Just a quick PSA to all the parents out there looking to help their children immerse themselves into the world of Wicked. The book by Gregory Maguire is not for them!
The Wicked movie is based on the Broadway production. It includes all the songs and follows the same storylines. There are some darker moments, such as when there’s the push to get rid of the talking animals and the scene with the monkeys growing wings, but overall, the movie is suitable for children.
As for the book, there are some much darker, mature themes. The cover is enough to trick parents into buying it with it getting the film adaptation cover. However, wait until the kids get older.
The Wicked book is packed with mature themes
The Broadway production and the movie help to keep some of the topics light. However, anything that involves political tension and the topic of evil and nature vs. nurture tends to bring some darker elements to them. Maguire doesn’t shy away from the realities of political tension.
There’s a lot of focus on some of the horrors that Elphaba has been forced to experience, and the description of her is far darker than in the movie. She doesn’t just have green skin. She also has sharp teeth, and she has a fear of water, which Wizard of Oz fans know is important for later on in the story.
The book goes into how characters have illicit affairs, and some of the scenes are described in detail. There is the topic of bestiality, again in detail, and there is plenty of murder and horror depicted throughout the book. The level of detail isn't comfortable for younger minds, especially within the nature which the detail is written.
Wicked is important for social topics
While that is all said, this is a book to introduced to older teens and young adults. There are some important social topics that come up in various spots. Wicked opens the door to discussions of rape, affairs, slavery, bullying, political corruption, and much more.
We get to see what the hatred of people can do to someone. If you make a person villain enough, then you end up with that person becoming the villain. What happens when a man is able to use slight of hand and charisma to get his wants? What happens when he drugs people for his own personal gain?
A lot of the topics that you will see in the book can be connected to the world around us. In fact, Maguire wrote the novel with the James Bulger killers in mind and when the society was in the 1990s. He looked back over society in previous decades, and he also connected back to the original story of Wizard of Oz and the subsequent books by Frank L. Baum.
So yes, eventually, this is a book to introduce your kids to, and I'd say 16 and over could potentially handle the level of detail and the topics in the book. It’s not something for the younger kids right now, though.