There's a reason the phrase "sophomore slump" exists. The first piece of art was so fantastic that the follow-up pales in comparison. I initially thought Son of a Witch, the second volume in the Wicked Years, fell under this category. Maguire's dystopian portrayal of Oz was the basis for a hit Broadway musical and box office record-breaking film. The sequel had BIG RUBY SLIPPERS TO FILL.
But I am not ashamed to admit that I was WRONG.
There will be spoilers sprinkled throughout this post.
The story begins several years after Dorothy Gale defeats The Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba's son, Liir, is found near death by Oatsie Manglehand. She is the same coach driver who took him and Elphaba to meet Fiyero's wife and kids. The coach driver drags Liir to a convent.
The nuns recognize him and immediately tend to his care.
The Mother Superior has a "mute" novice named Candle to tend to him. But she is a gifted musician. The mother's superior asks Candle to play for the invalid.
It felt like the book was written in such a way that I was experiencing flashbacks, not Liir.
We learn that he was on a quest to find his half-sister Nor. He'd bonded with her while he and his mother were guests. She was the only one of his half-siblings to show him kindness.
Candle monitors Liir's health closely. And forms a one-way bond with him. She even warmed him with her body heat to keep him from freezing. Candle's diligent caretaking gives Liir the strength to escape the coma.
Once he's lucid, he and Candle are advised that he should finish healing in an abandoned farmhouse.
There, Liir learns that Candle can speak and is very resourceful. Her music enables her to adopt a hen and a goat for survival. As part of his strength training, Liir collects wood. Soon, he finds that he can complete tasks with ease.
The stronger he gets, the more confident he feels about revealing his past to Candle. She convinces him to return to his quest and fulfill the promises he made. He disagrees with her, but she insists it is getting "too crowded" in the house. Liir has complex emotions about women. He was certain he loved Candle but wasn't sure how to label their relationship.
His mother didn't show affection and hardly acknowledged him.
He fell in love with Dorothy because she spoke freely, and he wasn't used to women showing emotion. Then, he found himself resenting her when she made the old French exit and headed to Kansas.
Unsurprisingly, he awkwardly asks if he and Candle are a couple. She is Quadling and doesn't understand the concept of "couple."" Liir explains that 1 + 1 = 2. She nods and responds that in Quadling, 1 + 1 = both.
Satisfied, Liir goes back to his original quest to find Nor. He enlists the help of Glinda. She puts Liir in contact with a guide who will help him search the Southstair prisons for Nor. The guide happens to be his rakish Uncle Shell Thropp. (Shell is unaware of his relation to the boy.) This dude ends up being the Emperor and is behind some of the horrific treatment towards animals. Shell Thropp literally banged prisoners for information only to later be regarded as a saint.
The part that really got me was when Liir came home to the Apple Press and was shocked to find that Candle was pregnant. He scolds her for fucking the entire town while he is away. But maintains that he'll take care of her and the baby. Candle insists the baby is his. However, Liir is adamant they have never slept together.
Remember when she "warmed him up"? I suspect this is when the deed occurred.
Long story short, Liir has to do a few more life-threatening tasks before he can receive an idea of his half-sister's location. When he returns to an empty farmhouse, he's panic-stricken. He can't believe that Candle left and took the baby. Then, he sees something moving in his cape (Elphaba's old cape). Candle had left the baby and run off. She had given birth to a girl. And the girl was green!!!!
I want to go back and read this again. I want to pay attention to the shift in Candle. She initially tells Liir that she’s have “their” baby. But the further along she got, she called the baby “hers”. Candle was short and dissmissive. My first thought is of course, she’s hella pregnant. But I wonder how much of Elphaba’s blood impacted Candle’s mood…
Highly recommend.
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