Don’t you just HATE star reviews?

Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand that a star review is used to show someone’s opinion, and that everyone is entitled to their own opinion (the cornerstone of free speech, even if it is vile); however, if someone has put their heart and soul into a piece of work (be it a book, a film, a song etc) then callously just squeezing that all down into a number of stars, seems highly inappropriate to me.

Personally, I’ve never been brave enough to enter the world of the public with something so close to my heart, so this blog post does not come from any vindictiveness, but purely an honest dislike. I do know that I would not like my work to be boiled down to a number of stars on a blog, or in a newspaper, or any other media.

I’ve seen them all: stars, books, numbers out of 10, numbers out of 5, faces, emojis, colours, Michelin stars, and I bet you can think of some others that you have seen, that I haven’t even mentioned!

Most books come from the heart and soul of the writer; they have created and tortuously pulled together this tomb through weeks, months and sometimes years of hard-work and dedication towards a final outcome. Then, when the finished trophy is ready for display, it is not hidden amongst the toilet credentials, but thrust out into the limelight for all to see and gaze upon, and, yes, comment upon. And, yes, healthy critique is definitely important, and can help people to grow and improve, but stars? That’s just rude. Imagine doing that on some child’s work. 2 stars…they’d either be in tears, or destroyed emotionally for a long time: quite the opposite of what we should do as teachers. You might, say that these works of art are created by adults and they are strong enough to take bad reviews. Yes, I would agree many adults are used to bad reviews and comments by the thousand if they are in the public eye, but this isn’t about negative comments, its about the injustice of a few stars coloured in and given instead of full review.

If you don’t like a book, say why, in full, so that the author can value your opinion and learn from it. Who ever learnt anything from a 1 star, apart from how to feel bad? I vow never to bow down the gods of pointless, eye-catching reviews, but to give my honest opinion in a more construct way.