Is the ‘Wicked’ Book Child-Friendly? Expert Weighs in on Internet Debate

Wicked, which hit theaters the week before Thanksgiving, grossed a global total of $164.2 million during its opening weekend, prompting interest in its literary source material.

The film adapts the well-known Broadway musical of the same name, which is itself a loose adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

On the heels of the movie’s premiere, the novel has received a wave of interest, and parents and book enthusiasts are discussing whether it’s suitable for children.

While the movie—which stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the lead roles of Elphaba and Glinda—presents a whimsical, family-friendly take on the story, the original book is said to be no fairy tale, offering a much darker exploration of Oz filled with mature themes that many argue are inappropriate for younger readers.

The discussion has filtered through social media platforms such as Threads and TikTok, specifically among the #booktok community. Carly, a theater and book reviewer who posts on TikTok under the handle @carlyaclements, felt compelled to address the issue.

“Throughout the book, there are disturbing scenes and very mature content, including sexually explicit content involving animals, forced child marriage, sacrifices, political and social topics. It definitely contains content that most children and young people aren’t equipped to process and understand,” Carly told Newsweek.

Eloise Taub, from Cincinnati, shared a similar concern. On TikTok, she posted a tongue-in-cheek video from the point of view of a parent who bought the Wicked novel only to discover that its contents are not appropriate for children.

“When I first initially read it, I was not expecting to find the content in the book dark. I have heard horror stories of children reading the book because parents did not research the contents of the book beforehand,” she told Newsweek.

She said the recent reissue of the novel with a cover inspired by the movie’s promotional poster could mislead parents into thinking the book matches the family-friendly tone of the adaptation.

“My sister almost bought my 9-year-old niece the book, and I immediately told her that it was not appropriate, and I’m glad she told me before she got it. I wanted to warn parents or viewers that wanted to read the book [who] thought this book was suitable for all ages, when it definitely is not,” Taub added.

Kirsten Antoncich, a senior lecturer in child psychology at Birmingham City University, weighed in on topic, agreeing that the novel is significantly different from the film and theater versions.

“While parents might feel the novel would appeal to younger children, they do need to be aware that some of the novel’s content, especially the earlier chapters, deal with adult topics along a sexual theme,” she told Newsweek.

The fantastical novel—which includes elements such as puppets having sex, descriptions of violence and details of sexual relationships—could make those themes benign to younger readers, she warned.

“The story is rich in detail and at times quite dark. It doesn’t always follow the traditional story frame whereby good is restored at the end. It’s more subtle and less binary than traditional fairy tales. Given this, for younger audiences, the novel might be better left for older age groups,” Antoncich said.

As the Wicked movie continues to generate excitement among young families, both Taub and Carly told Newsweek that parents had thanked them for drawing their attention to the themes in the novel.

“There is so much inappropriate content that is not even in the musical, and it’s honestly almost nothing like the musical,” Taub said. “If fans are wanting to read the original novel because they like the movie, they are in for a really big surprise.”