know, really? It's all conjecture.

I’m really disappointed. As a huge fan of Wicked, I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately, it fell short. While I appreciate Gregory Maguire's distinctive writing style—one I enjoyed in The Wicked Years series—this novel felt disjointed and difficult to follow. The narrative was scattered, with short, jumbled sentences that disrupted the flow and made it hard to stay engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC! *Elphie* by Gregory Maguire offers a fresh perspective on a beloved character from the *Wicked* universe. Maguire's signature blend of rich, imaginative storytelling and complex character development brings Elphaba to life in a new and compelling way. The narrative delves deeply into Elphie’s backstory, exploring her motivations and inner struggles with nuance and empathy. While the pacing can be uneven at times, the novel’s exploration of themes such as identity and power adds depth to the story. Overall, it’s a fascinating and thought-provoking addition to Maguire’s literary world that will appeal to fans of his previous works.

3.5 stars rounded to 4

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

I am a fan of the entire Wicked universe along with Maguire’s writing so I was so very excited to be provided an ARC and an opportunity to read this bit of a “prequel” bridging the gap between Elphaba’s infancy and her arriving at Shiz University.

In this book Maguire focuses on ages three, seven, ten, and thirteen for Elphaba. I enjoyed the insight into the previously unknown or merely hinted at details, but was a bit disappointed at times waiting for something to happen and the pace of the story to pick up.

Maguire’s writing style is both unique and complicated, a familiarity that I did enjoy quite a bit staying true to previous installments.

Overall, I enjoyed the read! I do wish the pacing was faster and more interesting, but it was definitely worth the read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’ll not be sharing a public review for this one as I had an incredibly difficult time getting into this book, and do not believe it’s for me. I was super excited at the premise of more content in the Wicked world but think this book may be for a different audience.

I am not giving a public review for this book because I did not finish it. I found the writing too odd, the plot unfocused, and nothing truly about Elphie. I was extremely disappointed.

I wanted to like this book, I just couldn't get into it. It's hard to explain. I get that there's world building involved, but I was just not enjoying it.

This is my last Gregory Maguire Book.

Wicked was wonderful and its rise to a Broadway superstar was well deserved. I wanted to love this book.

I have read Maguire's two books post Wicked and now this prequel. They don't seem to capture me as Wicked did. I could barely make it 20% through before I decided to DNF. I can't pinpoint what is so different, but it is and it's disappointing

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

As a huge Gregory Maguire fan and a lover of all things Wicked, I was super excited to receive and read Elphie. The fairytales he has written were pivotal in my younger days as a reader and I feel like this short but complex book continued the journey. While the story itself didn’t follow a lot of plot action, what it did bring to the table was meant solely for those of us dedicated to the world of Oz, a comprehensive character analysis that truly added depth and clarity to what we already know and love about our Wicked Witch of the West. After reading this, I can confidently say that legions of Wicked fans everywhere are going to love the extra morsels Maguire weaves together and the look into Elphaba’s childhood and into more of what makes her who she becomes. I also loved how the book gave subtle fun nods to the Broadway adaptation that brought the two together in a thoughtful and brilliant manner. So cool. As a side note, I personally would recommend reading in the order of publishing and not as a prequel. Going into this book without the experience of the Wicked quad may make picking up the finer details and symbolisms slightly more difficult to recognize.

I just....... I love Gregory Maguire!! This book seems to be a bit polarizing so far and I understand why. The style isn't to everyone's taste and sometimes things in the first half are a bit slow.

As for me? I loved it. I loved filling in the gaps, learning more about Elphaba and her life before we meet her at Shiz. What shaped her into the person she is? Oh, you wanna drop some Easter eggs in there? Don't let me stop you!!

I believe I have never been more excited to be approved for an ARC than I was for this one, and I was not disappointed.

If you love Maguires other books (and style of writing) and want to dig deeper, dive right in. The water is fine, even if Elphie can't join you (I'll see myself out now).

Long story short, I was unimpressed and let down. I’m not sure what I expected, but what I read wasn’t it. When I first heard about a prequel in the Wicked series, I jumped at the opportunity for an ARC, but sadly I just couldn’t get into the book. I found the writing to be all over the place and way too complex for my liking. I thought I would be entranced into a whole other world, just like in previous books, but this story fell flat.

Gregory Maguire continues to make every ounce of the Elphaba/Wicked storyline more and more rich and incredible. I was so grateful to get an advanced read of this beautiful book and can’t wait to buy it and read it again when it comes out!

I will admit it’s been a long time since I’ve read Wicked and that may have been my mistake. With the book and the play being so vastly different it was hard to remember what was what. I did like the way that Gregory Maguire added little things to little Elphie that we only saw during the play. I would recommend reading this book just think you should do a reread of Wicked if you need a refresher.

I give it 3 stars. The overall story is written the same way the book was as well as the story bouncing around from whomever the narrator is talking about at that moment.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Elphie wasn’t quite what I had hoped. Having read Maguire’s other books, I expected more out of this one. Had I read this book before the others in the series, then I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to review this book in exchange for my honest review!

As a huge Wicked fan, I was so excited to see this book announced but it just wasn’t for me.

It is quite difficult for me to decide how to rate this book. I found it extremely different from what I remember of the novel, Wicked. In this story, Melena is a rather wanton/loose woman who craves the attention of men. In Wicked it is implied that she was drugged and basically raped while she was unconcious.
Nevertheless, I read this book as it is with a suspension of disbelief. I enjoyed the story although at times it did seem a bit disjointed. It was quite interesting to see how Elphie's childhood as a widowed missionary's child could have shaped her into the person she became. While she wasn't a wicked child, she was very curious about everything and did make some mistakes.

In the story, Elphie survives a lot of childhood trauma and family difficulties. As she matures, she finds her own voice although she doesn't learn to trust it until later in the story.

The language at times is a bit overly high-browed, using "$20 words" when a "50 cent word" would suffice and be clearer to a larger audience. This I feel will be off-putting to some readers.

Rating this book is quite difficult for me. I am giving it a 4 star rating although I think 3.5 stars would be more accurate.

It pains me to do this…. Wicked is one of my all time favorite books. Gregory Maguire made Oz his own in that epic book. I was so excited to see this and be immersed in his words again but the book fell flat in my opinion. It was hard to understand with meandering povs and just generally disappointing. It does not capture the magic the original book has. I’m sorry.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Elphie, by Gregory Maguire, is such an entertaining and intriguing prequel to Wicked. Though, maybe it's more of an origin story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Elphaba's early years and and family being more fleshed out. It gave me a much better idea about what made her the young woman that we see in Wicked. Not just her experiences but also those of her parents, Melena and Frex and how they saw and responded to the world around them. Of course Nanny, Nessarose, and her brother Shell are a large part of her story as well.
Perfect for fans of Wicked and those who enjoy fantasy.