Note that this review not only is completely unhelpful with just the single word "meh", leaving me nothing as an author to do to improve... but also that this review was from the kindle edition, which is FREE. ChrisP got a free copy of my book -- intentionally offered that way at a loss of income to both me and my publisher -- and took the time to come here and give a one-word, one-star review.

Seems quite reasonable to me really (though perhaps he'd be better off just ignoring that sort of feedback). I didn't spend long searching this so perhaps he's reacted worse elsewhere.

You probably think I should just "ignore the trolls" and you probably also think that anyone's negative expression is "freedom of speech" and that it shouldn't be countered.

I don't see it that way. The public ratings on my books are how a lot of people figure out if the books are worth looking at. No matter how legitimate or crazy a negative review may be, the one star hurts my overall rating exactly the same.

Furthermore, if I let a negative review go unanswered, I've lost an opportunity to show other readers a different perspective, and I've also lost the opportunity to (perhaps) engage in productive discussion that helps either that reviewer, or myself, or both, get better. Yes, this has actually happened before on a couple of occasions.

I don't think I'm reacting poorly by trying to find useful stuff even in the negative reviews. And I also don't think it's wrong to point out that unhelpful reviews are unhelpful.

I'm sorry this comes across as off-putting. But it's because I care so deeply about improving JS education through these books.