What do you think?
Rate this book
Wickedpedia
It's the return of Point Horror for the Internet generation! Don't open the door. Don't answer your phone. And whatever you do, DON'T turn on your computer. . . .
Cole and Gavin love playing practical jokes through Wikipedia. They edit key articles and watch their classmates crash and burn giving oral reports on historical figures like Genghis Khan, the first female astronaut on Jupiter. So after the star soccer player steals Cole's girlfriend, the boys take their revenge by creating a Wikipedia page for him, an entry full of outlandish information including details about his bizarre death on the soccer field.
It's all in good fun, until the soccer player is killed in a freak accident . . . just as Cole and Gavin predicted. The uneasy boys vow to leave Wikipedia alone but someone continues to edit articles about classmates dying in gruesome ways . . . and those entries start to come true as well.
To his horror, Cole soon discovers that someone has created a Wikipedia page for him, and included a date of death. He has one week to figure out who's behind the murders, or else he's set to meet a pretty grisly end.
Cole and Gavin love playing practical jokes through Wikipedia. They edit key articles and watch their classmates crash and burn giving oral reports on historical figures like Genghis Khan, the first female astronaut on Jupiter. So after the star soccer player steals Cole's girlfriend, the boys take their revenge by creating a Wikipedia page for him, an entry full of outlandish information including details about his bizarre death on the soccer field.
It's all in good fun, until the soccer player is killed in a freak accident . . . just as Cole and Gavin predicted. The uneasy boys vow to leave Wikipedia alone but someone continues to edit articles about classmates dying in gruesome ways . . . and those entries start to come true as well.
To his horror, Cole soon discovers that someone has created a Wikipedia page for him, and included a date of death. He has one week to figure out who's behind the murders, or else he's set to meet a pretty grisly end.
224 pages, Paperback
First published June 24, 2014
28 people are currently reading
901 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
February 13, 2016
Just a warning to all: This book is not really good for those who are squeamish or can't handle gore. There are a few parts that are really gore.
I was really looking forward to this book, sadly it was just not meant to be.
Things wrong:
*The blurb is a lie. A lot doesn't happen in the book. Which is really a shame, the blurb (and also the cover) were things that got me to want to read this book. I do hope this gets fixed for the official book, otherwise I fear more people will be angry/not amused.
*For quite a bit of the book I was confused as to how old the characters were. Most of them act like 13/14, while apparently they were around 17/18 and in the last class of High School. Cole is even worse, at times he acts like a 13 year old, but at other times (with his cooking and such) he acts like he is 60+ years old. It was all confusing.
*The gore, it was overdone, and just horrible. It was like the writer just felt like the deaths needed to be as gore as possible. Not all deaths were shown, there is one that we don't get to read about directly until someone finds that person. That was a bit weird and also distracting. Not that I wanted to read about it, but I would like some consistency, either everything is shown, or nothing. Not everything and then leave 1 out.
*The ending, it was absolutely crap. There is a big thing happening and then it is over, just like that. Nothing on what happens after all that, nothing on what happens to Cole, nothing on anything, and that pisses me off, I already had to drag myself through the book, and then to find out the book ends like that.
*The perp or the murderer. My guess was right, I already knew who it was since practically the first murder/first event. I was kind of hoping, just a little bit, that I was wrong. Sadly it was not. My second guess also was right, and well, blurgh.
*The idea. While it sounded nice at first it just reminded me too much of Death Note, only instead of a book, it is the internet. That was truly a shame, I had hoped for a twist, but it was just exactly like Death Note.
*A big part of the book was just boring teen drama. I don't mind a bit of teen drama, but this was just horrible.
*Again the characters, Andrea, was just the most horrendous character. She was a total bitch, trying to set up everyone and then acting like she is all so innocent and boo hoo.
There was 1 thing that I liked and that was the cover.
All in all, not a book I would recommend, unless you don't mind predictability, teen drama, deaths in gruesome details, boring ideas.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I was really looking forward to this book, sadly it was just not meant to be.
Things wrong:
*The blurb is a lie. A lot doesn't happen in the book. Which is really a shame, the blurb (and also the cover) were things that got me to want to read this book. I do hope this gets fixed for the official book, otherwise I fear more people will be angry/not amused.
*For quite a bit of the book I was confused as to how old the characters were. Most of them act like 13/14, while apparently they were around 17/18 and in the last class of High School. Cole is even worse, at times he acts like a 13 year old, but at other times (with his cooking and such) he acts like he is 60+ years old. It was all confusing.
*The gore, it was overdone, and just horrible. It was like the writer just felt like the deaths needed to be as gore as possible. Not all deaths were shown, there is one that we don't get to read about directly until someone finds that person. That was a bit weird and also distracting. Not that I wanted to read about it, but I would like some consistency, either everything is shown, or nothing. Not everything and then leave 1 out.
*The ending, it was absolutely crap. There is a big thing happening and then it is over, just like that. Nothing on what happens after all that, nothing on what happens to Cole, nothing on anything, and that pisses me off, I already had to drag myself through the book, and then to find out the book ends like that.
*The perp or the murderer. My guess was right, I already knew who it was since practically the first murder/first event. I was kind of hoping, just a little bit, that I was wrong. Sadly it was not. My second guess also was right, and well, blurgh.
