Being a musical fanatic enthusiast, I adore Wicked: the Musical. It's a brilliant showstopper with deep characters, wonderful sets, and an engaging story. Wicked: The Book is much less brilliant. It's rather... pathetic, really. This book needs some serious Galindafying. 
 Why was this book so pathetically horrible? 
 -The plot was dull. dull. dull. 
 -The dialogue was laughable. Who talks like that? Why didn't half of it make sense? 
 -The characters were so flat. 
 -The political satire didn't even have the grace to attempt subtlety. 
 -Oh, and the love fest in the middle. Not needed. Not needed at all. 
 What this book had going for it: 
 -A cool idea and premise. 
 -A cool reimagining of Oz. 
 -The musical. 
 That last one is probably the reason half of the readers pick up this book. At least, I'm willing to guess that. I know that's why I did. And after reading a few other reviews, I saw I wasn't the only one who read it for that reason. Well, I can certainly say that I won't be reading the sequels. 
 Red Flags: Loads of innuendo, love-making, and swearing. Also boring, poorly done political intrigue that's nauseating.