Gregory Maguire's Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West tells the life story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, long before Dorothy arrives and squishes her sister.

Wicked Overview

After the prologue, the story begins with Elphaba’s Munchkinlander parents, and shortly after that, Elphaba’s birth. The tale then follows her as she grows into a child, then a teen and as she sets off to Shiz University. Among her fellow students, is the snobbish and perfect Glinda, the future Good Witch of the North, who Elphaba is forced to share a room with. Despite a rough beginning, these two eventually become firm friends. Elphaba’s dependant sister, Nessarose, who will eventually grow up to be the Wicked Witch of the East, later joins them at Shiz University.

Elphaba’s lecturer is a goat named Doctor Dillamond. His research involves proving that humans and Animals (note the intentional capitalisation) were not inherently different; so as to petition bans that will prevent Animals from teaching, and force them into servitude or hiding. Elphaba has strong feelings towards the treatment of Animals, and assists Doctor Dillamond with his research. Doctor Dillamond’s work has received the wrong sort of attention and he is murdered at the University. A stricken Elphaba, eventually heads to the Emerald City to confront the Wizard of Oz himself, who she now believes to be corrupt.

Read more: Gregory Maguire

Handle with Care - Jodi Picoult

When Charlotte and Sean O’Keefe’s daughter, Willow, is born with severe osteogenesis imperfecta, they are devastated – she will suffer hundreds of broken bones as she grows, a lifetime of pain. As the family struggles to make ends meet to cover Willow’s medical expenses, Charlotte thinks she has found an answer. If she files a wrongful birth lawsuit against her ob/gyn for not telling her in advance that her child would be born severely disabled, the monetary payouts might ensure a lifetime of care for Willow. But it means that Charlotte has to get up in a court of law and say in public that she would have terminated the pregnancy if she’d known about the disability in advance – words that her husband can’t abide, that Willow will hear, and that Charlotte cannot reconcile. And the ob/gyn she’s suing isn’t just her physician – it’s her best friend.

Handle With Care explores the knotty tangle of medical ethics and personal morality. When faced with the reality of a foetus who will be disabled, at which point should an OB counsel termination? Should a parent have the right to make that choice? How disabled is TOO disabled? And as a parent, how far would you go to take care of someone you love? Would you alienate the rest of your family? Would you be willing to lie to your friends, to your spouse, to a court? And perhaps most difficult of all – would you admit to yourself that you might not actually be lying?

Cathy's pick. Xmas in July at Cathy's on July 7th. See you all there!