*The idea. While it sounded nice at first it just reminded me too much of Death Note, only instead of a book, it is the internet. That was truly a shame, I had hoped for a twist, but it was just exactly like Death Note.
*A big part of the book was just boring teen drama. I don't mind a bit of teen drama, but this was just horrible.
*Again the characters, Andrea, was just the most horrendous character. She was a total bitch, trying to set up everyone and then acting like she is all so innocent and boo hoo.
There was 1 thing that I liked and that was the cover.
All in all, not a book I would recommend, unless you don't mind predictability, teen drama, deaths in gruesome details, boring ideas.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
February 2, 2016
The book was overall well-written and was a good thriller. A little predictable at some point, but maybe to others it won't be. It was creative and certainly a page turner.
June 10, 2015
None of the characters in this were likable, and I didn't feel anything for them when they died.
I was quite bored of this one from the very start unfortunately, and it got worse as the story progressed.
I kept on thinking "when is someone going to get killed?" throughout the beginning, but when it did finally happen at 27%, I didn't find it to be worth the wait. It was rubbish, and so were the other deaths.
Overall, A boring read. I'm glad it's over.
I was quite bored of this one from the very start unfortunately, and it got worse as the story progressed.
I kept on thinking "when is someone going to get killed?" throughout the beginning, but when it did finally happen at 27%, I didn't find it to be worth the wait. It was rubbish, and so were the other deaths.
Overall, A boring read. I'm glad it's over.
July 25, 2017
DNF at 36%
This is one of the most asinine, contrived books I've ever read. It's almost too pulpy and airplane fiction-y to be worth talking about, but seriously, I have to give a brief couple of sentences to how the conflict is set up. Cole and Gavin are mad, and they want a way to take revenge on their classmates who have wronged them. So their solution is to make Wikipedia articles on them that say embarrassing things about them.
I've been reviewing on GoodReads for years, and I'm rarely at a loss for words. But I genuinely have no idea how to sum up how unbelievably ridiculous this is. I'm just gonna let that stand for itself. With a 3.33 rating average and one of the most unintentionally hilarious premises for a horror novel of all time, I probably don't have to do anything more to convince you not to read this atrocity.
This is one of the most asinine, contrived books I've ever read. It's almost too pulpy and airplane fiction-y to be worth talking about, but seriously, I have to give a brief couple of sentences to how the conflict is set up. Cole and Gavin are mad, and they want a way to take revenge on their classmates who have wronged them. So their solution is to make Wikipedia articles on them that say embarrassing things about them.
I've been reviewing on GoodReads for years, and I'm rarely at a loss for words. But I genuinely have no idea how to sum up how unbelievably ridiculous this is. I'm just gonna let that stand for itself. With a 3.33 rating average and one of the most unintentionally hilarious premises for a horror novel of all time, I probably don't have to do anything more to convince you not to read this atrocity.
November 1, 2014
- - -
2.5 stars
As you can probably tell already, I don't read horror. I tried my hand at it once and I just couldn't get through the book. And when I say horror, I mean like Stephen King style. It just doesn't grip me for some reason. Give me action any day!
When this book arrived unsolicited, I was intrigued however. It seemed like the perfect Halloween read, so I've been holding off my review until now. Sorry if I get some facts wrong here and there ... I read this back in early September so my memory is a little hazy.
This book follows a boy named Cole, who is a shoo in for valedictorian. He's your typical smart guy who suddenly gets his heart broken by his girlfriend who dumped him for the jock. There is a lot of predictable high school drama that sets the scene at the beginning, but it soon gets interesting as Cole and his best friend Gavin decides to take revenge on the people who have wronged them at school. Their practical joke is pretty harmless at the beginning, when they decide to create Wikipedia pages of their classmates and make creative posts about their deaths. That is it was harmless until what they write starts coming true.
The people that have wronged Cole soon starts dying in the gruesome ways described on their Wikipedia pages, and no matter how Cole edits the outcomes, the killer is unwilling to stop hunting down the victims. This book is definitely very descriptive and there are some pretty disgusting parts but I wouldn't really say it's scary overall. There are certainly some very creative ways that the killer goes about murdering the victims, so if you can't stomach gorey thrillers, then this is not the book for you.
I found the concept of this story quite unique and it was executed well. I spent a long time trying to guess who the killer was and it wasn't predictable until 3/4 into the book. Then it suddenly changed drastically and became really obvious ... not really sure how I feel about that but it worked well enough.
I can't say I liked any of the characters but I'm pretty sure that was intended. Cole was a good protagonist and it was interesting to follow him as his guilt in being linked to these murders slowly messed with his own psyche.
The thing that annoyed me the most with this book was the ending. While I did manage to predict the killer, I found them to be over-the-top weird. It did add a bit of a thrill factor to it, but it just didn't seem plausible. I know it's intended to be an over-the-top kind of book so I guess I can't fault it too much for doing exactly that.
Overall it was just not my kind of book. I enjoyed it enough but I probably wouldn't read it again.
Thank you to Scholastic Australia for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 7, 2014
Ahhh, Wickedpedia.
Oh, how you pulled me in with your beautiful cover and show stopping blurb, and oh how you crashed and burned.
