Review a Book Review

Ah, you say, what the heck does that title mean? Having become very involved in writing book reviews and giving feedback to authors and publishers, it begs the question, “What makes a good book review?  

In school days, it was basically a rehash of the storyline to prove you read it! As an adult, it is more of a commentary on a novel. 

Some basics:

• ·         Don’t tell the ending of a story, it ruins it for a would-be reader
• ·         Some of the fun is the discoveries along the way in a story. Reviews ruin it if you give too many clues away.  Let folks discover it themselves.
• ·         When stating themes, remember these are your opinion and everyone walks away from a book with a slightly different take. These is not simply one narrative. 
• ·         Use the Spoiler heading when revealing critical elements of the book (That is why it is called SPOILER ALERT!)  

Value Statements that are helpful to use:

• ·         Pacing information e.g. if it starts slow, does it pick up?
• ·         Hints on things to watch for without revealing anything specific
• ·         Description of the writing style, e.g. the author writes descriptively, uses a great deal of foul language, or has consistent grammar errors
• ·         Are there lessons to be learned from the book, whether practical or water fountain fodder
• ·         Is it an easy read or not
• ·         How it rates against other books of the same genre? Overall, how does it rate with you?

It isn’t rocket science nor is there a definitive right or a wrong way to write a book review. But there are a few givens, such as do not tell the complete story line.  

Be aware that your reviews affect whether folks will read a publication. And if they do not read something because of your review, it directly hurts the author. They put a great deal of time in crafting a story, writing it, editing it multiple times and rewriting it before it ever comes to publication. Be cognizant of that.

Never lie. It is not necessary to say you like something when it just didn’t hit the mark with you.  But you can prequalify comments like that stating "For me" or "From my perspective but yours may be different...."  Also,  you can usually find something positive to say about a book or state something you feel must be included somewhat negative in a more neutral tone.  

Authors  make their living off of book sales. Allow them the opportunity to use their voice even if you don’t particularly like what they have to say or how they say it.  Several times I have read a book against my better judgement that had a bad or so so review only to find I loved it and vice versa. Reviews of books can be very subjective. 

There is a line between expressing an opinion and discrediting a work.  Know the distinction.

Authors read reviews so offering suggestions for improvements is acceptable too but it might be more effective to drop a note to them directly on their personal website as opposed to sticking it on a book review for everyone else to read.    

Bottom Line: Shy away from slamming authors; the world needs more writers not less.