With all the noise surrounding the theatrical release of Wicked, I decided to read the book before watching. I had seen the classic tale of The Wizard of Oz so I wanted to play the never-gets-old game of was the book better or the movie? I haven't seen the movie yet, so judging purely on the trailer and the few clips off of social media, I'd wager the movie was better.

This book gives personality, depth, and history to a notorious villain from one of the most beloved films of all time, Elphaba. Elphaba experiences all manners of cruelty from her peers, community, and even family from when she's a newborn all the way to her adult life. It's no surprise that she faces many hardships due to her green skin and this book definitely does not hold back. But she also experiences love, both platonically and romantically. For a moment or two, she has a trusted group of friends and experiences the joys that life can bring. This book provides clarity and context for the wicked witch of the west and for better or worse, at least it accomplished that!

However, this book was such a disappointment. I found the writing style difficult to keep up with; I do understand this book was written a while ago and I took that into account going into this. But I found that I sometimes could not understand the conversations between the characters, like if they mention a piece of history or something they're referencing unique to their culture. There was simply not enough context to gauge it! The world building was so clunky, it felt like information pertinent to the story and magic system were forced down my throat with very little regard as to how the reader could understand. 

I felt really let down by the ending.

It is the exact ending from the movie. I thought it was an underwhelming ending when I watched The Wizard of Oz and I had hoped the author would recreate a more fitting end for Elphaba than that. The way I see it, what's the point in giving Elphaba such a thorough examining of her life and the decisions she makes, only for the ending to be exactly as it was before: lackluster as hell. Did she deserve a happily ever after, riding off into the sunset with her true love and son? No, probably not. But the freak accident (for lack of a better term) was no better either. I was looking for something different, something more unique. I didn't find it in this book.

I hope I'm not the only one that feels that way! 

There were also a lot of loose ends from this book that I would've liked to see tie up. I know that was probably by design, more incentive for the reader to pick up the rest of series. I can say with complete certainty that I will not read the rest of the books. So I'll definitely read a spoiler for the rest of the books and move on with my life. I can't say I'd recommend anyone who loved Wicked to read this book either. It's vastly different from the movie/stage production and not in a good way. Hard pass!