Book reviews are very different from book reports. Rather than being a plot summary, a review is an evaluation of a book’s strengths and weaknesses.

The plot summary portion of your review should be much shorter than the evaluative portion. Spend only 2-4 sentences describing the plot.

The bulk of your review should be about the book’s strengths and weaknesses, how the book made you feel, and whether or not you would recommend it.

• Avoid revealing plot spoilers. Write enough to get the reader interested, but don’t reveal too much detail, and don’t share how the story ends.
• Things to note in your review:
  * The genre of the story (fantasy, realistic, historical, etc.)
  * Setting
  * Time period
  * The recommended audience (for example: “This is a great book for middle school students because….” or “Ballet dancers will really identify with…”)
• A few things to look for when evaluating a book’s strengths and weaknesses:
  * Pacing (Did you want to keep reading, or was this book slow and easy to set aside?)
  * Characterization (Did the characters feel real to you? Why or why not? Did you like them? Were they interesting?)
  * Setting (Was there a strong sense of place? Did the author describe the setting in a way that made you feel like you were there?)
  * Dialogue (Did the characters talk in a natural, believable way?)
  * Accuracy (Did the author get all the details right? For example, if you’re a baseball player reading a book about baseball, you’ll be able to be able to spot accuracies and inaccuracies that a non-baseball expert could not.)
• If you feel it’s appropriate to include a mature content warning, do so in no more than one sentence and in very general terms. For example: “Strong language and underage drinking makes this book most appropriate for an older teen audience” or “Be advised this book best suited is for older readers.” It’s appropriate to inform our blog readers about content that may concern them, but those warnings should not be the focus of the book review.

These tips are also helpful for movie reviews!