Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am disappointed with my "new" kindle. My old one served me very well for years before the screen crumped. I had hoped to transfer the books - some of which were gifted or purchased from non -Amazon parties - to my "new" kindle. I was able to make the transfer but was unable to open them. In a chartoom exchange with an Amazon kindle service rep I was told only books obtained through Amazon can be accessed by my "new" kindle - unlike my "old" kindle. Thus I lost a series of books written by my son and purchased from Smashwords -a digital publishing outfit. I also lost other books gifted to me from non-Amazon sources. Very disappointed.