I guess in all honesty I'd give this 2.5 stars, but since I don't seem to have that option, I'll just be nice and give it three stars.
Wickedpedia is a short book that focuses on two high school students, and the murder of their peers. Cole, soon to be valedictorian, amazing cook, perfect life. Perfect until his girlfriend, Winnie, dumps him for Josh, the school's star soccer player. Ever since the breakup Cole's goal had been to get her back. (He shoots, he scores!!! Well... not really.) His best friend Gavin is a slacker, and one day, they both decide they've had it with Josh and his friends. What do they do? Well, they write an article on Wikipedia and make up a strange death for the group.
Whatever though.
It's totally everything the blurb said it would be! (NOT) Dude, the blurb isn't supposed to lie. Like what do they think this is? You don't lie in the blurb, you just don't!
Anyways, I think that my favorite character was Cole, even though he's kinda pathetic. He stays strong throughout the book, even though he's still going after a girl who obviously doesn't want him back. Gotta give him credit for what he does though. Oh, and by the way guys, I ship Cole and Lila even though she annoyed the hell out of me during the book. <3
The characters didn't seem 100% real, but I thought that everything seemed pretty okay. The only things that made this book even slightly enjoyable for me were the killings. It really did keep me guessing. After awhile I'd kind of settled on a character I thought might be the killer, and I was wrong. (To be honest, the true killer was way to obvious the be the killer. They need to mix things up more.)
Yeah, this book sucked, but it was still my favorite book I've read all year.
READ IT GUYS! I feel like most people would like it. Unless you don't like blood. And guts. And the occasional bit of drool.
Anyways, I really do suggest it even though I kinda made it sound bad. It's all up to you guys though. Here's me, just tryin' to help. Thanks for reading!
Oh, how you pulled me in with your beautiful cover and show stopping blurb, and oh how you crashed and burned.
I guess in all honesty I'd give this 2.5 stars, but since I don't seem to have that option, I'll just be nice and give it three stars.
Wickedpedia is a short book that focuses on two high school students, and the murder of their peers. Cole, soon to be valedictorian, amazing cook, perfect life. Perfect until his girlfriend, Winnie, dumps him for Josh, the school's star soccer player. Ever since the breakup Cole's goal had been to get her back. (He shoots, he scores!!! Well... not really.) His best friend Gavin is a slacker, and one day, they both decide they've had it with Josh and his friends. What do they do? Well, they write an article on Wikipedia and make up a strange death for the group.
Whatever though.
It's totally everything the blurb said it would be! (NOT) Dude, the blurb isn't supposed to lie. Like what do they think this is? You don't lie in the blurb, you just don't!
Anyways, I think that my favorite character was Cole, even though he's kinda pathetic. He stays strong throughout the book, even though he's still going after a girl who obviously doesn't want him back. Gotta give him credit for what he does though. Oh, and by the way guys, I ship Cole and Lila even though she annoyed the hell out of me during the book. <3
The characters didn't seem 100% real, but I thought that everything seemed pretty okay. The only things that made this book even slightly enjoyable for me were the killings. It really did keep me guessing. After awhile I'd kind of settled on a character I thought might be the killer, and I was wrong. (To be honest, the true killer was way to obvious the be the killer. They need to mix things up more.)
Yeah, this book sucked, but it was still my favorite book I've read all year.
READ IT GUYS! I feel like most people would like it. Unless you don't like blood. And guts. And the occasional bit of drool.
Anyways, I really do suggest it even though I kinda made it sound bad. It's all up to you guys though. Here's me, just tryin' to help. Thanks for reading!
October 28, 2016
So in the beginning Cole just lost his girlfriend (Winnie) to the soccer star Josh, and Cole is trying to get her back. So he tries to find a way to set Josh up to make Winnie not like him. so when he found a way to set up Josh, Josh got put second string on the team. Then Cole and Gavin made a Wikipedia account and say false stuff about people that they don't like, just messing around they said that whoever they were talking about would die and then some how it would come true. And the person would die the way they predicted, coincident or not. But they dont think so. Then Cole ends up getting hacked and some one was posting death dates of people and then the person would kill them, then when Cole was looking at his account he saw that his ex-girlfriend Winnie was on the list. So Cole has to try to save her and find out who hacked his account and who is murdering the people.
I think Cole was the character who changes the most in the book in the beginning he was just a flat out jerk, well not really a jerk he was kinda a trump he says what he feels like saying. Then as the book goes on and as he experiences things through the story he starts to become a lot nicer and he acts more under control, he's not a jerk.
Somethings I Like/Dislike about the book is I like how the author talks to the reader and you can really understand the characters personality really easy. But what I dislike about the book is how gory it is, I didn't expect t it to be so gory and gross when it gets in to detail I want to puke in some parts of the book. But WARNING: HUGE PLOT TWIST IN THE END that I did NOT expect. I don't think I would tell a friend to read this book cause it's a gruesome and love type book, and that is not really what I like so if thats your type of book, go on ahead.
I think Cole was the character who changes the most in the book in the beginning he was just a flat out jerk, well not really a jerk he was kinda a trump he says what he feels like saying. Then as the book goes on and as he experiences things through the story he starts to become a lot nicer and he acts more under control, he's not a jerk.
