Totally Wicked

Wicked!

by Paul Jennings, Morris Gleitzman

From two of Australia's wickedest authors comes this collection of six shocking children's stories. They are: "The Slobberers", "Battering Rams", "Croaked", "Dead Ringers", "The Creeper" and "Till Death Us Do Part".

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Young Adult, Humor

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 1998

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Paul Jennings was born in Heston near London, and at the age of 6 emigrated to Melbourne, Australia on a boat. He was on the boat for 5 weeks with his family. He attended Bentleigh West Primary School and Caulfield Grammar School.

After graduating from school, he went to Frankston Teachers College (now part of Monash University) and became a teacher. He taught students at Frankston State School, Kangaroo Flat State School, the Turana Youth Training Centre, and the Royal Children's Hospital State School in Mount Eliza. He later went on to study at the Lincoln Institute of Health Science (now part of LaTrobe University) and became a speech pathologist, then worked as a Lecturer in Special Education at Burwood State College (now part of Deakin University). In 1979 he became Senior Lecturer in Language and Literature at Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education (now part of Deakin University).

In 1985, Jennings' first book of short stories, Unreal! was published, during which he worked as a lecturer and wrote part-time; in 1989, he made the decision to devote his full time to writing. Many of his short stories, published between 1985 and 1991, were also adapted into the first and second series of the popular Australian television show Round the Twist.

Winner of the Dromkeen Medal (2000).

Reviews

[Rebecca]

The Wicked Series is one of those series where you have to have all six books so you can read them all in one go. They truly are entertaining. They're a similar style to the Deadly series written by Paul Jennings and Morris Gleitzman but they are two very different storylines. I loved Wicked's storyline in the sense that it is just so crazy that it's hilarious.

[Denzel Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because I just found out about Paul Jennings, and now he turns out to be my favourite author.the category that my big fills out on the bingo board is the one that says, "A book recommended by a member of your family." This category was interesting because my older brother actually told me to read this book but I told him I don't like reading, but I started reading it anyways, and as soon as I got past the first chapter, I was addicted to the book because of how the book was funny,adventurous and surprising. The character that I found most interesting was the father, because he gave his son a wooden toy before he left his son. the son then lived with his mother and his step father. the son looks for his father and thinks why his father left him this wooden toy because the toy is actually ends up being a living thing. The father is a mysterious person, so thats why he is my favourite character in this story. My favourite quote in the book was the part when the father says, " I don't want to get back with your mother, I just want to be friends with her, because when she's happy, I'm happy." This is my favourite quote because my dad actually said the same thing to me.
This book taught me that Books are actually fun and that they can have so many surprises with the stories.

[Emma Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first started this series in primary school and for some reason, didn't finish. Either I lost interest or I wasn't an adequate enough reader for it. So when I found the series at an Op shop in 2008, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to finally finish what I'd started. Definitely worth it, not that I remember anything at all, but I definitely enjoyed it.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read 3 books of wicked I could not put it down loved it all the way to the end of the 3 parts I have read so far. I could not put those down

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Review written as a teen around 2009/10 - probably not how I'd feel about this book if I read it now!

This may be a children's/middle grade book but it is one fun read. Packed full of scary-but-funny monsters and twists and turns that you don't see coming; it's one fun adventure. Paul Jennings and Morris Gleitzman are two of Australia's funniest and best-selling children's authors , and teamed up, they are hard to resist. The story isn't all humor - there are some serious and very emotional parts as well. The chapters alternate between Dawn's and Rory's points-of-view, each character with their own distinct voice. It's very fast-paced and the action is non-stop, making for a thrilling read."

[Ashleigh Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still one of the first books I read as a preteen that scared me! Two of my favourite authors coming together to create a children's story that's dark, weird, sometimes sad, over the top & entertaining, a bit like Roald Dahl. Have read a few times since then and I'm 29 now! The Slobberers definitely left a lasting impact on me.
Highly recommended even as an adult

[Kayleigh Patchett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these books when I was about 12. Very entertaining and great characters. Loved reading them again, not a challenge to read, just relaxing and fun. It’s amazing how well they’d stuck in my mind as a child and reading them nearly 20 years later I could still remember it and I’ve realised some of my own writing stems from the influence I got from them.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit exotic due to the Australian terms, and it took me a while to figure out the ages of the characters (they acted a bit young for the first part). But I enjoyed this sf tale enough to finish it on a flight across country.

