Writing a book review is something that can be done with every novel. Book reviews can apply to all novels, no matter the genre. Some genres may be harder than others. On the other hand, the book review format remains the same. Take a look at these step-by-step instructions from our professional writers to learn how to write a book review in-depth.
- What is the plot of the book? Understanding the plot enables you to write an effective review.
- Is the plot gripping? Does the plot make you want to continue reading the novel? Did you enjoy the plot? Does it manage to grab a reader’s attention?
- Are the writing techniques used by the author effective? Does the writer imply factors in-between the lines? What are they?
- Are the characters believable? Are the characters logical? Does the book make the characters are real while reading?
- Would you recommend the book to anyone? The most important thing: would you tell others to read this book? Is it good enough? Is it bad?
- What could be better? Keep in mind the quotes that could have been presented better. Criticize the writer.
Create an essay outline which includes all of the main points you wish to summarise in your book analysis. Include information about the characters, details of the plot, and some other important parts of your chosen novel. Reserve a body paragraph for each point you wish to talk about.
Book reviews are assigned to allow students to present their own opinion regarding the author’s ideas included in the book or passage. They are a form of literary criticism that analyzes the author’s ideas, writing techniques, and quality. A book analysis is entirely opinion-based, in relevance to the book. They are good practice for those who wish to become editors, due to the fact, editing requires a lot of criticism.
How to Write a Book Review: Step-By-Step
You may prosper, “what is a book review?”. Book reviews are commonly assigned students to allow them to show a clear understanding of the novel. And to check if the students have actually read the book. The essay format is highly important for your consideration, take a look at the book review format below.
- Introduction
- Describe the book cover and title.
- Include any subtitles at this stage.
- Include the Author’s Name.
- Thesis
- Write a brief description of the novel.
- Briefly introduce the main points of the body in your book review.
- Avoid mentioning any opinions at this time.
- Body
- Use about 3 quotations from the author’s novel.
- Summarise the quotations in your own words.
- Mention your own point-of-view of the quotation.
- Remember to keep every point included in its own paragraph.
- Conclusion
- In brief, summarize the quotations.
- In brief, summarize the explanations.
- Finish with a concluding sentence.
- This can include your final opinion of the book.
- Star-Rating (Optional).
The book review format includes an introduction, body, and conclusion.
A book review allows students to illustrate the author's intentions of writing the piece, as well as create a criticism of the book — as a whole. In other words, form an opinion of the author's presented ideas. Check out this guide from EssayPro — top essay writing service to learn how to write a book review successfully.
When choosing which book review elements to mix and match, you can also decide whether to include a header for each section (like Plot, Characterization, Writing, etc). Headers make reviews easier to browse, but they may not have the professional, essay-style look that you’re going for.
Some book reviewers have a go-to book review template. Others have a different one for each genre, while another group doesn’t use a template at all and just reacts to whatever each book brings up.
Usually a book review starts with some basic information about the book. What you consider basic information, though, is up for interpretation! Consider what you and your audience will think is important. Here are some ideas:
This post offers a variety of book reviews elements that you can mix and match to create a book review template that works for you. Before you get started, though, there are some questions worth addressing.
Will you be using the same template every time?
An Instagram book review will likely look different from a blog book review. Consider which platform you will be using for your book review. You can adapt it for different platforms, or link to your original review, but it’s a good starting point. Instagram reviews tend to be a lot shorter than blog reviews, for instance.
- Quick/initial thoughts (often while reading or immediately after reading), then a more in-depth review (common on Goodreads)
- A list of facts about the book or a character from the book
- Book club questions about the book
- Spoiler/non-spoiler sections
- Research: look up interviews with the author and critique of the book, incorporate it (cited!) into your review
- Links to other resources, such as interviews or other reviews — especially #OwnVoices reviews
- A story of your own, whether it’s your experience reading the book, or something it reminded you of
- Writing a song, a short story, or a poem
- Writing a letter to the author or the main character (you don’t have to send it to the author!)
- Writing an “interview” of a character from the book, talk show style
- Making a visual response, like a collage or painting
- Making a book diorama, like your elementary school days!
Including quotes is always a great idea, because it gives examples for everything that you’re saying! If your review talks about a character being particularly witty, a witty line from the character lets your readers see exactly what kind of witty character you’re dealing with here.
A star rating is obviously encouraged in a lot of review sites, but they’re not necessary! If you do want to give a star rating, you can go the conventional “out of five/ten” route. You could also try something slightly less conventional, and break down your star-rating into different categories for character/plot/world-building, etc.
This is probably the best way to introduce any review because it gives context. But make sure to not go into too much detail. Keep it short and sweet since an official summary can be found through a quick google search!
You can also be more specific, looking at the exact things that might make two books similar. So you can suggest something like…“if you liked that the main character in X book was a kick-ass superhero, then you’ll love the main character of this book!”
3. Include brief quotes as examples
Dedicate a paragraph to each of these important aspects, discussing how well the author dealt with it, along with what you enjoyed and what you didn’t enjoy.
A great way to wrap up a review is to find similar books to the one you’re reviewing. So you can say, “if you were a fan of X book, I think you’ll definitely like this one!”
Like your introduction, keep your conclusion short and sweet! It should bring up the main points of your review, along with your overall opinion of the book.
A great book review writing requires both subject area and genre knowledge. As a college student, you are required to demonstrate that you have examined the book from different angles.
Writing a great book review is tricky and demanding no matter if you are a high school, college or university student. Book review writing might seem a simple task but it requires good analyzing and critical thinking skills.
- Critically analyze a text
- Give a personal opinion on the text
- Improve analyzing and critical thinking skills
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Book Review Examples For High School Students
Below you can also find some good book review examples for kids. These real life examples can help you get a clear understanding of the standard book review format that you can follow.
For writing a review on a non-fiction book, you are required to describe the book, summarize major points of interest and to evaluate it.
Hopefully, with the help of the above examples, you get a better idea of how to write a perfect book review.
Fudge, Phoebe, et al. The Theology of Chocolate. Chicago: Epicurean Publications, 2013. pp. xi, 192. $19.99 (softcover). ISBN: 978-0-18-9874111-1. Reviewed by:
Marilyn Squirrel
University of Nuttingham
m.squirrel@nuttingham.ac.uk
The rest of your document consists of the review itself, neatly organized into a series of paragraphs.
There are few reviews as detailed and critical as academic book reviews. You might have spend half a lifetime writing your magnum opus only for some prickly professor to ridicule your ideas. However, in an ideal world, an academic book review should contain constructive criticism, an honest appraisal of the good and the bad. The reviewer should set aside his or her own ego and explain what the book contributes to the overall conversation.
Academic book reviews can be surprisingly personal in tone. In most disciplines you don’t have to adopt some oddly impersonal tone. Here are some sample sentence starters:
Introduction
In other words, most introductions begin by explaining how the book fits in with current scholarship in the field. Why is this study important? Why should we care about it? Then the reviewer will explain the author’s main argument and give some general assessment of the quality of the book.
Be careful though. If you’re constantly hedging (this is great, but …), you may come across as insincere. If something is bad, just say it.
At the same time, you should not overuse “I.” We know this is your review.