If you are on #librarytok, you may have seen the sensational trend #onestarreviewguesswho, made famous by two librarians at the Fowlerville District Library (@fowlervillelibrary). If you aren’t addicted to TikTok like me, follow #librarytok, or know what this is, I’ll let you know the premise: Two dedicated librarians find 1-star reviews of popular or classic titles, read them out loud, and then reveal the title in a different video. Most of the reviews are biting, witty, and hilarious. The fun is guessing what the book is based on the context clues from the reviews. They redact identifying information about the works, so you do have to think about what this book could be based on the venom-filled appraisals. 

So I am taking this idea and putting a little twist on it for this week’s Off the Shelf blog post. Read on to have some of your favorite reads ruined by Goodreads one-star reviewers. Or… have a chuckle and scream, “YEASSSS!” agreeing with these acrimonious evaluations. Then click the links at the end of each blurb for the reveal. 

You’re KID-ding Me! (Children’s Titles)

Our first title is a childhood favorite. So what do these reviewers say about it? 

Ash says:
Yeah, I never really did get all the hype on this one. Even as a child, I didn’t really like it, and now as an adult, I read it and think, “Is this supposed to make it seem okay to be a little tyrant?”

Fleegan writes:
The kid is a jerk and is sent to his room without supper. He proceeds to go to some magical place where these monsters live and he bosses them around and is mean to them. Then he gets back home…having not learned that being a mean jerk is wrong…and there on his table in his room is dinner…and it’s still warm. What’s the lesson here exactly? Hate the book.

Click here to find out this first title and see if you agree with these sentiments or wonder what’s wrong with these reviewers. 

The reviews of this second childhood title might just make you flinch.

Nunya Biznes thought they were getting a dark read:
I was looking for something grimdark, and so I picked it up. I have to say that I was disappointed. Oh, it started out grimdarky enough. I’ll give it that, but the ending totally ruined the grimdark vibe. Plus: The dog survives totally bummed me out.

And Ihavepets547 also laments about the happy ending:
Would not recomand [sic] to kids why you may ask well this book has a horrible ending. When I read this to my kindergarten class they cried. They were very sad at the fact that the [the main character] turned good. They are the types of kids that HATE happy endings. They were hoping that [the main character] ruined christmas [sic] and everyone would hate him but nooo you just gotta have a happy ending.

Do these readers need more joy in their lives, or are they right about this title? 

Many in my generation might take issue with the evaluations of this next one. 

Kest Schwartzman doesn’t mince words with their review:
This is one of those picture books that gets worse (for the adult) with each reading, creating this inverse relationship between how much the child likes the book and how much the adult likes the book. Hope your child does not like the book.

Benjamin Page hated the book so much they complained of the high-quality construction:
In a book about the alphabet, one letter stood out above all: F. The author succeeded in steering clear of all but the most minor of conflicts, any trace of controversy, and the reader’s interest…. Sadly, the book is very well constructed, which means my child will not quickly destroy it. I’m sure the colors will enrapture him for a few months. 

And Matthias Everhope just feels existential dread:
An exercise in futility. The letters go up, they fall back down, too ill-informed to understand that the tree cannot support them all. Why? This book is existential purgatory and not a fun or meaningful way to learn the alphabet!

Think you know what this beloved book is? Click here to find out. 

Not So MIDDLE of the Road (Middle-Grade Reads)

This first title for grade-schoolers is one of my favorites. But not so much for these reviewers. 

Blair wonders about missing details:
Part of the way through this book I started wondering if the secret of writing a book for children is in the careful deletion of details….The author… performs a literary tesseract (to use a term from the book) again and again. When the author wants to get from here to there, she merely brings the two together and, presto, it is done.

And Heather T thinks there’s too much…
.5 stars. I hated it. The book tried WAY to [sic] hard to shove English, Math, Science, Foreign Languages…etc down my throat…. I’ve read some bad books, but as of this moment, this one is the worst. I’ll forgive a book if it’s not well written, but entertaining, or if it’s boring and lacks a plot that grabs me, but was well written. This was neither…

Can you guess what this title is? Click here to see if you are correct. 

Now, you have to promise that you won’t be mad at me for this next book. Remember that I’m just the humble messenger. 

Todd Martin says:
Sort of a creepy childhood revenge fantasy. Rather lame – though it may provide hate-filled pre-adolescents with some consolation. 

And Kitty was not impressed with the plot at all:
Super bright kid is bullied, so she stoops to their level, bullies them back, and then magically gets the living situation of her dreams? No. Not even remotely entertaining. Why is this a classic? This is a dark little waste of my time.

Do those change your opinion of this beloved classic?

Peoples Choice? (Adult Favorites)

For our first adult title, these reviewers don’t understand what the hype has been about for this BookTok favorite. 

Shanna (shannasaurus_rex_reads) sure is asking that question:
Quick One Sentence Summary: [this book] is a contemporary romance masked as a fantasy, filled with a checklist of tropes, flat characters, a nonsensical plot, lazy and cheap world building, and cringey dialogue.

Sarah Swanson is also questioning her life choices in picking up this popular title:
If I had a million dollars for every cliche in this book, of which there are a multitude, I’d still regret spending $20 on all 498 pages of this mess.… As for the dialogue, let’s discuss the fact that everyone talks like it’s 2023, despite the medieval setting. I’m not kidding, the female character asks herself at least twice, using these exact words, “Is it toxic that I like this guy even though he can kill me?” Yes. Yes it is. And so is all this internal monologuing. Please, end my suffering.

Ouch! That was brutal. Have you picked up this blockbuster title yet? Click here to see. 

Finally, we take a look at another classic work that’s stood the test of time but not the test of these reviewer’s tastes. 

Kelly Brigid ♡ writes:
I haven’t had the pleasure of reading the worst book in my life, until this. Thank you, [author]… Unfortunately, I did not find one thing I liked in this book, except that [the main character] finally died in the end, ending my misery of reading his constant whining and fainting. This book literally bored me to the point of sleep. I really tried to find something enjoyable in this book, but just couldn’t. I would’ve thrown this book into an incinerator if I wasn’t required to read it for school. It was that bad. 

But for Carrie, there is at least one other book that is worse than this one:
Second worst book I’ve ever read. Dude creates a monster just bEcAuSe and then just leaves??? And then everything goes wrong and he’s surprised???? Pull it together [main character] 

Those were savage for one of my favorite pieces of literature ever. Click here to see if you’ve read this work and agree with me or these two critics. 

Tell Us How You Really Feel…

Do you have a one-star review you’re dying to give? Did you know that you can review titles through our library catalog? You can by logging into your account, searching the title, clicking on your star rating, and leaving a review. Then, click on “Recommended For You,” to see recommendations and reviews from others to find your next read. 

Thank goodness it takes all kinds of readers. This is one of my favorite things about public libraries. They have something for everyone, and as the old adage says, one person’s trash is another one’s treasure. What treasure will you find on your next visit? 

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