I read Wicked over a decade ago, and, immediately, it jumped into the upper echelon of books I’ve read. It was rich, dense, with every word exquisitely placed. Love for Wicked the novel transferred to intense love for Wicked the musical. It’s the only stage play/musical that has nearly-literally transported me. When Act I closed, Pantages came back into view and I remembered I was in a theatre sitting next to my wife and not in Oz flying with Elphaba. I never had that experience before, and I have not had it since.

Despite loving Wicked, I was blindsided during the 2024 Super Bowl. I had no idea Wicked the movie was being made, I certainly had no idea it would be featured in a Super Bowl commercial, and I definitely had no idea seeing it would provoke instant and explosive tears. So give Wicked another first: first time I’d cried watching a god damn Super Bowl commercial.

All of this recounting of my love for Wicked meant to put in perspective this oddity: I never continued the book series. Sure, I bought the rest of the Wicked Years series—but aspirationally. I’ve read many other things since, done many other things with my free time (raise a daughter, build podcast ventures, get tenure, lead a Union, etc.). But I didn’t continue the series.

For Christmas, for the “something to read” category, I asked for physical versions of the series. I reread the final 50 pages of Wicked to decouple the play from the novel in my memory, and then I plowed on into the second book of the series: Son of a Witch.

Currently, I’m on page 84, and I’d like to offer a review of page 83–the place in the text where, in my view, the novel folds from being a bridge between Wicked and The Wizard of Oz into a text standing on its own two feet.

Here, Liir, the son, perhaps, of Elphaba, finds exasperation with his lot in life following the death (maybe?) of the wicked witch, and takes a stand: he demands an audience with Glinda.

What happens during that audience? No idea. I put down the book and picked up my phone to write this. But the moment is stuffed with potential; it’s a crossroads where Liir can become his own character and define the next stage of the Wicked series, and I wanted to stop and write about it because it’s a moment where what comes next has the potential to elevate the next part of the Wicked series into the stratosphere for me as a fan. It’s an exciting moment I wanted to ruminate on before it was over.

Most folks write reviews after endings. I’m much more a fan of reflecting on the journey as the journey is unspooling. It’s an anchor point to return to after everything has changed between me and the art I’m appreciating, a hinge to remember before and reflect on after.

The moments of potential, of positive anticipation, are everything to me. Anything is possible, and that’s an exciting place to be.