The screen adaptation of Broadway’s ‘Wicked,’ based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,’ recently premiered in theaters, drawing widespread attention. Shortly after, publishers began re-releasing the book with a new cover featuring the movie poster with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
On social media, particularly BookTok, people criticized the move for misleading parents and children who might assume the book was suitable for younger readers like the film and musical (per New York Post). They pointed out that the novel includes adult themes such as drinking, drugs, sexual assault, prostitution, crime, racism, murder, and explicit sexual content in scenes involving humans and animals.
One user said in a video, “This is a serious warning for parents and children who have loved the movie ‘Wicked’ — do not buy them the book. It is not a children’s book. There are explicit scenes, they are heavily detailed and very adult themes.”
She continued, “For some reason, they put the new cover of the movie onto the old book, which obviously as a parent who’s never read that book, would make you think, ‘Oh, this is just gonna be a book of the film.’ It’s not. I would not want my children reading it — they would be traumatized.”
Maguire’s book opens with puppets having sex. It also introduces Elphaba, played by Erivo in the film, as a violent infant who was muzzled after biting off parts of people’s bodies. Another user on BookTok said the book’s content is more appropriate for readers aged 18 and older.
She broke down the adult content, describing it as vague but clearly unsuitable for kids, advising parents to look up trigger warnings online through Google and Reddit before purchasing the book. “It’s not a warm and friendly book,” the BookTokker added. “It’s just because of the musical and the subsequent film that it is slightly misleading now. I’m still shocked by that book cover.”
Commenters shared similar opinions, with many recalling their shock when they first read the novel as teens or young adults. They agreed that parents should be cautious about giving the book to children expecting a lighthearted story.
