3. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire: Did you ever want to know how the Wicked Witch of the West became wicked? Maguire tells us the story behind how Elphaba (the Wicked Witch), her sister Nessarose, and her school roommate Galinda deal with the conflicts that we all face...good and evil, God and religion, racism, prejudice, sibling rivalry, status, politics, lust and love. Elphaba was born with green skin, shark’s teeth and an aversion to water. She is not wicked just insecure and she eventually commits her life to overthrowing the controlling Wizard.
The Wizard of Oz story with which we are all familiar with, either from the L. Frank Baum book or the movie, doesn’t even appear until the final section of the book There are references throughout the book to characters that appear in the later Baum books, such as TicTok and Ozma. We get an inside scoop on the winged monkeys, the Yellow Brick Road, the house that kills Elphaba's sister and the Ruby Slippers that cause so much drama. We also find out that Glinda (formerly known as Galinda), the good Witch of the North, isn't really all that good unless it benefits her in some way and the Wizard of Oz will stop an nothing to remain in control of Oz.
Maguire has told Elphaba's story in great detail...maybe a bit too much detail at times, especially for younger readers (which is where I found this book). Wicked was a very hard read, but worth it...probably even worth a second read, just because of all the details that I probably missed in the first read. Overall, I recommend the book and cannot wait to go see the musical!
#4 Marked (Book 1) by PC and Kristin Cast: First off, I have to admit that I'm a sucker for vampire books, so I might be a bit biased.
Unlike most vampire novels, Cast's vampyres are not created in the usual manner such as being bitten by another. Instead, after being "marked" by a tracker - with a dark blue outline of a crescent moon on the forehead, a fledgling vampyre is created simply by biological changes going on in their body. The change occurs over a period of four years, during which time the vampyre leaves their family and friends and into the House of Night. There they will learn everything they need to know to prepare for their new life as a vampyre or their bodies will reject the change and they will die.
Zoey was at school, dealing with teenager issues when she was marked. Her mother and WAY over-the-top, legalistic, Christian-like stepfather freaked out about this and she ran away to the home of her Cherokee Grandma, looking for comfort and acceptance. While looking for her grandma, she had a vision of the Vampyre Goddess Nyx speaking to her and telling her she had a special purpose - she was to be Nyx's eyes and ears. When she awoke from that, the Mark on her forehead was completely filled in, as it is usually only on adult vampyres. There is much about Zoey, the friends and family that she left behind, the friends and enemies that she makes, and the happenings at the House of Night to read about, but I won't share so that I don't ruin the book for any of you who want to read it.
This book was a very easy read and I really liked it. So much so that I was very happy to have the sequel, Betrayed, which I'm starting tonight.
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