Dec. 30, 2024 – "Wicked" fever is everywhere, with the success of the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical, which is, of course, itself an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Gregory Maguire.
If you can't get enough of Elphaba's story or want to diver deeper in Oz, we have curated a list of books to borrow. From edgy retellings to graphic novels to the expanded Oz and Wicked universes, there are plenty of stories here to start your 2025 reading goals off strong.
Browse the book list below, and put titles on hold in our catalog by clicking on their covers.
Retellings and Reimaginings
Like "Wicked," these books put a new spin on an old story, some with a comedic twist, some with a darker edge, and some with a bit of both.
"Toto" by A.J. Hackwith
I was mostly a Good Dog until they sold me out to animal control, okay? But if it's a choice between Oz, with its creepy little singing dudes, and being behind bars in gray old Kansas, I'll choose the place where animals talk and run the show for now, thanks. It's not my fault that the kid is stuck here too, or that she stumbled into a tug-of-war over a pair of slippers that don't even taste good. Now one witch in good eyeliner calls her pretty and we're off on a quest? Teenagers. I try to tell her she's falling in with the wrong crowd when she befriends a freaking hedge wizard made of straw, that blue jay with revolutionary aspirations, and the walking tin can. Still, I'm not one to judge when there's the small matter of a coup in the Forest Kingdom ... Look, something really stinks in Oz, and this Wizard guy and the witches positively reek of it. As usual, it's going to be up to a sensible little dog to do a big dog's job and get to the bottom of it. And trust me: Little dogs can get away with anything.
"After Oz" by Gordon McAlpine
After a tornado destroys the Gale family farm, eleven-year-old Dorothy goes missing. As the days pass, the Gales are increasingly terrified the worst has happened. But when the girl turns up unharmed four days later, the townsfolk breathe a sigh of relief. That is, until Dorothy herself relates her account of the events that took place during her disappearance. In vivid detail, Dorothy describes a fantastical land and its magical inhabitants: a scarecrow, a tin man, a cowardly lion, a wizard, a witch. Her recollections are not only regarded as delusional, but also as pagan and diabolical in nature, especially when the body of a local spinster is found matching Dorothy's description of a witch she claims to have killed.
"Dorothy Must Die" by D. M. Paige
The first in a series, this story starts with Amy Gumm – the other girl from Kansas. She's been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked and trained to fight. And she has a mission: Remove the Tin Woodman's heart. Steal the Scarecrow's brain. Take the Lion's courage. And – Dorothy must die. She never expected Oz to look like this: a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a road of yellow brick – but even that is crumbling.
"Finding Dorothy" by Elizabeth Letts
Hollywood, 1938. As soon as she learns that MGM is adapting her late husband's masterpiece for the screen, seventy-seven-year-old Maud Gage Baum sets about trying to finagle her way onto the set. Nineteen years after Frank's passing, Maud is the only person who can help the producers stay true to the spirit of the book ... But the moment she hears Judy Garland rehearsing the first notes of 'Over the Rainbow,' Maud recognizes the yearning that defined her own life story: from her youth as a suffragette's daughter to her coming of age as one of the first women in the Ivy League, from her blossoming romance with Frank to the hardscrabble prairie years that inspired The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The Expanded Oz Universe
The original "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum has been retold countless times, with graphic novel versions and a beautiful annotated version that includes historical context and behind-the-scenes details among the books the Metro Library Network collection. You can also dive into the many sequels L. Frank Baum wrote, including "Glinda of Oz" and many others, that continue the adventures of Dorothy and her companions.
"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Graphic Novel" by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower and illustrated by Skottie Young
When Kansas farm girl Dorothy flies away to the magical Land of Oz, she fatally flattens a Wicked Witch, liberates a living Scarecrow and is hailed by the Munchkin people as a great sorceress ... but all she really wants to know is: how does she get home? Other characters come to life and join Dorothy in her quest to find Glinda, the Good Witch and make her way to the Wizard of Oz.
