How to Write a Book Review

As this is a literary blog, I figured a good place to start would be with how to write a book review. I don’t mean a book report that your teacher makes you write about a book they chose for you, but a review of a book you chose to read on your own.

What is a book review anyway? A book review usually evaluates recently written works, and offers a brief description of the key points of the work. It also provides a short appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the book. A typical book reviews ranges from 500-750 words, but it can be longer or shorter, depending on the reviewer. It is intended to give readers a sneak peek at what a book is like, and let them know whether or not the reviewer enjoyed it.

When I first came up with the idea of starting a literary blog, I had no idea how to write a decent book review. What is the best resource, I asked myself. The best people to ask for tips on writing a book review would be people who write reviews. I asked two fellow bloggers, the top book reviewer on Goodreads, and an author how they write book reviews. Each of them had their own way of writing reviews, but the main points were all the same: start with an introduction, give a brief overview of the book, comment on what you liked and/or did not like.

One of the bloggers I talked to, Suzannah Rowntree, gave me some tips for recognizing and discussing the deeper message in books you decide to review. As you go on to read other books, she says to ask yourself these questions:

• What is the conflict in the plot? Who are the bad guys, and what do they believe? Who are the good guys, and what do they believe?
• What do the good characters have to repent of? How do they change?
• What good comes from the resolution of the plot, that was unavailable at the beginning?
• Which of the characters’ actions are rewarded with success and praise in the plot? Which actions meet with failure and shame?
• When the characters or the author talk about ideas, what position do they take?
• What did the author believe? Was he or she a Christian? A Universalist? An atheist?
• Are there repeated words or phrases in the book? Do characters discuss “constancy” and “improvements” like in Mansfield Park, or “exchange” and “the City” as in All Hallows’ Eve?
• Are there repeated concepts and ideas in the book? What is the one thing everyone is talking about or attempting? Marriage? Telling the truth? For example, do all the good guys have good relationships with their parents, while all the bad guys do not? A theme really is just a repeated concept. In competent fiction, the theme will be repeated, intentionally, in many different situations. So keep alert! If an author takes the time to describe something to you, it’s probably important.

Karen, the top reviewer on Goodreads, told me that she focuses on the emotions of the book – “how it made you feel, what it made you think, how it clarified your understanding of the book's particular location, character type, vision, etc. and what it did for you as a reader - how it compares to other books of its kind, what it made you think about in your own life, if it made you cry or laugh - all that good human stuff.”

There are so many ways to write a book review, so the way you write really just depends on your style. Author Pamela Paul was right on target with this in her advice to me. “A good book review is like any other good piece of writing -- it should be stylish, lively, entertaining, vivid and informative. A little humor never hurts, too.”