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I do not feel comfortable reviewing fanfiction because of how it is made.
Here are a few reasons why:
Now I'm not saying people behind fanfiction are unworthy of my time. What I am saying is that the creative team behind, say, the latest Stephen King novel and the latest The Avengers fanfiction are completely different. At least for the majority of the time.
When a King novel is made, Stephen King writes the story. While he is writing, there is a research team that helps him get his facts correct. How do I know this? At the end of Under the Dome, for instance, he thanks the head of his research team.
After the novel is written there is an editor that tells him what changes should be made. This can range from correcting grammar to changing the entire ending of a book.
So before getting published, a Stephen King novel has many opportunities for someone to tell King, "Wait...are you sure you should do this? This doesn't seem like a good idea."
What does is the average fanfiction creative team like?
One person and maybe a beta reader (aka, something similar to an editor) go over the fic. So the creative team is much smaller for the most part. Mind you I'm not counting fics where two or more fanfic authors collaborate on a fic.
There are some fanfics that have their own fandoms. Hell, My Immortal (the infamous Harry Potter fic) has its own web series which I highly recommend you check out. But for every My Immortal, there are thousands of fics with only a few people enjoying them.
With a novel by Stephenie Meyer or Michael Crichton, however, there is a higher chance that more people will read them. More people will read them and be influenced by what is written in them. Now I am not saying just because you like books like Hannibal (Thomas Harris) that you will start killing and eating people. But to deny that fiction doesn't affect anyone's psyche is to deny fact. It can affect people to buy products or support a cause. Hell, it might even influence kids to choose a certain profession.
This is why the 'relationship' in Twilight is so bothersome: it's because there is a more likely chance that people will feel Edward and Bella's 'love' is what they should aim for.
But if you're an average fanfic writer you don't have that much influence. Sure some readers may take your fic as what life is about, but there is less chances that your bad decisions will have harmful consequences.
This isn't to say you shouldn't care about what you write, but that if you mess up it's not that big of a deal in the long run.
And the final big reason I probably won't ever review fanfiction is this: you get to read fanfiction for free. You don't have to pay anything to read an entire work of fanfiction, no matter how long it is. It could be as long, or longer, than the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy and you wouldn't have to pay a cent.
But with a novel like Divergent (Veronica Roth) or Harry Potter (JK Rowling) you have to pay money. You don't just waste time if you don't like a novel, you waste money. So if I review something I don't like, I'm hoping you'll consider my opinion so you don't waste your money.
I may complain about certain fanfictions, but I won't sit down and write a formal review. In other words: I may feel like I need to get my feelings out, but I'm not going to put my recommendation whether to read it or not on my blog.
So am I saying that no one should review fanfiction? No, I'm merely saying why I am not. You are free to review what you want in whatever manner you want.
However, please remember those three points when you do. Fanfiction should be judged as it is and not judged like a Thomas Harris or Suzanne Collins novel.
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