"The Annotated Wizard of Oz " by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by W. W. Denslow, with notes by Michael Patrick Hearn
An illustrated, annotated reproduction of the 1900 edition of the story of Dorothy's journey over the rainbow to the wonderful world of Oz; with discussion of character sources, critical interpretations, and information on the life of author L. Frank Baum.
"Glinda of Oz" by L. Frank Baum
The Sorceress and Wizard of Oz attempt to save Princess Ozma and Dorothy from the dangers which threaten them when they try to bring peace to two warring tribes.
The Original "Wicked" Series
After he wrote the original "Wicked" novel, Gregory Maguire followed up with several sequels and a spinoff.
"Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire
Years before Dorothy and her dog crash-land, another little girl makes her presence known in Oz. This girl, Elphaba, is born with emerald-green skin — no easy burden in a land as mean and poor as Oz, where superstition and magic are not strong enough to explain or overcome the natural disasters of flood and famine. Still, Elphaba is smart, and by the time she enters Shiz University, she becomes a member of a charmed circle of Oz’s most promising young citizens.
But Elphaba’s Oz is no utopia. The Wizard’s secret police are everywhere. Animals — those creatures with voices, souls, and minds — are threatened with exile. Young Elphaba, green and wild and misunderstood, is determined to protect the Animals — even if it means combating the mysterious Wizard, even if it means risking her single chance at romance. Ever wiser in guilt and sorrow, she can find herself grateful when the world declares her a witch. And she can even make herself glad for that young girl from Kansas.
"Son of a Witch" by Gregory Maguire
"The Wicked Years" continue in Gregory Maguire's "Son of a Witch" —the heroic saga of the hapless yet determined young man who may or may not be the offspring of the fabled Wicked Witch of the West. "Son of a Witch" follows the boy Liir on his dark odyssey across an ingeniously re-imagined and nearly unrecognizable Land of Oz—a journey that will take him deep into the bowels of the Emerald City, lately abandoned by the Wizard, and into the jaws of dragons. At once a grim fairy tale and an uplifting adventure, Son of a Witch is a true wonder.
"A Lion Among Men" by Gregory Maguire
While civil war looms in Oz, an ancient and tetchy oracle named Yackle prepares for death. Before she can return to dust, however, the Cowardly Lion — an enigmatic figure named Brrr — arrives in search of information about Elphaba Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the West. As payment, Yackle, who hovered on the sidelines of Elphaba’s life, demands some answers of her own.
Abandoned as a cub, Brrr’s earliest memories are only gluey hazes. But his path from infancy in the Great Gillikin Forest is no Yellow Brick Road. Seeking to redress an early mistake, he tumbles through a swamp of ghosts, becomes implicated in a massacre of trolls, and falls in love with a Cat princess. Sidestepping the laws that oppress talking Animals, Brrr cannily avoids a jail sentence by agreeing to serve as a lackey to the warmongering Emperor of Oz.
"A Lion Among Men" traces a battle of wits between adversaries distracted by the armies approaching on either side of them. What does the Lion know of the whereabouts of the Witch’s boy, Liir? What can Yackle reveal about the auguries of the Clock of the Time Dragon? Is destiny ever arbitrary? Can those tarnished by infamy escape their sobriquets—cowardly, wicked, brainless, criminally earnest—to claim their own histories, to live honorably within their own skins before they’re skinned alive?
"Out of Oz" by Gregory Maguire
Glinda, former Throne Minister, held under house arrest by General Cherrystone, obtains the infamous Grimmerie, supposedly a volume of magical lore, coveted by Oz. Meanwhile, Liir's daughter Rain begins her quest to discover her true identity and unravel the layers of political and personal secrets that have caused strife and division in Oz.
"The Brides of Maracoor" by Gregory Maguire
Elphaba's granddaughter, Rain, washes ashore on a foreign island. Comatose from crashing into the sea, Rain is taken in by a community of single women committed to obscure devotional practices. As the mainland of Maracoor sustains an assault by a foreign navy, the island's civil-servant overseer struggles to understand how an alien arriving on the shores of Maracoor could threaten the stability and wellbeing of an entire nation. Is it myth or magic at work, for good or for ill?