How To Write A Book Review
By: Mary Fletcher
Tags: Review, Books, Reading, Readers, Writing

Photo by Daria Obymaha from Pexels

Reading. Chances are, for you to have clicked on this blog post, you’re into it (otherwise why are you here, seriously?), and you have some thoughts about some of the stuff you read. You’ve likely found that, to be considering writing a review, you’ve come across a book that was so brilliant or so awful that you just need to shout about it. Or, perhaps, you need to write a report on something you’ve read, but aren’t sure how to go about it. Either way, I’ve got you covered. Without further ado, here’s how you write a book review!

Step 1: To Spoil or Not To Spoil: That is the Question



Before you start writing your review, it’s good to have an idea about whether your review will contain spoilers or not. It might not seem like that big of an issue, but if you want people to read future reviews (and, you know, not leave a flaming pile of angry complaints in your comments section) you need to think about your target audience and what they want from your review. If you’re writing a review for someone who is thinking about reading the book, keeping your review spoiler-free is probably a safe bet. If you’re writing a review for, say, a parent looking to buy a book for their teenager or someone who’s read the book, spoilers won’t be a big issue.

If you decide to write a review that features spoilers, for the love of all that is good and mighty, warn your audience! Maybe you need to have a good rant or praise your favourite book, but make sure your audience goes into your review knowing what to expect so they’re on the same page. (See what I did there?)

Step 2: The Book Is About What Now…?

There’s no point telling the reader about what makes the book so wonderful (or terrible) if they don’t know what it’s about. You don’t have to go into depth about the book (after all, that’s what the rest of the review is about), but it helps to give your audience an idea of what happens in the story so that they can understand the rest of your review. If you’re not sure what to say, focus on the blurb and by mention the critical points of the story. Here’s an example:

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry (also known as the ‘Boy Who Lived’) learns he is a wizard and goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn magic. Along the way, he begins to learn about the wizarding world and meet new friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. But when Harry worries that someone is trying to steal the Philosopher’s Stone, he and his friends must work together to try and stop the culprit.

Obviously, we know there is a lot more to the story than that, but this is a good starting point before you expand on other aspects of the story in your review. If you decide to include spoilers, you might talk about Professor Snape and Quirrell, Quidditch etc, but make sure to keep your summary as brief as possible. If you explain so much that there’s no point in your audience reading (or re-reading) the book, you’ve taken it too far!

Warning: Don’t talk about the ending at the beginning of your review! You can explain what you did or didn’t like about it (if you have a particularly strong opinion later) or say whether you did or didn’t like it, but don’t go into detail what happens straight off the bat.

Step 3: That. Is. So. Cool!

Think about what the book did well (if anything). In a spoiler-free version, you might be more general and speak about which characters you liked or how it was written. In a spoiler version, you would go into more detail about the plot and events. For example:

Spoiler-free: The story has a few moments that are emotional where Harry thinks about his parents and how he misses them. These moments are really touching and remind the reader that he is a small boy who is vulnerable in a lot of ways.

Spoiler: The Mirror of Erised shows the viewer their heart’s desire, so when Harry sees his parents, you realise just how much he misses them. This bit of the book offers a genuinely touching moment where Harry speaks to Dumbledore about the need to find acceptance and move on.

In a spoiler-free version, you can talk about events that happen early on or which are well-known or promoted. However, avoid plot points or twists later on in the book, which could spoil a reader’s later enjoyment or ruin surprises. For example, it wouldn’t be a big spoiler to say that Harry gets an owl called Hedwig because that doesn’t have a significant impact on the plot, but it would be a big spoiler to explain who was after the Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s Stone for any American readers!)

Step 4: *Face Palm*

Now, we’ve established what the book does well, what doesn’t it do well? What bits were disappointing or made you so bitterly angry that you wanted to throw it across the room (and not in the way the author intended)? Unless the book is the best thing you’ve ever read, the chances are that it’s going to have its moments that make you cringe or start counting pages to the end of the chapter. Talk about them!

Once again, think about your audience! If it’s one overarching point, touch on it but avoid going into too much detail if you’re not sharing any spoilers. If you’re talking about specifics, make sure you have your spoiler warning in place. Here’s a quick example:

Spoiler-free: When you learn how Harry ends up with his relatives, it’s hard not to judge Dumbledore harshly or question just what he was thinking.

Spoiler: Can we talk about Dumbledore? Seriously. He left a baby on a doorstep in October! It would have been freezing cold! Couldn’t he have knocked on the door first? Maybe said, oh I don’t know: “Would you mind taking care of your nephew? What’s that? Oh, you hate magic? Well then let me take this child elsewhere. Toodle-pip!”*

*This point is used solely to explain the differences and would not be considered a major spoiler considering it happens in the first chapter. Though seriously, Dumbledore what were you thinking- blood wards or not, that’s just lousy childcare.

Step 5: Does it work?

What is the story trying to achieve and does it do it? Using our Harry Potter example: does the book do a good job of telling a story about a boy wizard who is trying to stop the Philosopher’s Stone from being stolen? If you’ve read fantasy, does it do a good job of world-building and explaining fantasy aspects such as magic systems, history, race etc? Or, if the story is a romance, is the couple worth rooting for and are the characters interesting?

Think about what the story is trying to achieve then explain why you think it does or doesn’t accomplish its goal.

Step 6: And, the verdict is…

Would you recommend the book? What would you rate it overall? After all, this is what those who’ve read your review are trying to find out, so don’t leave them waiting any longer to find out whether the book is worth a read or needs to be avoided at all costs.

You can either say whether you liked the book or not- a simple ‘read it’ or ‘run screaming’ will do here- or you can give it a rating out of five stars. You can even take it a step further by recommending the book to a certain kind of reader (a life-saver for prospective gift-givers) or those who enjoy a certain type of trope. For example:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is an excellent read for those who enjoy fantasies about magic and ‘chosen ones’. The story (and series) can serve as a great introduction to books for new readers.