Five Controversial Book Review Words

I’ve been thinking recently about five words used in book reviews and the (sometimes unintended) controversy they can provoke. Words that to some people might seem complimentary or neutral, but to someone else…

… they’re fighting words.

We can probably all agree that words like “boring” or “fantastic” or “amazing” or “pretentious” are pretty clear-cut, but I’ve also been noticing a few words book reviewers use that seem to stir up a lot of controversy. Or at least make you wonder: was that intentional shade?

Five Controversial Book Review Words:

Trope: I love discussing tropes in books. I use the term “trope” to refer to a type of narrative that’s familiar to most people. Like a hate-to-love relationship or a rags-to-riches storyline. There are tropes I like and tropes I personally dislike or even find offensive. But some people seem to perceive the word “trope” itself as derogatory no matter what the context. (Merriam Webster calls a trope a “common or overused theme or device” so that just adds to the confusion.) Is “overused” a bad thing? Are there even any original ideas left out there? And, most importantly, can there ever be too many hate to love plots? Me: no way!

Here’s a book that I found tropes in and still loved!

Predictable: This is another word that’s tricky. Is calling a story “predictable” a negative? I guess it all depends on the genre you’re reading and what you’re looking for in a book. I will admit to describing stories as predictable while still liking them. To me, predictable means that I, personally, was successfully able to predict what was going to happen. But that doesn’t mean someone else won’t find the same story completely surprising. Or that a predictable story (like a HEA romance) can’t be utterly enjoyable at the same time.

Here’s an example of a book I found predictable and enjoyed a lot!

Unlikeable:  Calling a character “unlikeable” could mean that character was appropriately unlikeable in the context of the story. It could mean that while you enjoyed the story and found the character compelling and well-written, you wouldn’t want to be friends with them in real life.  It could mean that you couldn’t stand the character AT ALL. I think some of the most interesting and compelling characters are unlikeable, so I don’t necessarily see this as an insult. But opinions vary!

Here’s a book with a main character a lot of people found unlikeable, but I absolutely loved!

Unrealistic:  Another very subjective word, and one which I don’t use often in reviews. Still, I will argue that saying something is unrealistic is NOT necessarily saying it is inaccurate. Calling something “unrealistic” in a story usually just means that one individual person didn’t find something plausible as described in the story and when compared to their own life experience. It doesn’t mean that another person might see the exact same thing as believable and authentic.

Here’s a trope (ha!) that’s pretty unrealistic … but I love it!

Young: This is another word that some YA readers and authors can feel touchy about. From time to time I do highlight a book as “young YA” not as criticism, but as a way to a) tell adult readers of YA that the narrative voice or themes or plot felt a little on the young side for me and b) let parents know that the book might be a great option for advanced middle grade readers ready to delve into YA. I just read a great article about this called Where Are the Books For Tweens? If you’re looking for books for readers like this, you’re in luck, as I am preparing a list for later this week!

Hope you enjoyed my line-up of some controversial words in book reviews. As a reader or reviewer or reader of reviews (or all three!) how do you feel about these reviewing words? Do you use them? Avoid them?  Are there other words that get you in a fighting mood?

Tell me in comments!