Somethings I Like/Dislike about the book is I like how the author talks to the reader and you can really understand the characters personality really easy. But what I dislike about the book is how gory it is, I didn't expect t it to be so gory and gross when it gets in to detail I want to puke in some parts of the book. But WARNING: HUGE PLOT TWIST IN THE END that I did NOT expect. I don't think I would tell a friend to read this book cause it's a gruesome and love type book, and that is not really what I like so if thats your type of book, go on ahead.
February 22, 2016
I thought this book was amazing!!!!!! This book was about two guys named Gavin and Cole. Cole's ex-girlfriend Winnie dumped him for the star soccer player, Josh. Cole and Gavin discover wikipedia pages about people that go to their school. After school, a guy named Scott from the soccer team goes to the soccer field and hears someone talking to him. So when he walks to the edge of the woods and then turns around someone runs up to him and wraps him up in a soccer goal, and drags him into the boys locker room. Then later on in the story someone gets to school early and finds a teacher named Mr. Drick. Mr. Drick gave Josh a bad grade so he gets mad. Later on in the story Cole goes over to Winnie's house and discovers Winnie dead. While Cole is at Winnie's house Josh shows up and thinks that Cole killed Winnie, so Josh gets in a fight with Cole and they end up both going out the window and they landed on the ground. When they wake up, they wind up at the hospital and Cole can walk but Josh is in a full body cast. Cole then discovers a Wikipedia page about him, he then knows that he is next. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a scary book.
April 27, 2018
8. “Wikedpedia,” by Chris Van Etten, was a very jacked up novel. First Cole and his best friend Gavin are introduced, and we can already tell that they are the main characters. To describe them they are both computer nerds/ techy kids. They love to go on wikipedia and edit main pages for fun and make fun of people. Later in the story, a student on the soccer team steals Coles “girl” and Cole and his friend gavin decide to get back at him by making a wikipedia page about him, stating that he dies in a tragic soccer accident. To their surprise, the kid ends up dying the same way as he was predicted to, and furthermore, even more children keep being killed. As for my thoughts on the book, it was horrible. It was psychotic because of all the kids being killed through the internet, and it was stupid because the characters were poorly developed, and the storyline and plot make no sense and because of that it was hard to write a goodreads honestly. The theme I believe to be, is to have good internet safety, which I strongly believe in, but the way it was played out was horrid. I will never read this book ever again.
January 25, 2015
I feel cheated.
When I first read the 'description' of this book written on a book club catalog that I got from my brother's school, I was excited and I instantly knew I had to buy it. It somehow reminds me of the currently-hyped-about movie, Unfriended. But hell, was I lied to, the 'description' is nothing like I imagined the story to be like. After reading the whole thing I must say that it is quite disappointing. The storyline is too absurd in my opinion. I found myself saying "What?!" throughout the book, all the way to the ending. And I hate books with horrible endings. The only thing that is perhaps okay-ish in this book is its gruesome content. Well it's excessive, to be honest, but hey, at least there's something in the book that actually pierced my heart!
Definitely not a recommendation, needless to say. Unless you're curious and wouldn't mind wasting your money to see for yourself how violent this book is.
When I first read the 'description' of this book written on a book club catalog that I got from my brother's school, I was excited and I instantly knew I had to buy it. It somehow reminds me of the currently-hyped-about movie, Unfriended. But hell, was I lied to, the 'description' is nothing like I imagined the story to be like. After reading the whole thing I must say that it is quite disappointing. The storyline is too absurd in my opinion. I found myself saying "What?!" throughout the book, all the way to the ending. And I hate books with horrible endings. The only thing that is perhaps okay-ish in this book is its gruesome content. Well it's excessive, to be honest, but hey, at least there's something in the book that actually pierced my heart!
Definitely not a recommendation, needless to say. Unless you're curious and wouldn't mind wasting your money to see for yourself how violent this book is.
June 17, 2015
I didn't think this book was the best choice for me. There was too much violence and none of it made sense. Even at the end, the murders were not explained very well and left me a little confused. Also, the characters that were killed weren't very likable, so I had a hard time sympathizing with their deaths.
May 23, 2015
Yeah, I'm just annoyed from the very beginning by the writing style and characters. Cutting this one free and moving on.
December 21, 2015
It is a great book. Lot of suspense. Point HORROR
October 29, 2018
Another Point Horror reboot that doesn’t quite hit the mark. This wasn’t published long enough ago to really escape the women’s movement of “it’s really not okay for boys to get so butthurt over being dumped for them to go out and get revenge on their ex” so anything creepy about people starting to get killed in the same way Cole wrote their fake Wikipedia entry gets drowned out by that. It’s just skeevy and my made skin crawl, that level of entitlement to Winnie that Cole felt justified in doing this creepy thing to not only his ex but other classmates he didn’t like.
And then the whole students dying thing. It’s one of those tropes that’s getting to be a bit too real for the market and it’s more of a turnoff than anything truly scary. And it’s fairly obvious who the murderer is from pretty early on. I won’t give names, but students killing students is way too real of a headline and too disruptive to my suspension of disbelief. Mainly because I can believe it.
