An Antisemitic Troll Tanked my GoodReads Rating

... and why that really matters

Well, isn’t this lovely.

In my upcoming novel Blank (coming out March 1st, pre-order here), a former bestselling author Pippa Jones is struggling with what to write for her second book. She’s so worried about the reviews and what readers and the industry will think of her, that she can barely write a word. (She’s also worried about her husband’s hair loss, but I digress.)

I just checked GoodReads to see if any reviews had come in yet for Blank.

The GoodReads rating is really important. It’s between 0 and 5 stars, with 5 being the highest (not sure anyone ever gets that — goals). A lot of potential readers and reviewers use the number as a benchmark. One well-respected media outlet I know adds the GoodReads rating to all books they could potentially cover and only selects those with higher scores.

The number’s importance is why you’ll hear authors say, “Please leave a GoodReads review!” It’s not because they’re really interested in your analysis of their work. (I mean, they probably are but…) It’s really so authors can help raise their scores, affect their algorithm, and get their book shown to new readers.

Also, the number of reviews alone signals how much attention the industry is paying to a book. If someone is considering buying a book and it has 16 reviews versus 834, which one do you think they’ll be more likely to spend their hard-earned money on?

So I did. I looked at the Blank community reviews.

My rating was a 4.47. Not terrible, but not as good as I’d hoped. Only 19 reviews, but okay, fine, still early.

I mined the data. 13 of the reviews were 5 stars!! Yes! 4 were 4 stars. One was only 3 stars. I mean, I’m not sure this guy Gydeon was my exact target audience anyway.

Why was his average rating only a 2.89? Why do people go on GoodReads just to give terrible ratings? Maybe he’s reading the wrong books for him. I could’ve told him that.

But then my jaw dropped. I had a 1 star rating. Who would do such a thing!? I clicked.

The person who gave me a 1 star review categorized it as “Zionist-racist.” Also, “blah.” Meanie.

I reported the troll for breaching community standards on the GoodReads site (echo echo echo):

“This user gave me a 1-star review became she was being antisemitic. She shelved it as Zionist-racist. And then ruined my rating. (Note that 80%+ of her reviews are 1-star reviews.) My book had literally zero racist undertones. She knows that I'm Jewish and tried to ruin my rating as a result. This is discrimination based on my religion. She should be banned from GoodReads and her ratings should be deleted.”

This is not fair. And this is likely only the beginning for many of us. On Monday night while I was dealing with a crisis with one of my kids, a massive anti-Israel demonstration snaked up First Avenue a couple blocks away, with a helicopter accompaniment. A 43-year-old mother and her 17-year-old daughter got harassed by the group while unloading groceries, called names, worse.

Yesterday, a policeman was run over — on purpose! — right outside my window. My daughter and I had our noses pressed to the glass as we stood on the window ledge illuminated by dozens of flashing red lights. I couldn’t even leave to go to the book events I had planned. The driver of the car was a pro-Palestinian woman. My team had to head to the subway in groups on high alert knowing that two other men were on the loose.

I don’t post about this every day. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think about it. All the attacks, the protests, all of it, slide into my subconscious. I was so upset after the attempted murder across the street that all I could do was stare. How much closer could it get? Where was safe? Same questions for months now.

In the grand scheme of things, does a single 1-star rating matter? Of course not. Not even in the not-so-grand scheme of things.

But it’s the point. The intentional smearing of reputation. The intention of harm.

Yes, Pippa Jones, my main character is Jewish. Her son is preparing for his bar mitzvah. The tutor’s dog’s name is Dayenu. It is what it is.

And I know it isn’t 1 star.

We need screenings on GoodReads reviewers, especially now.

Pippa and I are not happy.

Public service announcement: if you’re browsing through GoodReads and see somone intentionally sabotaging someone else, tell GoodReads. Take screenshots. Block the person. If you see something, say something.

And remember, 13 5-star reviewers can’t be wrong.

If you’ve read an advance copy of Blank (out March 1st, pre-order here) and enjoyed it or want to support me, please leave a GoodReads review. Let’s try to get the average back up. Let’s try to stay safe.

---

FYI, I added more Zibby-verse tour spots!

(Have to get three more links up. Tomorrow! Falling asleep.)

Register here: zibbyevents.ticketleap.com.

U.S.

Arizona

Phoenix, AZ 

Tucson, AZ

California

La Jolla, CA

Los Altos, CA

Los Angeles, CA

Palm Springs, CA

Santa Monica, CA

Colorado

Denver, CO

Connecticut

Darien, CT

Greenwich, CT

Florida

Coral Gables, FL

Palm Beach, FL

Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Georgia,

Atlanta, GA

Hawaii

Lihue, HI

Illinois

Chicago, IL

Indiana

Bloomington, IN

Massachusetts

Nantucket, MA

Newton Centre, MA

Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN

Missouri

Kansas City, MO

New Jersey

Montclair, NJ

New York

Bedford, NY

Bridgehampton, NY

East Hampton, NY

New York, NY

Scarsdale, NY

Southampton, NY

North Carolina

Asheville, NC

Ohio

Dayton, OH

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

Rhode Island

Watch Hill, RI

South Carolina

Charleston, SC

Tennessee

Nashville, TN

Texas

Houston, TX

Virginia

Richmond, VA

Irvington, VA

Washington, DC

Canada

Toronto