Today’s review comes from the award-winning Lisa Yee. (Be sure to check out her new YA book, Absolutely Maybe—oh, and if you live in the L.A. area, you can hang with her this Sunday at 2pm at Skylight Books, where she’ll be moderating a “Pardon My Youth” book club discussion of Judy Blundell’s What I Saw and How I Lied. WOO!)This is yet another typo-riddled missive from the Amazon.com review files, and kind of begs the questions: How do you feel about reviews on booksellers’ sites? Are they useful? Do they sway you to make the purchase, or dissuade you from doing so? I wanna know! But first…Lisa’s review:
ONE STAR
milli mouse
By A Customer
“this book has perhaps crossed a line. maybe a book as shallow has been invented, you havent read it, cause it doesnt exist. it was as sluggish and definetly not straight. full of stereo types, this book fades into dust”
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When and where did this review appear?
This appeared on Amazon.com on September 3, 2003. It’s still there. I know. I checked.
How did you happen upon the review?
It was my debut novel and I was logging into Amazon.com every five minutes waiting to see if anyone would post a review.
How did you feel immediately after reading/watching the review?
I wanted to throw up. This was my very first review . . . ever, and I was convinced it was the beginning of the end of my writing career.
Did you do anything in response to the review?
Yes. I got seriously depressed, contemplated giving up writing, and wondered if I could get my old job back, if I begged. I also called Arthur Levine, my editor, and unloaded all my insecurities and anxieties.
If you did something in response, how do you feel about said reaction in retrospect?
In hindsight, I am sure Arthur thought I was being a flakey overwrought newbie. However, being a professional, he hid that, and assured me that the review didn’t mean anything. That others loved the book and that some people were just mean and liked to see themselves in print.
What other steps did you take in an effort to assuage your pain?
I can’t recall, but I am sure chocolate was involved.
How long did it take you to get over the pain and humiliation of the review (assuming you got over it)?
Six years and five novels later, I still haven’t recovered.
What, if anything, positive came from receiving your WORST…REVIEW…EVER?
It humbled me, and made me insanely grateful for the positive reviews and accolades that followed.
Anything you’d like to add?
I don’t understand why people feel the need to be evil when they review books. I mean, sure, if you really dislike a book, then that’s your opinion, but do you really have to go in for the kill? And when you’re anonymous, well, that’s just cowardly.
Go, Lisa! Again, I ask what sort of an impression these types of reviews (especially when written by wimpy anonymous people) make on your purchase—and of course you’re also invited to rate the hate as follows:
1 star = That wasn't so bad
2 stars = Yeah, that would hurt
3 stars = Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
4 stars = Beyond harsh, cruel, and unusual punishment
5 stars = Definitely the WORST. REVIEW. EVER.
14 comments:
That's harsh. I read this book and loved it. And I hate anonymous stuff like that.
anonymous reviews, good or bad, don't make much of an impact on me.
On Amazon, I stay clear from the 5 and 1 star reviews. I generally read the 3,4 star ones.
I wouldn't pay too much attention to anonymous reviews. If they are too ashamed to add their name to something, they're not worth reading. It was hard understanding their review.
"Stereo types"?
Oh, it's just such a sad, poorly written "review" that I bet Lisa'd be able to ignore it today. As a first EVER review, though, I'm sure it totally stung. Ouch.
Most normal people say, "Oh this is such a badly-written review, no one should pay any attention to it," but the writer always thinks "Oh man, if someone with such horrible grammar thinks it's bad, what will a literate person think!" Or maybe that's just what I think when my books get those kinds of reviews! :)
fwiw, I adored MILLICENT MIN and its sequels!!
I don't understand why someone would post such an unattractive review like that, both visually and figuratively, for such a wonderful book. Ignore them, Lisa: your books are great!
If a person is anonymous, it means they're too chickened to be confronted. Yes, I'm signing anonymous because I do not have a blog account! HA!
-Sandy
If it helps--I only read the best reviews, not the one and two stars--I want to see what readers LIKED about a book.
I'm especially sorry this happened to Millicent Min. I had read the revision notes Cheryl Klein shared on her website, and intended to read the book as a case study, seeing if I could break down exactly what worked with the writing, etc.--and I got so involved in the story, I couldn't do it! Great read--have recommended it to others.
Oh wow. Do people not understand how hard it is to write a book? And seriously it's so subjective. For every book I don't like, there are ten friends of mine who love it, and vice versa.
I got sent here by a Tweet from Boston Book Girl. Great blog.
Any cruel attack like this "review" will hurt, and I winced when I read it. But it does help to consider the source. Even a prestigious reviewer is only telling you about himself. You get something harsh in the New Yorker, you know pretentious, Rolex-wearing Manhattanites might not be your audience. You get something harsh from an illiterate troll like this one and all it really tells you is that the illiterate troll community is probably not your demographic.
(But isn't it nice that trolls, like Nigerian scammers, so kindly announce themselves with bad grammar and inscrutable syntax?)
I wanted to post as myself, but they don't seem to allow my Google account here. Very odd.
Anne R. Allen
About reviews on booksellers sites:
They do influence my judgement, but not neccesarily in the direction that the review itself leans.
Often it is actually the negative reviews that make me realise that its a book I will enjoy. For example - its clear that they are just not into the genre.
Your book isn't shallow at all! Trust me I've reaad plenty of shallow books.
Anyone who doesn't punctuate or know how to spell the word 'definitely' shouldn't be paid too much attention. This person should go be encouraged to go back to re-reading Twilight.
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