But let’s say this was written pre-Columbine but the internet was still a widely used thing. It’s definitely an RL Stine type of concept that Cole seemingly predicts the deaths of his classmates by writing out fake bios for them. And they’re pretty creative deaths at that. Definitely Stine level of creativity. But the motive behind the murders was reasons. No real driving force there and what little explanation is provided falls flat. It’s written okay and at the very least it doesn’t pander technology to a target market that already knows how to use it (I’m looking at you, FOLLOWERS).
But this wasn’t written in 1994. It was written in 2014, well into the reality that is school today. While #metoo wasn’t a thing just yet, there was pushback on male entitlement over women and this level of revenge wouldn’t have been tolerated and as a motivating factor precipitating the entire story it just screams skeevy and makes me not want to read it. Out of all of the Point Horror reboots I’ve read I do think WICKEDPEDIA is the best, but that’s to ignore the current social climate and the world, really, and read it in a vacuum, which is practically impossible to do. So Van Etten tried, but the book’s ultimately tone deaf.
2
And then the whole students dying thing. It’s one of those tropes that’s getting to be a bit too real for the market and it’s more of a turnoff than anything truly scary. And it’s fairly obvious who the murderer is from pretty early on. I won’t give names, but students killing students is way too real of a headline and too disruptive to my suspension of disbelief. Mainly because I can believe it.
But let’s say this was written pre-Columbine but the internet was still a widely used thing. It’s definitely an RL Stine type of concept that Cole seemingly predicts the deaths of his classmates by writing out fake bios for them. And they’re pretty creative deaths at that. Definitely Stine level of creativity. But the motive behind the murders was reasons. No real driving force there and what little explanation is provided falls flat. It’s written okay and at the very least it doesn’t pander technology to a target market that already knows how to use it (I’m looking at you, FOLLOWERS).
But this wasn’t written in 1994. It was written in 2014, well into the reality that is school today. While #metoo wasn’t a thing just yet, there was pushback on male entitlement over women and this level of revenge wouldn’t have been tolerated and as a motivating factor precipitating the entire story it just screams skeevy and makes me not want to read it. Out of all of the Point Horror reboots I’ve read I do think WICKEDPEDIA is the best, but that’s to ignore the current social climate and the world, really, and read it in a vacuum, which is practically impossible to do. So Van Etten tried, but the book’s ultimately tone deaf.
2
June 2, 2023
Lots of spoilers ahead!
I don't know why people dislike this book so much, reading it was a roller coaster of emotions and it surprised me 'til the very end.
This book talks about high school seniors and typical problems that high schoolers go through, for example; How Cole's girlfriend dumped him and he wanted her back, it's very common for teenagers to keep trying to win a girl back like Cole did, even if it was embarrassing at some points.
I found the way the characters talked and expressed themselves perfect for their age and current maturity. Boys usually don't mature until their early 30's, and that's just nature, the way they tried to get revenge against Josh and Winnie was inmature and just what any teenager would do. I chuckled a lot of times at Gavin's sarcasm and stupid jokes, and how well their friendship worked.
While reading this book, I tried to figure out who was doing all the killings, seeing how Cole tried to figure everything out was amazing and thrilling, and Gavin actually gave me the chills of what an actual teenager sociopath would be like. When everyone was dying, Cole was feeling regret, sadness, anger, almost everything you woud feel when grieving, but seeing Gavin NOT feeling any of those and trying to deflect the subject when Cole was questioning his "way of grieving" gave me a perfect hint on why he wouldn't feel empathy, and if he could be the killer.
The way Gavin did those killings was very smart, and I love how it accurately shows how he will not feel anything at all for those he loves when he gets caught. When he killed his girlfriend Andrea because she found he caused her eye to melt was pure shock to me, this is because he killed people for her, to be with her, and then just ending it all like that to me was shocking. How the author described the deaths also was amazing and very thrilling
I loved this book, it represents everything how it is, even the teachers and the school system. I think people should give it a bit more thought and try to really enjoy it.
The 5 stars speak for themselves.
I don't know why people dislike this book so much, reading it was a roller coaster of emotions and it surprised me 'til the very end.
This book talks about high school seniors and typical problems that high schoolers go through, for example; How Cole's girlfriend dumped him and he wanted her back, it's very common for teenagers to keep trying to win a girl back like Cole did, even if it was embarrassing at some points.
I found the way the characters talked and expressed themselves perfect for their age and current maturity. Boys usually don't mature until their early 30's, and that's just nature, the way they tried to get revenge against Josh and Winnie was inmature and just what any teenager would do. I chuckled a lot of times at Gavin's sarcasm and stupid jokes, and how well their friendship worked.
While reading this book, I tried to figure out who was doing all the killings, seeing how Cole tried to figure everything out was amazing and thrilling, and Gavin actually gave me the chills of what an actual teenager sociopath would be like. When everyone was dying, Cole was feeling regret, sadness, anger, almost everything you woud feel when grieving, but seeing Gavin NOT feeling any of those and trying to deflect the subject when Cole was questioning his "way of grieving" gave me a perfect hint on why he wouldn't feel empathy, and if he could be the killer.
The way Gavin did those killings was very smart, and I love how it accurately shows how he will not feel anything at all for those he loves when he gets caught. When he killed his girlfriend Andrea because she found he caused her eye to melt was pure shock to me, this is because he killed people for her, to be with her, and then just ending it all like that to me was shocking. How the author described the deaths also was amazing and very thrilling
I loved this book, it represents everything how it is, even the teachers and the school system. I think people should give it a bit more thought and try to really enjoy it.
