The Case for Negative Book Reviews
Debates abound about whether or not negative book reviews should be written. There are moves towards banning negative book reviews, while others believe in the value of negative book reviews.
In my opinion, negative book reviews are necessary. If a book is lacking, it serves no purpose to sing it high praises. It’s an insult to books that are good. Besides, people read book reviews to determine which books they would like to read. That endeavour would be a futile one if there weren’t any negative book reviews to make the truly good books shine with their positive reviews.
What Are Negative Book Reviews?
Negative, however must be defined for clarity’s sake. A negative book review doesn’t have to be full of negativity. It doesn’t have to be mean-spiritied, or tear apart a book. A negative book review is simply a book review of a book that a reviewer didn’t like, and thus didn’t rate highly. This is why when I must, I aim to write book reviews minus the negativity. In order to achieve that, I generally adhere to the following guidelines.
Guidelines for Negative Book Reviews
- Don’t attack the author. I think this one goes without saying but it’s also the most important one. If you didn’t like a book, and write things like, “The author is so dumb, my 5-year-old niece can write better plots.” It may be true that your niece is a literary genius but calling an author dumb will surely land you in hot waters.
- Don’t tweet at the author. You gave a book 1 star. That’s fine. What isn’t, is flaunting that fact right in the author’s face. If the author specifically asked for a review and you accepted, then yes, you do need to inform them. Otherwise, keep under the radar. There is no need to spoil an author’s day.
- Explain why you didn’t like the book. “It sucked,” is not an explanation. If the narrative didn’t flow, say so. If the characters were one-dimensional, then state that. If the setting was too fantastical for a contemporary book, note that down. After picking out these points, elaborate, where possible. Give examples, that support your point. But try to avoid spoilers, or mark them clearly. Even though you didn’t like a book, someone else might want to read that book after reading your review of it.
- Don’t exaggerate. Stick to the facts about the book. Say, the main character slept with two different people in the book. In your hypothetical review, don’t complain that the main character was a slut who slept with a million people and that’s why you hated it. Exaggeration makes the book sound worse than it really was, and puts your own credibility at risk.
- State clearly if you didn’t finish reading the book. There’s nothing wrong with writing a review about a book you didn’t finish. What’s not ok is to read a hundred pages, and then pretend you read the entire book. That’s not fair to the book, the author and to those who read your review. For all you know, whatever followed those hundred pages were much better but you didn’t stick around to find out. Review what you read, and make that clear.
- Note the context. Context sometimes makes a big difference. If an adult reviews a Middle Grade book, the opinion will be very different from that of a child. Someone who has never left their country, might enjoy a book about jet setting while an actual jet setter might be very unimpressed with the same book. In my case, I’m not the hugest fan of romance (not at the moment, at least), so whenever I don’t write a favourable review, I do mention my reading preferences for context.
- Try to pick out at least one positive point to lessen the blow. Unless a book is beyond redemption, there’s bound to be something good about it. Perhaps the characters are of diverse ethnic origins, or the description of the setting helped you imagine things that went on. If I really can’t find anything at all that I liked, then I either avoid snark, or talk about the circumstances under which I got hold of that book. Talking about how I acquired the book at least adds a couple of lines that aren’t bogged down by negative sentiments.
Do you write negative book reviews? How do you approach them, if you do? And why don’t you write them, if you don’t?
Confab ˈkän-ˌfab, kən-ˈ noun an informal discussion, often about a particular topic
Discussion posts are some of my favourite posts to read. New ideas get shared that way, or old ideas are revisited and given a new spin. And of course, I get to be my opinionated self as I hoist my views upon others, while pretending to be objective. Or maybe not. I do welcome alternate views and I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
This is a great post!
I personally kind of hate snarky reviews, but I definitely agree that negative reviews are necessary. In some cases, a negative review might even be why I pick a book up, just out of sheer curiosity!
I try to balance my negative points out with at least a few positives, and I kind of write my reviews with the sort of advice you see relationship counsellors give in films – you know statements like “I felt you weren’t listening” rather than “You weren’t listening”. I always try to stress why something didn’t work for me personally, because it may work for someone else.
Great discussion post! I personally would love to see a few more negative reviews without the negativity!
Hi Faith! Thank you :) Well, snarky reviews can be funny and help reduce a reviewer’s frustration with particular books. Though if they border on mean, then I avoid reading those reviews. They just leave a bad taste in my mouth.
It’s great when negative reviews actually end up encouraging other readers to pick up books. After all, what one reader didn’t like (e.g. mushy romance), another reader might actively be seeking out in books.
This is a great post, Joséphine! I definitely try to do all the things you talk about when I write negative reviews. They are totally necessary, but just because they’re not positive doesn’t mean they have to be nasty! I have to admit that occasionally I like reading snarky reviews, if they’re funny, but I’m not somebody who writes them myself. And I think that there’s also a difference between snarky reviews and just out-right MEAN reviews. It’s a thin line, but I feel like some snarky reviews can be okay.
Thank you, Miranda! I felt it was an issue that I particularly wanted to address. I agree that snarky reviews can be very entertaining, and they do lighten the mood if someone really didn’t like a book. Though personally, I don’t really write those kind of reviews either. When I’m sarcastic and snarky, I can be extremely cutting, so I keep those off my reviews for the most part. And you’re right, mean reviews are never okay.
