Before you order something off Amazon, you’ll probably sift through the reviews first. I mean, you want to make sure the product is as good as it looks, right?
The same goes for books: you don’t know how you’ll like the book until you actually read it, but you can certainly gauge if it’s within your realm of interests by other people’s reviews.
It's great if you want to write a book review, too. Check out these simple and important steps to putting together the most analytical and informative book review yet.
Before Writing
Before you write your book review, you need to think about some questions to help organize the article.
Author
Who wrote it?
Do they have other works?
How does it compare?
Theme
Is there a moral to the story or a theme that is presented?
What has the book accomplished, if anything?
Narrator
Who narrated the story?
Was the narrator reliable?
Setting
Did the setting or time influence the story?
Genre
What was the genre, and how does it compare to other books in the same?
Plot
Can you summarize the plot without giving away any key points or spoilers?
While Writing
There are some key points in the book review structure that you might want to consider.
A Hook
The average person's attention span is eight seconds, so your hook really has to reign them in.
A great example of a hook is to lead with a question, a quote, an anecdote, or a statistic.
Grammarly has great examples on how to phrase your hook:
Margaret Atwood’s subversive brilliance shines in new and unexpected ways with this masterpiece.
Ever wondered what the lovechild of Twilight and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy would look like?
Essential Book Information
Though you’re probably itching to state your thoughts, this isn’t the time to do it — not yet, anyway.
This is where pretty much all of your answers from the previous section will come in: Who narrated it? Where and when does it take place? Who is it by, and how does it compare to other works?