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Want to share thoughts on your latest read by crafting a book review essay? Avid book readers know how magical good book reviews can be. They unite bookworms around the world by recommending the best reads in a genre. They’re also a chance to share your insights with other readers and track reflections of your reads.
Still, composing a really good book review isn’t as easy as it seems. It includes definitive opinions, personal experiences, and recommendations on who would enjoy it. If you want to know how to write a good book review, we’ve compiled 10 quick tips to help you take your reviews to the next level. Read on to get started!
Tips for writing a really good book review
1. Add a hook
Don’t wait until the middle of the review to catch the reader’s attention. Hook them from the very first sentence. Finding the best hook requires you to think of what made you pick the book and the most interesting thing between the covers. However, if you’re struggling to develop a good hook or need professional help to write a good model book review, you can get essay writing services that save your time quickly and efficiently. The online writing service has a team of skilled experts who help students and professionals with all kinds of writing assignments.
2. Provide a brief of the plot without spoilers
First things first — your reader wants to know what the book is about, so follow the hook with a brief plot summary. The summary should be short but explain the basics so the reader can tell if it’s a topic of interest. One thing to avoid is spoilers. Don’t give away details such as sudden twists, surprising unveiling, or shocking death. Spoilers rob readers of genuine emotional reactions or discovery.
3. Review the book story, not the author
Focus on sharing your opinion about the book instead of critiquing the author. You can mention the author in a brief introduction of the book, but don’t write too much about the author. For example, don’t mention pitfalls of the author’s past books or your opinion about them as a writer. Instead, focus on reviewing the content and the characters. That way, the reader gets an objective view of the book.
4. Be concise and make your opinion clear
This tip may seem obvious, yet many reviewers miss it. It’s easy to get caught up in describing the plot and forget to share your insights. Ensure you make your thoughts clear early on. For example, share things that you think worked or didn’t work with the character choices, writing method, tone, or events in the book. Sharing your opinion helps the reader know whether they should or shouldn’t read the book.
5. Learn from others
If you’re a beginner, finding a good book review example done by experts can help you develop a top-notch book review. Consider what you like about the review sites, and find ways to incorporate similar elements in an original way. Is it the thorough plot summary, great quotes, humor, or strong voice used by other reviewers? Whatever it is, use the same to make your reviews interesting to other readers.
6. Support your claims and positions with quotes
Writing a great book review includes sharing your opinion. However, your opinion should be founded on events in the book. Thus, be sure to support your position with insights from the book the same way you would support facts in an academic essay with evidence from academic sources. Adding quotes gives credibility to your claims and confirms to the reader that you have read the book.
7. Include both praise and critiques
If you want to write a good book review essay, you must include both praise and critiques to give the reader a complete picture. For example, explain the specific things that make the characters great instead of just saying the book has great characters. That way, the reader understands your point of view and decides if they want to read the book. Praises and critiques are a great starting point for continued conversation about the book
8. Have the audience in mind
Not every book is suited for all audiences, so specify the type of reader that’s likely to enjoy it. For example, if a book would intrigue a political audience, recommend it to them. Also, include a rating to give the audience an immediate sense of your opinion about the book. Use any rating system that works for you, but explain how it works. Remember, a book may not fit your taste, but there’s a chance it may appeal to other readers, and your review can help them discover it.
9. Have a unique voice
Readers follow certain reviewers because they enjoy their review style. One of the biggest tips on how to write a book review is establishing uniqueness by giving insight that only you can offer. Use the review to share your unique passions and have conversational content that helps the readers identify with you. However, finding a voice takes time, so be patient. You’ll need to keep doing lots of reviews, rewriting, and sharpening your voice before you can master it. It’s a process that will develop as you practice.
10. Proofread
Before you send, upload, or submit your book review, make sure you have proofread and edited it thoroughly. This may require external help from friends or professionals to catch all the grammatical and spelling mistakes you missed. Submitting a book review with typos or grammatical errors undermines your credibility. Luckily, you can get easy editing and proofreading help from online professional writing services.
Good book reviews are an art and a labor of love!
Reviewing the content, style, and merit of a book starts with careful and attentive reading. A good review is more than a summary. Sometimes, you will feel burned out. However, like any art, creating a really good book review requires stepping away from your comfort zone. Use the tips in this post to nail the basics of how to write a book review. Finding good books will also inspire your writing.
The Lit Bitch 