Elphie: A Wicked Childhood by Gregory Maguire

Release date 03/25/2025

Rating: 3/5

I’m abandoning my review format for this particular review. And now for thoughts on Elphie. Oh, little asparagus. I was so excited for this book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that it was bad per se. It’s just that nothing really happened. It seems that the book serves to tell the story of Elphie’s first memory to Elphie arriving at Shiz and saying goodbye to her father. White it adds depth to the characters of Elphie’s parents and siblings, and Elphie herself a bit I suppose, I’m just not sure it’s necessary. It does disclose who Nessa’s biological father is (which was probably the most exciting part of the book for me). The stories seem anecdotal at their best and uneventful/boring at their worst. That being said, I never got past the first book in the series. I read Wicked in 2006 or 2007 and picked up Son of a Witch, excited to continue to the series and I couldn’t get past more than a couple of chapters. I never finished it. So if you’re a die hard fan of the Wicked series or if you’re Elphaba obsessed, this book may fare better in your favor. I’m giving the book 3 stars because it wasn’t bad, it was just boring.

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