When I started my blog a few months ago I wasn’t going to write negative reviews. Since then I’ve changed this and I do include an occasional 1/2 star review on my blog, but they’re few and far in between.
Just found your blog through a link on another blog, and I’m now following you through bloglovin :)
Hi Finley Jayne! I can see why bloggers don’t want to include negative reviews, especially if they want to keep their blogs positive all the way.
And thank you for the follow :)
I’m not uber keen about negative reviews, and I definitely agree with your list. There’s a line where a negative review becomes bullying, and when a ‘review’ crosses that line, it upsets me.
I try to be as balanced as possible. I try to explain the reasons why I didn’t like it, because reading is a really emotional experience for me, I try to make it clear in a negative review why whatever happened in the book affected my emotions in a negative way.
You’re right that it’s good to lessen the blow, although sometimes there aren’t any redeeming qualities!
One thing I never do is say ‘this book is not worth picking up’. I think that’s unfair because every reader has different tastes and I don’t think anyone should be telling other people not what to read.
I can totally see why some people prefer not to review books they didn’t like. When there are no redeeming qualities, I do state that but not in a derogatory manner. As you said, straight up telling people not to pick up a book isn’t fair to anyone.
This is a really fantastic post Josephine, I do think negative reviews need to be approached cautiously without causing any sort of offense. I’ve since stopped tagging authors in 1-2 star reviews in an effort to be more sensitive to the issue. Will be sharing this one!
Thank you, Jeann! Yeah, I imagine that tagging authors for 1 & 2 star reviews is probably a touchy subject for authors. Our job is not to provide critique to improve their already published books.
I always try to bring in at least one positive when writing a negative review. I think it is important to have some semblance of balance if you can!
Yes, balance is good. Helps to approach book reviews fairly.
Very well put. I try to take into consideration the fact that just because I didn’t like a book, doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of other readers out there who will, and I try to find at least one good thing to say about the book. And you know, even if I don’t like a book, the author still got a book published, which is more than I’ll ever do!
Exactly! Sometimes even the reason I disliked a book is the very reason another person liked that book. Tastes are funny that way.
Negative book reviews are most definitely needing. The truth does not to be told when writing a review and if a book isn’t for you then it isn’t for you – that doesn’t mean that the next person who picks it up is going to feel the same way. That’s why negative reviews are needed, in my opinion. You’ve stated some very valid points in how to deal with writing negative reviews. I’ve read some reviews where people just go over the top and are cruel for cruelty sake – I think sometimes people forget another human being actually worked very hard on that book. There’s a difference between speaking your mind in a polite manner and then totally going over the top slating a book. In many respects, book reviews not only help authors in terms of promotion but at the same time they may well see them as constructive criticism, things they can then go and improve on.
I’m really enjoying your discussion posts of late!
:-)
Yes, you’re right! I also think that people sometimes forget that human beings just like them poured in a lot of time and effort into writing books. While considering the feelings of authors shouldn’t lead us to give less than stellar books wonderfully raving reviews, it is only prudent to remember that an author is behind a book when reviewing it negatively.
And thank you, Jade! :) I’m glad you’ve been enjoying my discussion posts. And I’m always happy to see your responses and what your opinions are as well :)
This is something that I’ve been thinking about for a while now, and I may do a post about if I remember. There are some people who make fun of the book in their reviews, as I’ve seen on Goodreads, and people love them, apparently. And I think that’s really mean, but it’s what people like. But the more people read that, the more people who would be turned off by the book. I think a bashing review is fine once in a while as long as it’s respectful, but respect is important in any encounter.
I’m glad it has been on your mind. I think it’s an important consideration everyone who reviews books need to take into account, regardless of where they do it, be it on blogs, Goodreads, Amazon or wherever else.
And you’re right, snarky reviews often receive a lot of likes, as do those empty reviews that don’t say anything beyond that they hated the book, followed by a GIFs overload. Since those are the ones that receive a lot of likes, the algorithm pushes these reviews up to be more visible. I’m always baffled when I look at books that have received more than 3.75 stars but all the “top” reviews are negative ones.
I agree with you, respect is important, no matter what.
I just had to write a few negative reviews in a row, and I always try to use that last point. I can always find something good about a book, even if it’s just to say that the writing was pretty (like with Second Star).
I don’t understand the whole “DNF but say you read the whole thing.” I didn’t know people actually did that! One of the first things I say in a review is how far I made it before I DNFed, and make a disclaimer that I may have missed something later on in the book that would have redeemed it.
I love how you phrase this, by the way: negative reviews without negativity. Seems like a pretty easy rule to blog by!
Or in some cases, the most beautiful cover that I can’t help but keep staring at. Hahaha.
It’s not all that prevalent on blogs, although I’ve seen it a couple of times. Usually that problem arise on Goodreads since there’s no DNF option, so a lot of time DNF books end up on read shelves, especially when GR users don’t bother setting up a DNF shelf for themselves.
Thank you, Kayla :) And I agree that it is a simple rule, even if bloggers like to keep saying there is no rule in blogging. Haha.