GJG guide to Writing Book Reviews
NOTE: You can of course ignore the majority of the tips below and just select what suits you to write as much or as little as you want.
Method A - I suggest using the following headings as a memory jogger:
- Characters (favourite? hateful? loveable? scary? etc)
- Story (made sense? gripping start/end?)
- Pace and Structure (too slow/fast?)
- Use of Language (believable/too simple/complex?)
- Narrative Voice (first/third person/OK?)
- Dialogue (realistic/crude/simple?)
- Settings (recognise? interesting?)
- Themes (important/amusing/irrelevant?)
Method B - Another simpler method I have used is:
- Start with a couple of sentences about the book - avoiding spoilers!
- Say what you particularly liked about it, eg favourite character(s), or did it keep you guessing about what might happen next?
- Was it a page-turner? Did you laugh/cry?
- What did you dislike about it? eg ending, or did you care about any characters/ themes?
- Round up your thoughts in a Summary by suggesting what type of reader you’d recommend this book to eg older, younger, fans of genre.
- Maybe compare this book to another you have read in similar genre.