How to write a book review
I struggle to write book reviews. It’s one of the few occasions that I find myself short on opinions and lost for words. This from someone who writes.
Sames? Then you’re in the right place: I put together this quick guide on what to include in a book review, how to approach it, and what to leave out.
Keep it short
For Amazon and Goodreads reviews, a line or two will suffice. Don’t feel the need to say a lot. And keep it simple. Basically, don’t over-think this.
Focus on the reader
Book reviews are to help other readers decide if they might enjoy or not. You’re writing for them, not for the author. So think about your experience as a reader and tell others about the book, not the person who wrote it. A review is not the place to congratulate an author - send them a private message, instead.
Where to start
Did you like it or not? How much? And how did it make you feel? This also applies to books you didn’t enjoy. If you are willing to share a positive reading experience, you should share bad ones too.
What to say
You might want to start by giving a quick explanation of what the book is about, and share your reaction to it.
On Goodreads, I said Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous was ‘a painful but heart-warming coming-of-age/ coming-out story.’ I called William Boyle’s A Friend is a Gift You Give Yourself, ‘A very cool and gritty story about female friendship and family dynamics, with a thrilling and slightly madcap chase through New York suburbs.’
Don’t give any spoilers!
If you liked it, try to give specific examples of the things that you enjoyed. For example, did you find it hard to put down? Was it a gripping story? A page-turner of a mystery? Was there a twist that you didn’t see coming? Did it have likeable characters? Were the descriptions vivid? You could think about aspects like character development, setting, plot and pacing.
On Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister, the Serial Killer, I said: ‘This was my favourite book of the year. It's dark, hilarious, and grips you from the start with a tension that will have you holding your breath.’ When I reviewed Where the Crawdads Sing, I wrote: ‘The scenery descriptions are lush and vivid, Kya is a likeable and believable - although remarkable - character for the most part, and the mystery keeps you hooked until the last chapter.’
If you didn’t enjoy it, say why. Maybe it was hard to get into the story, perhaps it was confusing, or too wordy, or the narrative dragged. You might have found it difficult to finish or even given up.
Don’t be too harsh, though. Remember that authors will read your comments.
I also like to cushion my critique by balancing it with a positive, where I can. When I reviewed Lisa Toledo’s Three Women on Goodreads, I said: ‘At times it was uncomfortable and the story lost me in places, especially because the book flits between the three separate narratives. But I couldn't stop thinking about this book for a long time after I read it.’
Don’t go overboard
I rarely give books a 5 – I keep the 5 star ratings just for my favourites, the ones I know I’ll read again and tell everyone about. For most books that I enjoy, I typically give them a 4. Occasionally a 3. Keep 2s for books that you didn’t like and 1s for book that you actively want to warn people off. And if you’re doing that, I’m wondering why…?
When you know an author and you want their book to do well, it’s tempting to give a 5, but a 4 is probably more realistic - and more believable to other readers.
Don’t copy-paste
And I don’t just mean other people’s reviews – I’m talking about yours, too. If you post a review on one site, don’t use the exact same copy on another – write a new review each time. Google and Amazon penalize pages for duplicate content and your review won’t show up. Typically, Amazon reviews tend to be slightly shorter, and Goodreads are slightly more in-depth.
That’s about it, I reckon. If you have tips for writing book reviews, please share them in the comments.
