I recently read Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, and boy was it different from The Wizard of Oz, the Wicked musical, and the movie adaptation!
We’re talking politics, sex, murder, and plenty of other triggers I certainly wasn’t expecting. But at the same time, it was such an interesting twist on well-known characters and tropes.
If, like me, you’re craving more, you’ll find seven novels that deliver similar vibes: fairy-tale retellings, morally complex characters, and plenty of dark magic.
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- The Wicked Years Sequels — Gregory Maguire
- 1. Circe — Madeline Miller
- 2. Spinning Silver — Naomi Novik
- 3. The Once and Future Witches — Alix E. Harrow
- 4. Boy, Snow, Bird — Helen Oyeyemi
- 5. Heartless — Marissa Meyer
- 6. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister — Gregory Maguire
- 7. The Bear and the Nightingale — Katherine Arden
- More Books like Wicked
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The Wicked Years Sequels — Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire didn’t stop with Wicked—he expanded Oz into a full four-part series known as The Wicked Years. These novels deepen the political, moral, and magical complexity of his alternate Oz.
Son of a Witch (2005): Follows Liir, rumoured to be Elphaba’s son, as he struggles with identity, legacy, and the burdens of a mother seen as “wicked.”
A Lion Among Men (2008): Centres on the Cowardly Lion, offering his backstory while probing themes of survival, complicity, and moral compromise.
Out of Oz (2011): Concludes the saga as Glinda, Liir’s daughter Rain, and familiar faces are caught in a civil war, forcing Oz to reckon with its history.
1. Circe — Madeline Miller
A first-person re-telling of the Greek witch Circe’s life—from her divine childhood through exile on Aiaia—threading encounters with Hermes, Odysseus, Medea, and more, while asking what power, love, and mortality cost a woman who refuses to stay small.
Author Bio:
Madeline Miller is a classicist with BA/MA degrees in Classics from Brown; she’s taught Latin and Greek and adapts classical texts for modern audiences.
Why it vibes like Wicked:
A notorious “witch” gets her own voice; mythic canon is reframed to reveal patriarchy, propaganda, and empathy—just as Maguire reorients Oz around Elphaba.
2. Spinning Silver — Naomi Novik
Spinning Silver is a sharp, wintry riff on Rumpelstiltskin. Moneylender Miryem’s knack for turning silver into gold entangles her with the Staryk king, a possessed tsar, and two other formidable young women who must out-bargain monsters and men.
Author Bio:
Naomi Novik (b. 1973) is an American fantasy writer known for Temeraire and The Scholomance; her standalones Uprooted and Spinning Silver draw on Polish/Eastern European folklore.
Why it vibes like Wicked:
Fairy-tale retelling with political teeth (antisemitism, debt, power), morally gray rulers, and a heroine who weaponizes perception—very Elphaba.
3. The Once and Future Witches — Alix E. Harrow
The Once and Future Witches takes place in 1893 New Salem. The estranged Eastwood sisters fold witchcraft into the suffrage movement, rekindling lost “ways & words” while confronting corrupt men and the violence used to keep women small.
Author Bio:
Alix E. Harrow, a historian turned novelist, is the NYT-bestselling, award-winning author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January and this British Fantasy Award–winning novel.
Why it vibes like Wicked:
Systemic oppression meets spellwork; sisterhood, propaganda, and public fear of “dangerous women” echo Oz’s politics and Elphaba’s demonization.
4. Boy, Snow, Bird — Helen Oyeyemi
Boy, Snow, Bird is a slippery, modern Snow White in 1950s–60s America. Boy flees an abusive home, marries into the Whitman family, and the arrival of her daughter Bird exposes secrets about race, beauty, and mirrors.
Author Bio:
Helen Oyeyemi, born in Nigeria and raised in London, wrote her debut while still in school and now lives in Prague; her work is known for fairy-tale estrangement and inventive style.
Why it vibes like Wicked:
Recasts a familiar tale to interrogate identity, otherness, and who gets cast as “fairest” (or “wicked”) by society’s gaze.
5. Heartless — Marissa Meyer
Heartless is an origin story for the Queen of Hearts. Catherine just wants to open a bakery and choose her own love, but courtly expectations and fate twist her into the tyrant we recognize from Wonderland.
Author Bio:
Marissa Meyer is the #1 NYT-bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles and Renegades; she holds a BA in Creative Writing and an MA in Publishing.
Why it vibes like Wicked:
Tragic villain-origin lens + feminist frustration with destiny; a beloved world retold from the “antagonist’s” side.
6. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister — Gregory Maguire
Maguire reframes Cinderella in 17th-century Holland through the eyes of stepsister Iris. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister explores art, beauty, and how stories decide who is angel and who is ogre.
Author Bio:
Gregory Maguire (b. 1954) is an American novelist best known for the Wicked Years; much of his work re-imagines classic children’s tales.
Why it vibes like Wicked:
Same project, new canvas: deconstruct the “pretty good/ugly bad” binary and expose the politics beneath fairy-tale veneers.
7. The Bear and the Nightingale — Katherine Arden
In medieval Rus’, Vasya sees the spirits others deny in The Bear and the Nightingale. As Christianity eclipses old ways, she confronts winter demons, a chilling priest, and her village’s fear to save her home.
Author Bio:
Katherine Arden, born in Texas and based in Vermont, studied in Moscow and traveled widely before publishing the Winternight trilogy.
Why it vibes like Wicked:
A “witch” heroine misread by her society; folklore, faith, and power collide—much like Oz’s politics vs. Elphaba’s truth.
More Books like Wicked
Each of these books offers a twist on the stories we think we know, much like Wicked gave the Wicked Witch of the West her side of the story.
Whether you’re drawn to witchy protagonists, villainous queens, or fractured fairy tales, these reads will keep you questioning who gets labelled “wicked” and why.
Any more to recommend? Leave your recommendations in the comments!
More Fantastic Books & Where to Find Them
For more of what to read where, check out my full Travel Books Guide, filled with books recommendations for different destinations, the most beautiful bookstores around the world, tips on how to get the best deals on audiobooks and e-books, as well as more literary travel.
Read Around the World Challenge
Are you a wanderlusting bookworm? A digital nomad? An armchair traveller? Or all of the above? Me too. Whether you want to understand places at a deeper level or diversify you bookshelf, this challenge is for you.
And at a time when division and misunderstanding dominate headlines, I think reading the world offers a quiet but powerful form of resistance. It invites us to listen, to learn, and to appreciate the nuance of human experience from every corner of the globe.
Are you up for the challenge? Ok, let’s go…
Your Literary Passport: The Travel Reading Journal
I’ve also created a Travel Reading Journal, which is a companion for documenting your literary adventures.
Travel Essentials
Here are the websites and services I personally use and recommend.
FLIGHTS: The best deals can be found on Skyscanner, Google Flights and Kiwi (learn more about Kiwi travel hacking here).
TRAVEL INSURANCE: I recommend World Nomads for travel insurance because you can purchase once you’re already overseas and you can easily extend your policy. For digital nomads, I recommend and personally use Genki (learn more about Genki digital nomad health insurance here).
E-SIM: For travel in Europe, I use an e-sim with GoMobile, which is a provider based in Malta, but you need to be there to set it up.
ACCOMMODATION: I use Booking.com for hotels and Airbnb for apartments. For Colivings, I usually book privately, but Coliving.com is a good place to start.
THINGS TO DO: I use Viator or Get Your Guide for booking day trips, city tours and other activities, though I often check reviews on TripAdvisor too.
