Book ReviewTips for Writing a Book Review Handout

Explained

What is a Book Review?• First, a review gives the reader a concise summary of the story. This includes a relevant

description of the story as well as its overall opinion.• Second, and more importantly, a review offers a critical assessment of the story. This

involves your reactions to the story under review: what strikes you as noteworthy, whether or not it was effective as a story, and how it enhanced your understanding of the issues at hand.

• Finally, in addition to analyzing the work, a review often suggests whether or not the audience would appreciate it.

• Try to present a balanced argument about the value of the book for its audience. You’re entitled—and sometimes obligated—to voice strong agreement or disagreement. But keep in mind that a bad book takes as long to write as a good one, and every author deserves fair treatment. Harsh judgments are difficult to prove and can give readers the sense that you were unfair in your assessment.

1) Start with a couple of sentences describing what the book is about….• No SPOILERS!• Upside-down triangle?! • Lead (same as a hook).• Break traditional form of paragraphs!!• What would YOU like to see in a Book Review? What would make you

read on?• Use descriptive words to engage your reader, such as engrossing,

absorbing, captivating, gripping, fascinating, riveting, consuming, addictive read, page-turner, etc.

2) Discuss what you particularly like about the book (or short story)…

• Be convincing/persuasive and argue your point. • If it was a fascinating insight into how people survive in the future- what

makes this text more interesting than others? What stands out?

• Use “I” when writing.• i.e. “I can recall three teachers…” or “I bet attendance is way up…” NOT

“I believe…” or “I think that…”

• Only choose a couple of points to focus on and discuss. Stay focused on the main reason you either found this book interesting or not.

3) Mention anything you disliked about the book (short story)

• Even if you loved the book or story, your audience still wants to know that you can be critical. Discuss a weakness in the story so that your review is balanced and the reader feels that you considered all angels.

• Think of product/App reviews: If someone gives it 5 stars and only says it’s awesome vs someone who gives it 5 stars says it’s awesome but includes one bad point (even thought it might not be detrimental), readers are more likely to feel that the latter reviewer put more time and thought into it.

• Don’t complain! And don’t dislike something without understanding why!

4) Round up your review…

• This paragraph needs to balance the book’s strengths and weaknesses in order to unify your evaluation. Did the body of your review have three negative paragraphs and one favorable one? What do they all add up to?

• Remind the reader of the points you have made, so that they can develop their own conclusion about if they would read the story/short story or not.

• Why would your audience enjoy (or not) this story/short story specifically?

5) Be persuasive…

• Persuasive words:• In support of:

• Accurate, Best, Effective, Interesting, Popular, Strongly Recommend, Tremendous, Worthwhile…

• In support against:• Atrocious, Confusing, Dreadful, Inferior, Repulsive, Severe, Shameful,

Unreliable…

• Decide what Tone you will use: Serious? Funny? Informal?...

Evaluating a Book Review

• Here is an acceptable example:• Judith Bennett’s Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women’s

Work in a Changing World, 1300-1600, investigates how women used to brew and sell the majority of ale drunk in England. Historically, ale and beer (not milk, wine, or water) were important elements of the English diet. Ale brewing was low-skill and low status labor that was complimentary to women’s domestic responsibilities. In the early fifteenth century, brewers began to make ale with hops, and they called this new drink “beer.” This technique allowed brewers to produce their beverages at a lower cost and to sell it more easily, although women generally stopped brewing once the business became more profitable.

Evaluating a Book Review

• Here is an comprehensive example:• Judith Bennett’s Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women’s

Work in a Changing World, 1300-1600 was a colossal disappointment. I wanted to know about the rituals surrounding drinking in medieval England: the songs, the games, the parties. Bennett provided none of that information. I liked how the book showed ale and beer brewing as an economic activity, but the reader gets lost in the details of prices and wages. I was more interested in the private lives of the women brewsters. The book was divided into eight long chapters, and I can’t imagine why anyone would ever want to read it.

Evaluating a Book Review• Here is an Advanced example:

• One of feminism’s paradoxes—one that challenges many of its optimistic histories—is how patriarchy remains persistent over time. While Judith Bennett’s Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women’s Work in a Changing World, 1300-1600 recognizes medieval women as historical actors through their ale brewing, it also shows that female agency had its limits with the advent of beer. I had assumed that those limits were religious and political, but Bennett shows how a “patriarchal equilibrium” shut women out of economic life as well. Her analysis of women’s wages in ale and beer production proves that a change in women’s work does not equate to a change in working women’s status. Contemporary feminists and historians alike should read Bennett’s book and think twice when they crack open their next brewsky.

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