Blog Post #5 Wicked by Gregory Maguire

First off, full disclosure:  I did not finish my book by the due date.  That is going to have to be ok.  I was attempting to do my work AND the work I assign you, but I was unable to get it done.  Do I get credit for trying? 

At any rate, I am going to attempt to do blog post #5 (do I get credit for writing the blog posts each week?) but my recommendation is going to be based on what I've read so far.  I bet I'm not the only one doing that this week.  Winky face.

Blog Post #5--Due Friday, February 20th ***First book completion due date!!!

For this week, I would like you to write or speak (in a video that you upload to the blog) a book review of your completed book.  Here is a link to two helpful examples. You book review must be-

• At least 200 words written out.
• Contain enough background information so that the reader can understand the book but not be a summary.
• Contain your opinion of the book backed up with evidence and examples.
• Extra Points for posting your review to Goodreads or Amazon.  Provide the link to the page in your post. 
   
   

Wicked is the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.  However, unlike The Wizard of Oz, which depicts an un-named witch as an evil character, this story casts Elphaba as a misunderstood hero. 

This book has been hugely popular, and I am beginning to see why.  Some of the most popular current books and films deal with an independent character in unhappy, unstable, unpleasant circumstances, fighting against the big, bad people in charge.  For example, think of Katniss in The Hunger Games series.  Whatever it is about that type of dystopic underdog story that appeals to readers is also present in Wicked.  However, Maguire makes this book more expansive by not settling for telling us merely about Elphaba and her life, but by also fully developing the history, politics and unrest of the society in which she lives.  Therefore, the main character of this book is less Elphaba than it is Oz itself, and Elphaba is simply the vehicle through which we see Oz.  Because he made a place his focus rather than the life of a single person, Maguire writes about the lives of several characters and times within that place.  The result is a fantastically complex and rich description of a flawed society.  Rather than taking us somewhere over the rainbow, Maguire shows us the rainbow's filthy underbelly, and there is nothing we love more than learning about the dark side of the things that seem so perfect on the surface.