1-Star Reviews and Young Adult Novels

Recently I gave a book a dismal 1-star rating. I also had someone on Goodreads call my review "rude" and express a hope that I would write a book someday so that they could write "a cruel review about it." I've also noticed that my review on Amazon has gotten several "dislikes." I still think the book deserves the rating I gave it, but the whole experience so far is making me reconsider doing reviews of books in the young adult genre.

The book I reviewed has mostly good ratings on Goodreads and on Amazon. Most of the positive reviews on Goodreads are from teens, and pretty much all of them are from girls. Teen girls are a demographic that seem to have their own set of literary tastes, and when they just can't get enough of books that I think are just awful-I have to wonder-do I have any business reviewing these books?

My answer is still yes. And here's why:


1. This particular book had grammar errors on nearly every page. I don't care what your literary taste is. This kind of sloppiness is just plain unacceptable. Reviewers need to keep indie and self-published authors on their toes and adhering to standards of quality in editing.

I support the movement of independent and self-published authors. I think there is a revolution going on in the book industry, but quality standards have to be maintained. I think there are a lot of people out there who are skeptical about downloading or picking up indie-published books and this is tremendously compounded when authors don't take the time, or pay someone else to edit their work. For this particular book, the sheer number of grammar mistakes was so off-putting that it took my rating down two whole stars.

2. Grammar aside, this book was not well written. It may be popular with teen girls. It may even sell well, but that doesn't make it good book on its own. I think this is the danger of the changes sweeping the book industry. We're entering an age when anyone can write a book and be an author and the sheer number of books written each year is increasing dramatically. There's a lot of noise out there, and somebody has to help sort through it and point to quality content.

We could just let the market sort out the winners from the losers for us, but that doesn't ensure that quality books get much attention, or that the major flaws in bad books at least get noticed. The evidence that teen girls manage to love a book full of grammar mistakes and bad writing is compelling enough to me to say that we can't do this. Bad books will sell when they have good marketing and whatever formula (love triangle + trendy paranormal creatures = $$$$$) is currently in vogue.

Moreover, I think the current trend in self-publishing emphasizes quantity over quality. The financial incentives reward writing hurried novels one after another and don't reward taking the time to produce a consistently quality product. Sometimes I think authors need a negative review here and there to remind them to slow down and make their work the best it can be.

I think this is where bloggers (as well as traditional critics) come into the picture. I'm not going to say that I always have amazing taste in literature. But I am well-read. I know a good deal about the "classics" (or the canon if you prefer) of European/American literature and literary theory. I also enjoy a good page turner. In short I read a lot of books, and the more I read, the easier it is for me to sort out the good from the bad.

Of course there are going to be differences in taste. These changes in the book industry have the potential to democratize the literary world. Instead of a handful of major publishing companies deciding what gets published, now there are going to be a lot more options for readers.

But these differences in taste don't mean I shouldn't give my absolutely honest opinion in a review. At times, my honestly will be brutal. Rejection has always been a part of the experience for most authors. There aren't six major publishing houses controlling who gets published anymore, but authors still need to have thick skins and keep working to become better writers.

While getting your first novel through the publishing process is absolutely an occasion for some self-congratulation, authors should not expect everyone to be wowed by their first try. Writing is a craft that takes lots of practice. So if authors get bad reviews, they shouldn't be totally discouraged or attack their reviewers. They should take the experience and learn how to be better writers.

I will continue to review young adult books on occasion, and I will continue to give out 1-star ratings if they are appropriate.

What do you think?