Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First, let me be clear I'm reviewing the smartshell case from Fintie. When I saw the number of negative reviews, I looked closer at those. It's obvious that being able to purchase different case models by clicking the appropriate model selection button, then buying that model, did one other thing. It dumped all the reviews for all those models into one review pool. So, if you start getting worried about the negatives, look at which model they're describing. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, the smartshell is a plastic shell case. If you've ever used a shell case for a smartphone, you've got a mental image of thin, smooth plastic covering the back and sides of the phone, there's not much protection, and the device sets into the shell. That fits how the paperwhite fits into this case. And that's where the comparison ends. This Fintie case is notably thicker plastic, so there's more protection. There's an attached front cover (also plastic) to protect the screen. Front and back are textured which makes the case look nicer than you'd expect and gives a good grip. Fintie claims this is the thinnest and lightest case for the paperwhite. If that's stretching the point, it's close to right. I'm not noticing a difference in weight and what little additional depth it adds actually makes the Kindle easier to hold. The cover is held closed by a magnet that doubles as a means of putting the Kindle in sleep mode. Both work well. The front cover can be folded back for one handed holding. The magnet doesn't accidentally put the paperwhite in sleep mode when the cover is folded back for reading. If, for some reason, you need or want to remove the Kindle from the case, starting from the tab where the magnet seems to be the best way to do it. The bottom button and charging port are exposed for access. At $11.99 US, it's only slightly higher than many other cases, three times cheaper than "official" cases, and light years ahead in style and protection. If I got a second paperwhite, I'd also get another Fintie smartshell.