[Adwait Sahasrabhojanee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely weird book series, in a good way. Technically a children's book, but it's pretty dark.

[Sarah Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little infection series with wacky hijinks and good sentiments.

[Brooke Stubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing

[Jo]

i read this entire series when i was 10 and i cant remember a single thing about it.

[ghost bambi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get outta town if you haven’t read this. Honest to god. Read as a literal single digit child and still yapping about it 3 decades later.

[Mella · Rating 1 out of 5]

I never much liked Jennings and Gleitzman books. They were super popular with my classmates but I always just found them creepy.

Dawn and Rory hate each other. Unfortunately for them their parents, Jack (Dawn's dad) and Eileen (Rory's mum) are getting married. But they have to work together to save their parents when Rory finds his pets, the slobberers, are killing machines, sucking the life from anything they come into contact with and he put some in their honeymoon stew as a protest against their marriage.

This wasn't well written. All the characters are flat and there's a ton of backstory but all of which is lacking explanation. Dawn's mum apparently killed herself. On a bus. While other people were on it - one of whom was Rory. Rory's dad left his mum and him and never calls or writes or visits. There was no depth to the characters and every fact just brought up more questions.

And frankly I just didn't care. It was creepy and disgusting and I just wanted it to be over. 1 star.

[Anuj Dyamanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I managed to pick this book up from a friend of mine a while back (2 years ago). When I started this book I already loved it. When I finished the book, I wanted to read it again. Thats how good this book is.

This book has a lot of suspense and wackiness to it. The more you get into the book, the more crazy it gets. Paul Jennings outdid himself with the characters in the story. A girl forced to be related to an annoying brother due to a marriage between their parents, a kooky granddad and a horrible family infection that plots to kill half of this newly formed family in ways you would have never imagined.

The words the authors use to describe the horror and the family drama of the book gives us an interesting storyline for us to read and enjoy.

I loved this book and gave it a 5/5 for sure. I recommend this to children and teenagers who like to read about the unnatural and the inhumane. Both boys and girls.

This book covers "A book that has been made into a film".

[Katarina Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first it was a little off-putting - I read this series when I was what many would now consider a tween and now that I am an adult the grotesque humour of these two authors took a bit of time to become accustomed to. Once I was in, however, the story and characters made putting it down nearly impossible. The signature style of Gleitzman and Jennings mark the transitional ages of child to adulthood remarkably - the struggle of being yourself while also discovering yourself.

In short, I would highly recommend this series for any child, particularly those inclined toward the unusual.

[Stevie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Step families suck....at least thats one thing Rory and Dawn can agree on. When Rory's mum and Dawn's dad get married Dawn and Rory know that they are stuck with eachother....but when a strange and deadly virus starts coming after Rory's family they must work together to prevent it spreading and what they find brings them closer than they thought possible. This was a fun, light and entertaining read, more for a younger audience though but even as an older reader I quite enjoyed it.

[Will Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dawn and Rory are expecting an attack to occur from some unusual creatures. With steel sheep and giant frogs hunting them down, the only person they can rely on is their granpar. the only problem is he is a bit out of this world and doesn't understand what and how serious this issue was. in the end they survive and make it out alive.

[Qazwsxedcrrf · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good on going book, there were intense moments, scary moments, disgusting moments, romantic moments, mystery moments, humorous and many more. Once I was into it I didn't want to stop reading. I loved most of the moments but some bits were just a little weird. I would still recommend this book to read as it is a good kids book and it would definitely be a good experience to read it.

[Liam · Rating 2 out of 5]

really freaky

[Kailin101 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the best book i have ever read

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed this book from the library for Ben to read on a car trip. He'd finished 80 pages before the trip even started! Had to keep getting it off him, so he'd have something to read.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun, and scary too.

[Krystal]

My childhood books!

[Denis · Rating 4 out of 5]

<3

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic series with a storyline that borders on the psychedelic. Great, not only for my own nostalgia, but also to reignite my enthusiasm for Australian children's literature. Thumbs up!

[Archie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this book I thought it was hard to understand and imagine.

[Madmaxkiama · Rating 4 out of 5]

cool
i read it for school

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh how this series grossed me out in a weird, weird way.

[Nola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strange, weird little series!