Writing a Book Review: A Step-by-Step Guide

Include this information at the TOP of your book review!

Title of Book:

Author of Book:

Genre of Book:

Number of Pages:

Paragraph #1: Attention getter and summary

 Attention Getter! Pull the reader in with a fun fact, interesting question, quote, or a personal remark
about the book to grab readers’ attention and make them want to keep reading. 1-2 sentences

 Summary of the plot of the book, describe the main events of the story and make sure to include
parts that would excite a potential reader. DON’T GIVE AWAY THE ENDING OR THE MOST EXCITING
PARTS!!!! This will only frustrate people and not make them want to read more.

Paragraph #2, 3, 4 … : Description of Characters

 Introduce EACH main, significant character in their own paragraph.

 Explain who the character is, why they are important to the story, tell me a little bit about how they
act and feel in the book, and then explain if you liked the character (and why) or if you didn’t like the
character (and why)

Paragraph 5: Explanation of THEME

 What is the main THEME of the book? Does it focus on racism, racial tolerance, fitting in, growing up,
fighting against injustices, etc? Really think about the BIG MESSAGE of the book, and what it’s trying
to teach its readers. Explain this theme and give as many examples from the book as possible to
SHOW how this theme occurs throughout the book.

o EX: The larger theme in “A Winkle in Time” is the challenge of growing up and learning to fit
into a strange world. Meg constantly struggles with this throughout the book and is
challenged at school by her teachers when she isn’t paying attention because she is bored,
and they become angry because she already knows everything they are teaching. She also
battles against IT as she fights to preserve Charles’ Wallaces childhood, but he also needs to
grow up and become his own person.
Paragraph 6: Personal Reflection

 YOUR response. How did this book make you feel? What did it make you wonder about? Did it cause
you to question anything in your own life? What did the book cause you to think about more deeply?

 WHY do you think the author choose to write this book? What inspired them to write about this
topic?

 This should be the LONGEST part of your book review, and should includes examples or a quote from
the book to show what you are explaining.

Paragraph 7: Did the book interest you? Would it interest others?

 Did this book grab and hold on to your interest? Did it keep you interested all the way through the
end? HOW and WHY did this book do this?

 What kinds of other people do you think would enjoy this book?

 Would you recommend this book to a friend?

REMINDERS:
 Make sure you use SPECIFIC EXAMPLES from the book to support you ideas

 Use quotations from the book to highlight your ideas

 Don’t summarize, SYNTHESIZE! Combine a summary of the book with YOUR thinking to create a new and
interesting idea