Happy Friday and happy February, everyone!
Today I’m doing a discussion on books where I disagree with the Goodreads rating. I have some books with high ratings that I disagree with, and books with low ratings that I feel deserve more love.
Overall high ratings
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Goodreads rating: 4.24
My rating: 3 stars
This book was a solid fine for me. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as great as everyone says. I know SO MANY people who gave this book 5 stars, but I just didn’t think it was all that amazing.
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Goodreads rating: 4.18
My rating: 1 star, DNF
We already know this, but I hate this book. I hated the characters and I couldn’t get through the first few chapters. It was just really rough.
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Goodreads rating: 4.09
My rating: 2 stars
This was another fine but not great book. I wasn’t a fan of the characters, the plot didn’t really interest me, the racism was questionable. But I thought it was an accurate representation of a high school relationship.
Overall low(er) ratings
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
Goodreads rating: 3.63
My rating: 5 stars
This is mainly a nostalgia rating, and I bet if I were to reread these books, they wouldn’t get such a high rating. That being said, I WILL defend these books as Not As Trashy As They Seem, because they honestly have some great feminist vibes that I feel are overlooked.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Goodreads rating: 3.69
My rating: 5 stars
I’m actually surprised to see this has such a low average rating. I haven’t read this book in almost a decade, and yet I still remember so much of it. I think it has a super interesting look at ethics and medical ethics, and I remember being really touched by it.
Nothing by Janne Teller
Goodreads rating: 3.75
My rating: 5 stars
This is such a polarizing book. Either you love it or you hate it. I was on the loving it side because I think it’s SO interesting and one of those books that’s supposed to make you think, not supposed to be fun.
So, those are the books! What are your thoughts? Have you read any of these? Do you agree with me or Goodreads? Are any on your TBR? Are there any books where you disagree with the Goodreads rating? Let me know!
Ally Writes Things 
I love your discussion topic! I’ve never been I interested in reading a John Green book.
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Thank you!! That’s totally fair lol, I think they’re very hit or miss
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Great discussion post! I haven’t read any of these but I do tend to disagree with Goodreads ratings especially over hyped up books!
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Thank you!!! And yes, I totally agree with you about hyped books!
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I agree with you sooooo much on The Fault in Our Stars! I thought it was quite mediocre, although I definitely seem to be in the minority there. I really liked Eleanor & Park when I read it, but it was quite a while ago and I read it more for the fluff so I didn’t notice a lot of the issues. I’d probably like it much less reading it today.
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Yay, so glad I’m not alone!! It wasn’t bad, I just also didn’t think it was as great as everyone says.
That’s totally fair! I didn’t notice most of the problematic things when I read it either, but it still didn’t click with me. Like I thought it was fine, but I also didn’t get emotional or anything?
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I was so obsessed with John Green in high school, so I definitely have rated TFIOS 5 stars. But I haven’t read it since, so I’m really interested to see how I would feel now, because I’ve really grown as a reader since.
This is such a great topic too!
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Thank you!
I initially rated it five stars too, and then reflected on it and decided it wasn’t five stars for me. But I know a lot of people who love it too!
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Isn’t it funny when you come across majority reviews that are so different than yours? I think, to this day, the most shocking one for me was King by TM Frazier. So many people love that book and I was horrified by it, I ended up DNFing it by, like, chapter 8.
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It’s always so weird!! There are some books where I’m like “yes this is perfect!” and when I read the reviews, I’m like “oh I clearly missed something”
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Totally agree with Fault in our Stars and All the Bright Places, I dont like them nearly as much as everyone else! This is such a good post idea too, I’m keen to see what books my ratings differ from on Goodreads 🙂
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Yes, I just don’t get it!!
You totally should!
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I really agree about TFIOS- I just didn’t think it was as brilliant as everyone said it was going to be. And I felt the same way about eleanor and park. Great post!
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Exactly! It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as amazing as everyone says. And so glad you agree! Thank you 🙂
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Interesting post, I am going to try and remember the books that I had completely different ratings for because there certainly have been some!
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Thank you!! You definitely should, I’d be so interested in seeing!
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Most of the time I mostly agree with the Goodreads ratings. The exceptions would be when there are very few ratings. Then I find them higher than what I would rate. If a book has a few thousand ratings, the rating is more accurate and more reflective of my opinion.
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That’s good! And I totally agree, the fewer the ratings, the higher the overall rating
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