A Hollywood book-to-movie adaptation? Tired. A Hollywood book-to-movie-back-to-book-to-musical-to-movie adaptation? Unprecedently wired! That’s the yellow brick road that led to Ariana Grande making history as Glinda the Good Witch in Jon Chu’s Wicked movie, coming to a theatre near you ASAP. Given the go-to fantasy novel turned movie franchise of our childhood being severely tainted by a weirdo boomer in need of deep theraputic healing (you know who you are), it’s about time a new otherworldly magical crew gets the literary attention they deserve. Speaking of who deserves what, we the people deserve whimsical comfort and peace of mind more than ever going into a 2025 Tr*mp adminstration 2.0. Reading about a different narcisstic dictator from an alternative universe being dismantled lie by lie feels like a really good place to start (organizing locally to lift each other up is an even better next step). Since moving to Oz is not an option, here’s a roundup of the books that Wicked is based on and other Wizard of Oz-related novels.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz By L. Frank Baum
It all started with L. Frank Baum, who deemed himself the “Royal Historian of Oz” since he stylized the happenings in Oz as a true unfolding story that he was being filled in on by Dorothy himself (pretty betchy stuff). The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was his first book written in 1900. Following Baum’s death in 1919 after finishing book #14 (Glinda of Oz) various writers took over as Royal Historian, creating the additional 36 stories in the 40 book series. This beloved OG series was the inspiration for Judy Garland’s Wizard of Oz film (DUH).
The Wicked Years Series By Gregory Maguire
Enter, musical theatre nerds. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West became the source material for Schwartz and Holzman’s Broadway hit. Maguire’s first novel was folowed by Son Of A Witch, A Lion Among Men, and finally Out of Oz. Might as well get the whole set if you want to get ahead of Ari and Cynthia’s forthcoming adventures.
The Dorothy Must Die Series By Danielle Paige
Danielle Paige’s YA series is light enough to read before bed but spicy enough to keep you interested as a full grown adult. In this Wizard of Oz spinoff, everything you know about Oz is flipped on its head: Dorothy is the true villain here and her band of weirdos are scary little soldiers. At least that’s what you think until you find out someone else really running the show, and no, it’s not the Wizard that would be too obvious. You can start with the nine pre-cursor novellas or dive right into the full books: Dorothy Must Die, The Wicked Will Rise, Yellow Brick War and The End Of Oz.
Ruby’s Misadventures With Reality By Samantha Bohrman
This one’s for the girlies who love a silly little murder mystery before bed (me). Ruby is a lawyer (in the regular old real world) who works at a small-town mall. But things get kooky when her client turns up dead after Ruby’s one night stand with the town commissioner. When digging into the mega-corporation OzCorp she finds out more than she bargained for behind the curtain.
Was By Geoff Ryman
This book has been described as “haunting” “wildly original” and “powerful” which is a pretty glowing review, if you ask me. Not to give too much away, but Ryman’s take toys with the idea that Oz is the place you go when there’s no place worse than home with Auntie Em.
Cheshire Crossing By Andy Weir
Artsy bookworks, you are not forgotten! Andy Weir is a king in the Sci Fi world, and his graphic novel brings Dorothy Gale, Alice from Wonderland and Wendy from Neverland together at a fantastical boarding school.