The 5 stars speak for themselves.
May 19, 2018
The book “Wickedpedia” is about two boys, Cole and Gavin, who just love to joke around. Cole’s girlfriend, Winnie, breaks up with him and starts dating the school’s star soccer player, Josh. Cole and Gavin come up with ways to get Winnie to break up with Josh, so Cole can win her back. They edit a wikipedia page on someone to prove to Winnie and everyone that he cheats. Josh gets busted and kicked off the soccer team. Winnie still stays with Josh. Cole and Gavin decide to create wikipedia pages on Josh, Winnie, Andrea, Scott, and their teacher Mr. Drick. Andrea is Winnie’s best friend, and Scott is Josh’s best friend. They even include drastic deaths for all of them. It was all just fun and games, until they all started to die coincidentally. Cole and Gavin predicted this outcome. Cole now has a wikipedia page with a drastic death as well. He must find out who is killing them, before he is next.
One of the features I’d like to discuss is how the book was written. I could understand exactly what was going on. I think it was put together well. It had all the details for everything. The book had me wondering what was going to happen next all the way to the very end.
One other feature I want to talk about is the ending. I thought the ending of this book was good. I thought the events that led up to the ending were good. For the most part, it made sense. I was definitely shocked by the ending. I was not expecting what happened to happen.
Overall, I thought this was a good book. I personally don’t like reading, I get bored of it. This book kept me interested all the way to the very end. I would recommend this book. I would recommend this book to someone who likes to read horror stories or mysteries.
One of the features I’d like to discuss is how the book was written. I could understand exactly what was going on. I think it was put together well. It had all the details for everything. The book had me wondering what was going to happen next all the way to the very end.
One other feature I want to talk about is the ending. I thought the ending of this book was good. I thought the events that led up to the ending were good. For the most part, it made sense. I was definitely shocked by the ending. I was not expecting what happened to happen.
Overall, I thought this was a good book. I personally don’t like reading, I get bored of it. This book kept me interested all the way to the very end. I would recommend this book. I would recommend this book to someone who likes to read horror stories or mysteries.
October 20, 2025
This was a reread after originally reading it in high school. Up until we get to the wiki pages being created, I see that some of the writing is more juvenile, definitely geared more toward 9-10th grade, and it felt like it wasn't made for someone of 24, like me. Which, fair. I still enjoyed the story to this day.
My only criticism is with how much Cole pined after Winnie after the breakup, which yes, I completely get. In high school, that's the end of the world. But I just don't see the snap that made him create the wiki pages. Cole's character is pretty much on the sidelines, very mellow and levelheaded (aside from the chaos that the plot becomes), and not at all like someone who would write fiction about his classmates' deaths. Yes, it makes an interesting point-of-reference for murder, but your first thought for revenge was.... Wikipedia...? For some random high school kids that have no genuine reason to have a wiki page...? I mean mayyybeeee Josh as the star athlete, but everyone else?
One other small note: the summary mentions about Cole coming across a page dedicated to Winnie, as if he wasn't the one who wrote it to begin with. Just inconsistent.
Aside from that, I do think this book would be an amazing base for a horror movie, and I found myself constantly visualizing scenes.
My only criticism is with how much Cole pined after Winnie after the breakup, which yes, I completely get. In high school, that's the end of the world. But I just don't see the snap that made him create the wiki pages. Cole's character is pretty much on the sidelines, very mellow and levelheaded (aside from the chaos that the plot becomes), and not at all like someone who would write fiction about his classmates' deaths. Yes, it makes an interesting point-of-reference for murder, but your first thought for revenge was.... Wikipedia...? For some random high school kids that have no genuine reason to have a wiki page...? I mean mayyybeeee Josh as the star athlete, but everyone else?
One other small note: the summary mentions about Cole coming across a page dedicated to Winnie, as if he wasn't the one who wrote it to begin with. Just inconsistent.
Aside from that, I do think this book would be an amazing base for a horror movie, and I found myself constantly visualizing scenes.
October 15, 2018
The book is in a high school setting with a couple main teen characters. The main characters in this book are Cole, Winnie, Gavin, Angela, and Josh. Cole is a high school student who wants to get his girlfriend back after they broke up. To do so he needs her to break up with her current boyfriend.
The book is in the pov of cole so you see everything from him for most of the the book there is a couple changes but not a lot. There was a couple of out of order text to add suspense and mystery to the book. It does a good job at adding a tension on what going to happen exactly. There is a pacing change with the length of parts with certain moments. Really good mystery book well written.
I thought the book was great not a hard read fun and enjoyable. It is pretty gorey at some parts of the book so don’t read if you don’t like that stuff. I love the plot it makes the book better then having a plot that would work but not the best. Overall a fun book really good for a halloween time story for teenagers well worth it.
The book is in the pov of cole so you see everything from him for most of the the book there is a couple changes but not a lot. There was a couple of out of order text to add suspense and mystery to the book. It does a good job at adding a tension on what going to happen exactly. There is a pacing change with the length of parts with certain moments. Really good mystery book well written.
