Wicked: For Good premieres this week, and as a full-blown theater kid, you’d better believe I’m losing my mind about it. My best friend and braintwin (the Glinda to my Elphaba but with less drama in our shared history) is coming for a long weekend so that we can hole up in the theater with several boxes of tissues to watch the double feature of both films and almost certainly lose our cool.
And although I’m in the depths of writing a novel this month, I couldn’t help but put together a list of Wicked-inspired reads for fellow fans. Some of them I’ve read, some I’m adding to my own TBR.
As a side note, I haven’t read the Gregory Maguire books which were the inspiration for the musical, but I will warn any interested parties that the books are very different from the stage production (and the movie adapting it) and very dark. These books are a little on the lighter side (though not entirely free of heavy topics) and tend toward YA.
1. Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts
The musical Wicked might be the untold story of the witches of Oz, but Finding Dorothy is a look behind a different curtain and into the life of the creator of Oz through the eyes of his wife. The story traces the life of Maud Gage Baum through her childhood, her marriage, and to the film set of The Wizard of Oz. I don’t believe it’s entirely factual, but I’ve been reading a lot of historical fiction lately, and this one looks very promising.
2. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Wicked looks into the less-than-wicked motives of the Witch of the West, but Dorothy Must Die takes the opposite track, reimagining the hero of Oz as a new villain to be defeated. I love a good twist, and books that take deeper looks into motives and what it means to be a hero (or a villain) always fascinate me.
3. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao
Speaking of villains, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is a Snow White retelling that follows the “evil queen” as she rises to power. Xifeng has been told she’s destined for greatness, to be the Empress, but that destiny comes with a price. She has to decide what she’s willing to pay.
4. Heartless by Marissa Meyer
One more villain POV book, as that’s one of the main hooks of Wicked. Heartless takes another classic tale (Alice in Wonderland) and explores how a young girl who wanted to become a baker ended up as the Queen of Hearts. I haven’t read this one, but I’m a big fan of Meyer’s well-known Lunar Chronicles.
5. Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: A young girl possesses a strong magical power that she struggles to understand and control. Julia Vanishes is the first in a contemporary fantasy/paranormal series following Julia, who can quite literally disappear.
6. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
I haven’t made it to this book yet, but Novik’s Spinning Silver was a favorite read about 6 or 7 years ago. Uprooted follows a misunderstood girl named Agnieszka and explores themes of friendship, perception, and looking beyond the surface.
7. The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
This middle grade book almost didn’t make this list. I read it shortly after it came out and remember feeling overwhelmed, thinking it felt like an entire trilogy crammed into one book, so I never read the rest of the series (which went on for another five books). That being said, I did enjoy the magical school, the very Elphaba and Glinda coded characters, and the exploration of what it means to be good.
8. Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
If you love the Emerald City and political intrigue, Queen of the Tearling might be for you. This story follows the daughter of a vain and ineffective queen who is thrust onto the throne after being raised in exile. The story (and series) follows Kelsea as she navigates the perils of ruling while trying to keep herself and her kingdom save from the sorcerous Red Queen.
What books give you Wicked vibes?
Until next time, word nerds!
Kate G. Jameson 