I kept reading this book (all 406 pages) only because I wanted to see if it ever really went anywhere. It did--but only in the last 50 pages or so. While I love to read, this was not worth the effort. Two thumbs down!

You must like fantasy to get something out of this book. It offers the reader many avenues for thought and is not a light read.

I was disappointed with this book after having enjoyed "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister". Maguire's writing is awfully crude at times and some of the scenes were totally unnecessary and bizarre. There were also incidents and characters written into the story that didn't really go anywhere ...almost as if he had forgotten to finish what he had started. All in all, a rather complicated book that doesn't leave you with a satisfied feeling at the end. I don't think I'll be reading any more of his books.

This book was definitely an interesting read. If you enjoy fantasy, you will love this one. At the very least, there are many valid social themes and points to ponder, which may be lost on those who do not discuss this book as a group. One needs to look deeper into the book, beyond the fantastic storyline, to grasp the underlying meanings. The sequel, Son of a Witch was great as well, for those feeling "loss" after finishing Wicked.

This wasn't what I expected. I usually enjoy fantasy books, but found this one difficult to get thru. Others in my bookclub enjoyed it, but was a bust for me.

At times I enjoyed the book, sometimes I was wierded out by it, and sometimes is was just spooky and creepy.

When I first read the book, I found the character names more complicated than needed. It also felt very muddled; filled with more information than needed or at other times, not enough. I found our discussion at book club helped clarify certain events and then I saw the book in a better light. I would recommend it for any book club discussion.

After listening to the multiple ideas and views on this book at my group, I must read it again to see all that I missed the first time.

Not much redeeming about this book. Difficult narrative, descriptions awful (bestiality, etc--who wants to read about that!). There are some social themes worth talking about (i.e., a misunderstood ostricized person being percieved as evil when not, or forced to be evil because they have no choice). However, There are better books that are more enjoyable to read that bring out the same themes. Don't bother reading this book. The musical is much better, and (not surprisingly) not as dark, and has a happy ending. If they actually used the plot of the book, it would have been an astounding flop on Broadway.

I found the author was attempting to create his own Greek tragedy and did succeed in some respects. I found that the crude language (not something I am against mind you) felt out of place and unnecessary and there was way too much filler. I read another review that had said-- it felt as if the author had started developing characters and then forgot where he was going with them-- and I agree. However, there was good social, religious and political elements that can bring out decent discussions.

This book had so much potential.
But I felt like the author was a mad mystery writer with red herring disease. We went down one road after another that really didn't lead anywhere... it could have but didn't.

I found this book hard to get into. I had a difficult time relating to any of the characters. It was too dark for me. One member of book club had seen the play and loved it so she recommended the book. Most of the members of book club could not finish the book. I was disappointed and really wanted to like the book.

Weirdly compelling but when I finished reading, I wondered why I bothered.

At our first group discussion of Wicked over 10 years ago we felt there was so much to explore in this book that we would have to revisit it one day. We're doing it again this month with some new folks in the group. With this book you either love it or hate it. None of Maguire's other books, including the sequels, even come close to the depth and beauty of Wicked.

I loved the story

We picked this book as our first book for our club. We had recently started and were excited to begin reading and discussing. This book was a good book if you just wanted to read it for a personal pick, but it was hard to discuss the issues in the book. It was definitely not a good first pick, it took us over two months to finish. Granted we had to postpone meetings due to busy schedules but it did not help the cause that the book was very slow and for the most part, un-eventful. Out group figured out that we like more adventurous books, things like mystery and thriller, but all in all this book was a good book. We all liked it, but we are glad to be done! :)

In our book club,some of us liked it,and others were in shock! But we all agreed, we had a great time discussing this book.

skip this one

WHile many may feel there are many religious and or political points made in this book, if you can just put some of that aside and simply enjoy the book as grown up make believe, it's so fun.
I enjoyed every chapter of this book and have recommended it to friends. Now I want to see the musical! Perhaps being very familiar with Wizard of Oz would make this an easier read. I watched Wizard of Oz last night and it's interesting watching it again after having read Wicked.

This is one of the only books in my life that I didn't finish because I lost interest.

I was really looking forward to reading this book because I liked the idea of getting the Wizard of Oz from the wicked witch of the west's perspective. But this story was much different than what I expected and left me with more questions than answers.

Led to good discussions about what is good/ what is evil, power & politics, animal rights etc..

I loved the main character Elphaba, i wanted to be her for halloween...she was just great overall and i actually wanted more for her in the book to just accomplish something great..because she was great..they didnt give it to her, it was a little difficult to read but definitely worth the effort.

Starts very slow. I think it is a good book club read because of the discussion potential, but it is a hard read and very graphic. Liked but not loved it!