The blogger behind the B’Tween Prose young adult book review blog gave The Redheaded Stepchild a thoughtful review this week while I was working in Miami and trying to find any spare minute to hit the beach.
Be sure to pop over and check out the review, and leave a comment or two on the blog. Book bloggers are the lifeblood of our community!
Leave a Comment I knew the day would come when I got my first bad review for The Redheaded Stepchild. That day happened to come today, which was also my first day back in the office after vacation, and the day that Peyton Manning signed with the Denver Broncos. Blech!
Because I knew this day would come, I’ve done some reading up on how best to deal with negative reviews and how to cope with them. We writers are a sensitive bunch, and it’s hard to not take these kinds of things personally. Luckily for me, my bad review was pretty mild as far as bad reviews go. The guy (or girl, but I’m pretty convinced it was a dude) who wrote the review could have ripped on the writing, on me personally, or on the character’s personal lives, but he/she didn’t. Really, the book just wasn’t the person’s cup of tea.
To be honest, it was actually much less soul-sucking than the “Dear Author, After carefully reviewing your work we find it does not meet our needs at this time. Good luck.” letters I could line a litter box (if I had a cat) with several times over. I know my book’s not going to be for everybody. I’m in good company – all the top selling authors have a few God-awful reviews under their belts. So what am I going to do about it? Not a damn thing. Except listen to Radiohead, eat a whole pint of Blue Bell Orange Dream, look at some pictures of cute baby animals, and move on.
And hey, my bad review sold me two books today. Could be worse right? They say it’s even good to have a few not-so-great reviews. People like balance, and a book with all fantastic reviews is a little misleading. Makes it look like all the author’s friends ganged up and told everyone how much awesome sauce was smeared over the book, not that they’re biased or anything. So, now I can say I don’t know all my Amazon reviewers and they’re not all what you’d consider “mom reviews”. Though my mom didn’t like the book, so that doesn’t apply in my case.
3 CommentsMaybe it’s just because I’m a Negative Nancy, but I fully expected my first review from someone I didn’t know to be completely negative. This morning, I woke up to find a link to this review tweeted on the Twitters:
I was only 4 pages into The Redheaded Stepchild by Kelly Hitchcock when I felt my blood pressure ease up and the knot in my stomach dissipate from having read and reviewed a particularly unreadable book of short stories that should have been written in invisible ink. Thank you Kelly, for reminding me that yes, there are amazing writers left in the world.
When I was 70% through it I’d found 4 typos. Ruined the whole thing for me. Nooooo, I’m kidding. There were 4, but this is the kind of writing, that distracts you from the typos instead of the other way around. Hitchcock’s power of observation is phenomenal and she has mastered the art of articulating the minute details of human behavior that most of us perceive only subliminally if at all.
I don’t think I’ve published enough reviews to expose myself as the harsh critic that I am, so you probably don’t realize the magnitude of the compliment I’m bestowing on this writer.
Here are just two examples of the many gems that delighted me:
…”It took him almost a year before he was able to give Katrina a hug, and even that was like watching a walking stick try to hug a caterpillar.”
…”my mother’s car looked as though it had been through menopause twice…”
The Redheaded Stepchild is a beautifully written coming of age story for readers of any age. The characters are multifaceted and well-drawn, the voice refreshingly unique, and the story poignant, hilarious, and horrifying all at once. And, as if the author doesn’t already attack all of our senses with her uncanny eye for detail, she adds a disjointed timeline as she jumps back and forth to the pivotal events that define her protagonist. We are fascinated by this because she does it deftly and because she innately understands that we are all the sum of the best and worst events of our lives, events that have no need to be told in chronological order.
Bravo! Kelly Hitchcock is definitely an author to follow for years to come. I wish I could give this novel 10 stars. Redundantly, I affirm that I am a fan.
I’m just… wow. If I only ever get this one amazingly glowing review for The Redheaded Stepchild, I won’t care, because my work truly touched someone I didn’t know from anyone. Not that I didn’t love my handwritten letter on pansy bordered stationery, but coming from a stranger it’s a different feeling. I really hope I can continue to inspire people with my literary work.
Also, I fully intend to hunt down those 4 typos.
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