I thought the book was great not a hard read fun and enjoyable. It is pretty gorey at some parts of the book so don’t read if you don’t like that stuff. I love the plot it makes the book better then having a plot that would work but not the best. Overall a fun book really good for a halloween time story for teenagers well worth it.
January 10, 2016
{Thank you Scholastic Inc. and Netgalley for providing this in return for an honest review}
So when I read the synopsis of this book, I really wanted to get my hands on it because it sounded like it could be somewhat like the horror films in the 90’s, which I absolutely loved. Although the premise of this book is really cool, the execution was not so great. There were a lot more things I disliked about this book than liked, which in the end, made this a not so enjoyable read.
The first problem I have with the book is actually the thing that drew me into reading it, the synopsis. After finishing the book, I feel like the synopsis is misleading. The synopsis makes it sound like the two main characters, Cole and Greg (?), were pranking a lot of their classmates through Wikipedia, however, they only pranked one person and I would call it more like revenge. I also have no idea why the synopsis mentions changing the Wikipedia page for Genghis Khan because that was not the Wikipedia page that was changed and that historical figure was not even mentioned in the book. Also, there was no death on the soccer field. Another big problem with the synopsis is the fact that it says that the two main characters are Cole and Greg, when in the book the main characters are Cole and Gavin, which is why I added a question mark above. I know that I received this as an ARC, so things will change, but I checked the synopsis on Netgalley, Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes and Nobel to find that the synopsis was the same on all and had not been changed and the book is already published and available to the public. I wish the book would have been a little more like the synopsis than it actually was.
I also did not enjoy the writing in this book. I found it dull, generic, and confusing at times, which is disappointing since this book is full of mystery and character deaths, but was still unable to keep my attention. I liked that Van Etten included a lot of technology in this book to make it more relevant for teens today, but at times I felt that it was distracting and was thrown in just so it could be included. I thought that the messenger conversations worked a lot better than the Tweets, but I never really found myself enjoying either. However, I did like that the killings were written in the killer’s voice, but the killer was still kept a mystery.
I also felt like this book lacked a lot of depth and description. I felt like there was a lack in describing the characters and the setting. I did not know what the characters looked like, what their history was, or much about their relationships with each other. I think this book consistently just skimmed across the top and never delved any deeper into a more complex mystery. The one aspect of this book that did have a lot of description was the killings, which I did not find particularly gruesome, but I would also say the scenes warrant a PG-13 rating. It is hard for me to pin point what age of readers this book is directed too since the plot is so simplistic, I would say middle grade kids, but then the killings, gore, and ages of the characters seems like it is written for 15-18 year olds.
I really liked the idea of the plot of this book. I liked the Wikipedia aspect of this book and that the deaths were predicted on the character’s pages. I think that if the writing was better, I would have really liked the pacing of this book. I felt like it jumped right into the action and several characters met their end by the middle of the book. However, I enjoyed the second half of the book so much more than the first half. The second half of the book focused on finding who the killer was and I felt the writing was better. The mystery was interesting, but this book was really predictable. Within the first half of the book, I had already correctly guessed the killer. However, I did miss some aspects of the ending and the motive. I did like the end of the book and felt like it was really fast paced. I also liked how it ended, leaving the readers to guess what happens next.
I also didn’t enjoy the characters because I found them dull and lacking character development. I really did not like Cole, the main character, because he had no personality and lacked common knowledge when it came to his decision making skills. I did really like Gavin (or Greg if I go by the synopsis), Winnie, and Josh. I really liked the witty dialogue from Gavin and he was really the saving grace of this book. I enjoyed the parts he was in and he really kept me wanting the finish the book. Winnie and Josh were also great characters that brought more drama and dimension to the characters. I did have an issue with the character Lila because I felt like she was just thrown into the book and really served no purpose.
I also did not like that there was a little romance in this book. Cole and Winnie were ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, which I did like, but the fact that there was a budding romance between Cole and Lila was really weird. I did not feel any chemistry between the two characters and I felt like it did not belong. It was awkward when Cole would randomly mention that he could like Lila, but nothing really ever happened. I feel like both the romance with Lila and the character of Lila should have been left out of the book altogether.
Overall, I had a lot of problems with this book and there were significantly more things I disliked than liked. Although I did enjoy the second half of the book more than the first, it was not enough to save this book from only getting a two star rating. I feel like there are better mystery/horror books for teens/young adults than this one. Personally, I would not recommend this book unless you are a new reader and in your early teens.
So when I read the synopsis of this book, I really wanted to get my hands on it because it sounded like it could be somewhat like the horror films in the 90’s, which I absolutely loved. Although the premise of this book is really cool, the execution was not so great. There were a lot more things I disliked about this book than liked, which in the end, made this a not so enjoyable read.
The first problem I have with the book is actually the thing that drew me into reading it, the synopsis. After finishing the book, I feel like the synopsis is misleading. The synopsis makes it sound like the two main characters, Cole and Greg (?), were pranking a lot of their classmates through Wikipedia, however, they only pranked one person and I would call it more like revenge. I also have no idea why the synopsis mentions changing the Wikipedia page for Genghis Khan because that was not the Wikipedia page that was changed and that historical figure was not even mentioned in the book. Also, there was no death on the soccer field. Another big problem with the synopsis is the fact that it says that the two main characters are Cole and Greg, when in the book the main characters are Cole and Gavin, which is why I added a question mark above. I know that I received this as an ARC, so things will change, but I checked the synopsis on Netgalley, Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes and Nobel to find that the synopsis was the same on all and had not been changed and the book is already published and available to the public. I wish the book would have been a little more like the synopsis than it actually was.
