Review Detail

VALENTINES ARE THE WORST! is a delightful new adventure for Gilbert the Goblin, as he learns about love and friendship. Gilbert hates Valentine's Day - and also the cupids with perfect hair who support the holiday. When they chase him with their love arrows, he nearly escapes. Accidentally pricked by one of his cacti, Gilbert thinks a love arrow got him - and celebrates the holiday with all his friends.

What I loved: Like the others in the series, this one does a great job of telling the story from Gilbert's perspective, giving extra context and personality to his story. A lot happens in the illustrations, and they are fabulously drawn and colored with lots of emotion and silliness. Readers are easily drawn into his world and his general misery.

However, the plot takes this to an even funnier place, where he thinks he has been pricked by a love arrow, but the reader knows that he was not. He finds that he does love spending the holiday with his friends (from past books) and his sock slugs, even after the love spell has worn off. With readers getting extra information and insight, they will feel like they are in on the secret and see the humor in the juxtaposition.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, unlike in the other books, Gilbert does not have an epiphany, learning about his mistake or that he actually does like this thing. While the reader realizes that he does love on his own, the lack of his own epiphany felt like it was missing from the end.

Final verdict: VALENTINES ARE THE WORST! is a comical and delightful story about Valentine's day that is sure to charm young readers. Highly recommend picking this one (and the whole series) up!