Review - Unicorns Are the Worst!

Unicorns Are the Worst!
by Alex Willan
Date: 2020
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

Perfect for fans of Dragons Love Tacos and Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great, this wildly funny and imaginative picture book celebrates the value of differences as a grumpy goblin gets to know his new unicorn neighbors.

It’s an undeniable fact that unicorns are the worst!

Magic is serious business, but all unicorns do is frolic around, have tea parties, and leave glitter all over the place! They’re nothing like goblins—practical and hard-working, who can put magic to good use! Unicorns aren’t helpful at all.

Or are they?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

There's not really anything objectively wrong with this. I just didn't find it that exciting. Basically, a jealous goblin explains all the reasons why unicorns are the worst, only to have to eat his words when the unicorns save his bacon from a dragon.

Stereotypes and commercial tropes about unicorns are heavily employed here (down to the glitter... and I have a feeling the print version of this book is very sparkly). These unicorns are basically frivolous horses with horns who like to play harps and have tea parties. If that kind of unicorn is your thing, you might like this one.

I'd probably only recommend this to die-hard unicorn fans. There's not much of a story, and the goblin's whining gets old after the first few pages.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.33 out of 5

Review - The Log Goblin

The Log Goblin
by Brian Staveley
Date: 2015
Publisher: Tor Books
Reading level: A
Book type: short story
Pages: 12
Format: e-book
Source: Tor.com

On a cold winter's night, a goblin is caught stealing firewood. Then things start getting weird.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I don't know. This story didn't really thrill me. It's extremely short, and while it did establish a good setting and painted the character of the goblin fairly well, there wasn't that much plot. The whole thing reads more like a scene from a story rather than a whole story.

I guess the point is about appreciating the little things and living in the moment. Still, I would've liked a bit more plot to help flesh things out.

Quotable moment:

I caught him the next night. I stayed up late, waiting inside until full dark, then pulling on my coat and boots to go stand guard. It was cold enough that the snow squeaked. The stars were knife-sharp. I waited with my hands stuffed in my pockets, shivering and feeling foolish. I was about to head inside when I heard him coming, huffing and cursing and muttering as he made his way up out of the woods, struggling through the deep drifts toward my shed.

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 4/5
Writing & Editing: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall Rating: 2.86 out of 5 ladybugs