The 2018 Reading Challenge - #22 - A Book with Alliteration in the Title

Hello bookworms :)

Never had a category with sooooo many books...and so many I did not even think of ;)

but honestly there are sooo many books you could choose!

I could not even only go for one ;)

But at least they are related ;) and definitely go perfectly together ^^

My choices are

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

by L. Frank Baum

&

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

by Gregory Maguire

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is an American children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900. It has since been reprinted on numerous occasions, most often under the title The Wizard of Oz, which is the title of the popular 1902 Broadway musical adaptation as well as the iconic 1939 musical film adaptation.  The story chronicles the adventures of a young farm girl named Dorothy in the magical Land of Oz, after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their Kansas home by a cyclone. The novel is one of the best-known stories in American literature and has been widely translated. The Library of Congress has declared it "America's greatest and best-loved homegrown fairytale".

Its groundbreaking success and the success of the Broadway musical adapted from the novel led Baum to write thirteen additional Oz books that serve as official sequels to the first story. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz sold three million copies by the time it entered the public domain in 1956.¹

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West is a novel published in 1995 written by Gregory Maguire. It is a revisionist look at the land and characters of Oz from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, its sequels, and the 1939 film adaption The Wizard of Oz. Unlike the popular 1939 movie and Baum's writings, this novel is not directed at children, and contains adult language and content including violent imagery and sexual situations. It is the first in The Wicked Years series, and was followed by Son of a Witch (2005), A Lion Among Men (2008), and Out of Oz (2011). In 2003, the novel became the basis for the Broadway musical Wicked. The novel presents events, characters and situations from Baum's books and the film in new ways, making numerous alterations.¹

And again a little summary from goodreads

First The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:

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"‘“Come along, Toto,” she said. “We will go to the Emerald City and ask the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again.”’Swept away from her home in Kansas by a tornado, Dorothy and her dog Toto find themselves stranded in the fantastical Land of Oz. As instructed by the Good Witch of the North and the Munchkins, Dorothy sets off on the yellow brick road to try and find her way to the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz, who can help her get home.With her companions the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy experiences an adventure full of friendship, magic and danger. A much-loved children’s classic, The Wizard of Oz continues to delight readers young and old with its enchanting tale of witches, flying monkeys and silver shoes."

*

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

I´ll give it at least a 9 out of 10

This is such an adorable story and amazing characters - its all so lovely ^^
Like in my classic fairy tales the lot gets quite brutal I have to admit but like in all the other ones its definitely very subtle and probably not bad at all when you´re a child ;)
Other than in "modern wondertales" there is not to much a morality in this story its not about heartaches or nightmares its a story to please and entertain and not too much to educate...even tho there are many things you can learn from the characters and their evolution. I think the strongest theme I found is how strongly the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion all lack self-confidence. They all actually head out to ask the wizard of oz for exactly what they ready have. The Scarecrow, wants to ask for a brain, even tho he is the brains behind the whole journey and every rescue, the Tin Woodman want a heart whilst he already is one of the most heartfelt characters ever, who cries when stepping on a bug on the street, and the Cowardly Lion who wishes for courage even tho he protects the party with his life more than once during the travels and adventures.
I´m sure there is hardly any fantasy author out there that has not been influenced or inspired by Oz, all the motives and themes and the plot and everything that happens is definitely often found in some way in other books ^^
I really loved this little book a lot. Very amusing, entertaining and a great quick read for everyone between I don´t know 5 and 105 ;) hahaha
Definitely something for everyone and I think everyone should read this^^
And now finally I can watch all the films ^^

Wicked:

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"When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

An astonishingly rich re-creation of the land of Oz, this book retells the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, who wasn't so wicked after all. Taking readers past the yellow brick road and into a phantasmagoric world rich with imagination and allegory, Gregory Maguire just might change the reputation of one of the most sinister characters in literature."

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pic source

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Weeeeell...I did not at all finish this book...which is not bad in my opinion since its n extra ;) I hope you see it the same way ;) hehe I´m just gonna take my time with this one and let you know what I think...if I remember ;)...once I finished :)
Well as far as I can tell I like it tho ^^ a lot and now I really want to see the musical ;)

Now for a little more inspiration and some alternatives ^^

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The compelling story of two outsiders striving to find their place in an unforgiving world. Drifters in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie have nothing in the world except each other and a dream--a dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch in California’s Salinas Valley, but their hopes are doomed as Lennie, struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and feelings of jealousy, becomes a victim of his own strength. Tackling universal themes such as the friendship of a shared vision, and giving voice to America’s lonely and dispossessed, Of Mice and Men has proved one of Steinbeck’s most popular works, achieving success as a novel, a Broadway play and three acclaimed films.

East of Eaden by John Steinbeck

Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. Here Steinbeck created some of his most memorable characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity; the inexplicability of love; and the murderous consequences of love’s absence.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 

Meet little Mole, willful Ratty, Badger the perennial bachelor, and petulant Toad. Over one hundred years since their first appearance in 1908, they've become emblematic archetypes of eccentricity, folly, and friendship. And their misadventures-in gypsy caravans, stolen sports cars, and their Wild Wood-continue to capture readers' imaginations and warm their hearts long after they grow up. Begun as a series of letters from Kenneth Grahame to his son, The Wind in the Willows is a timeless tale of animal cunning and human camaraderie. This Penguin Classics edition features an appendix of the letters in which Grahame first related the exploits of Toad.

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

With H.G. Wells’ other novels, The War of the Worlds was one of the first and greatest works of science fiction ever to be written. Even long before man had learned to fly, H.G. Wells wrote this story of the Martian attack on England. These unearthly creatures arrive in huge cylinders, from which they escape as soon as the metal is cool. The first falls near Woking and is regarded as a curiosity rather than a danger until the Martians climb out of it and kill many of the gaping crowd with a Heat-Ray. These unearthly creatures have heads four feet in diameter and colossal round bodies, and by manipulating two terrifying machines – the Handling Machine and the Fighting Machine – they are as versatile as humans and at the same time insuperable. They cause boundless destruction. The inhabitants of the Earth are powerless against them, and it looks as if the end of the World has come. But there is one factor which the Martians, in spite of their superior intelligence, have not reckoned on. It is this which brings about a miraculous conclusion to this famous work of the imagination.

Some more inspiration here are some classics ^^

Love's Labor's Lost by William Shakespeare 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 

The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings #2) by J.R.R. Tolkien 

The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens 

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell 

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain 

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie 

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle 

Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 

Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

and even more on this goodreads list or this one

Which book did you choose for this category?

Did you read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz or Wicked?

What do you think and did you see any movie or stage adaption?

Which one is your fave?

With lots of love

♥♥♥