Writing Book Reviews

The basics:

Make sure you include all the basic information your readers will need to find the book!

• Title
• Author
• Publisher
• Publication date

TIP: Publisher and publication date can be found on the indicia page, which is the first page after the title page at the front of the book.

Introduce your readers to the book. What is the setting? Who are the characters? Talk a little bit about the basic conflict, or the plot. This will interest the reader in the book, and help give them an idea if the book is something they would like to read.

Spoilers:

When someone gives away a surprise or a plot twist in a story, we call it a “spoiler,” because it spoils the story. Spoilers are Bad and Wrong! Do not give spoilers in your review. If one of the characters dies halfway thought the book (for example), it is not fair to your readers for them to find out from you – they should find out from the story itself.

Opinion:

Once you have introduced the book, you need to give your opinion of the book.

• Did you like it?
• What bits were good?
• What bits were not so good?
• Would you recommend this book to other people?
• Who do you think would like this book?
• Why do you think the author wrote this book?
• What do you think is the author’s opinion about the events of the book? Do you agree?
• Are there any other books you would compare it to?
• Is it written for a particular age range?

Writing:

Remember that your review has a specific purpose and a particular audience.

Make sure that your language suits who you are writing for: who will be reading your review? As always, check over your spelling, punctuation and grammar before you publish your review.

(from Inside a dog)

Increase your house & individual word count tally.

Write a book review to gain BONUS WORD COUNT.

In addition to the word count from reading, you can earn bonus words by submitting a review of the books you have read. This will increase your house & individual word count tally and also acts as means of verifying your book.

For any reviews you submit you will receive double word count.

So write a 50 word Infiniti review and receive 100, write a 300 word review for the blog and receive 600 words for your tally.

• Write a short review (minimum 20 words - maximum 50 words) for our library catalogue Infiniti. How to write a review on Infiniti. 
• Write a more detailed review (min 200 words) Your review will be published on the library blog Fiction is like a box of chocolate. How to write a review for our blog.