I also did not enjoy the writing in this book. I found it dull, generic, and confusing at times, which is disappointing since this book is full of mystery and character deaths, but was still unable to keep my attention. I liked that Van Etten included a lot of technology in this book to make it more relevant for teens today, but at times I felt that it was distracting and was thrown in just so it could be included. I thought that the messenger conversations worked a lot better than the Tweets, but I never really found myself enjoying either. However, I did like that the killings were written in the killer’s voice, but the killer was still kept a mystery.
I also felt like this book lacked a lot of depth and description. I felt like there was a lack in describing the characters and the setting. I did not know what the characters looked like, what their history was, or much about their relationships with each other. I think this book consistently just skimmed across the top and never delved any deeper into a more complex mystery. The one aspect of this book that did have a lot of description was the killings, which I did not find particularly gruesome, but I would also say the scenes warrant a PG-13 rating. It is hard for me to pin point what age of readers this book is directed too since the plot is so simplistic, I would say middle grade kids, but then the killings, gore, and ages of the characters seems like it is written for 15-18 year olds.
I really liked the idea of the plot of this book. I liked the Wikipedia aspect of this book and that the deaths were predicted on the character’s pages. I think that if the writing was better, I would have really liked the pacing of this book. I felt like it jumped right into the action and several characters met their end by the middle of the book. However, I enjoyed the second half of the book so much more than the first half. The second half of the book focused on finding who the killer was and I felt the writing was better. The mystery was interesting, but this book was really predictable. Within the first half of the book, I had already correctly guessed the killer. However, I did miss some aspects of the ending and the motive. I did like the end of the book and felt like it was really fast paced. I also liked how it ended, leaving the readers to guess what happens next.
I also didn’t enjoy the characters because I found them dull and lacking character development. I really did not like Cole, the main character, because he had no personality and lacked common knowledge when it came to his decision making skills. I did really like Gavin (or Greg if I go by the synopsis), Winnie, and Josh. I really liked the witty dialogue from Gavin and he was really the saving grace of this book. I enjoyed the parts he was in and he really kept me wanting the finish the book. Winnie and Josh were also great characters that brought more drama and dimension to the characters. I did have an issue with the character Lila because I felt like she was just thrown into the book and really served no purpose.
I also did not like that there was a little romance in this book. Cole and Winnie were ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, which I did like, but the fact that there was a budding romance between Cole and Lila was really weird. I did not feel any chemistry between the two characters and I felt like it did not belong. It was awkward when Cole would randomly mention that he could like Lila, but nothing really ever happened. I feel like both the romance with Lila and the character of Lila should have been left out of the book altogether.
Overall, I had a lot of problems with this book and there were significantly more things I disliked than liked. Although I did enjoy the second half of the book more than the first, it was not enough to save this book from only getting a two star rating. I feel like there are better mystery/horror books for teens/young adults than this one. Personally, I would not recommend this book unless you are a new reader and in your early teens.
February 8, 2021
I read this book in 6th grade, and it launched me to read and watch more horror. It's about these two kids, Cole and Gavin, who play pranks on Wikipedia, editing the pages. After the star soccer player steals Cole's girlfriend Winnie, They make a page of him, complete with death date. Suddenly, on the date, the kid dies in the way they predicted. They decide to stop, but someone keeps adding pages, and people are dying. Suddenly, Cole sees his own page. This was a really good book, but if you don't like gore, don't read it.
November 16, 2017
....What just happened? It’s not like this book is bad, it’s actually really good, like the story, but WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE GAVIN? Out of everyone it could be, why Gavin? I actually kinda liked him until he turned out to be a full fledged killer. I also wasn’t a fan of he tweets. You have to read them backward, to understand the conversation. Oh well. All in all, his book was kinda good. Not as good as others, but it was okay.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2019
l enjoyed this book because you want to put it down because it's terrifying but you can't because its so good its a good book for people who love horror and gore. if you get scared easily do not read. at first you think this is normal but then it turns creepy fast.
November 4, 2023
oh that’s not…the book had potential but i couldn’t really…get into it because the reason i read it is because i read about the book and it said all these random shit that didn’t even end up happening in the book so i was kinda confused ASF
November 10, 2023
Creepy not only in that when this was written, it was possible to make entries and edit others on Wikpedia, but because the cast of characters includes at least two with zero conscience. Very quick page turner.
June 21, 2017
My Raiting
This book was a very exiting thriller. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys school thrillers. Their wasn't a dull moment.
This book was a very exiting thriller. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys school thrillers. Their wasn't a dull moment.
August 31, 2018
great book. very gory tho
April 2, 2019
A 3 1/2 stars. Compelling story about taking revenge with no intent to do more harm than hurting feelings. But someone takes it literally and makes it come true
October 18, 2019
The book was very nice and interesting and I enjoyed reading this book.
January 18, 2020
I had higher hopes for this book. It was a good idea but the plot just didn’t follow through.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews