What is a Book Review?

Traditionally, book reviews are

written evaluations of a recently published book
in any genre. Usually, around the 700 to 1000-
word mark, they offer a brief description of a
text’s main elements while appraising the work’s
strengths and weaknesses. Published book
reviews can appear in newspapers, magazines,
and academic journals. They provide the reader
with an overview of the book itself and indicate
whether or not the reviewer would recommend
the book to the reader.
 WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A BOOK REVIEW?
There was a time when book reviews were a regular appearance in
every quality newspaper and many periodicals. They were essential
elements in whether or not a book would sell well. A review from a
heavyweight critic could often be the deciding factor in whether a book
became a bestseller or a damp squib. In the last few decades, however, the
book review’s influence has waned considerably, with many potential
book buyers preferring to consult customer reviews on Amazon, or sites
like Goodreads, before buying. As a result, book review’s appearance in
newspapers, journals, and digital media has become less frequent.
WHY BOTHER TEACHING STUDENTS TO WRITE BOOK
REVIEWS AT ALL?
Even in the heyday of the book review’s influence, few students
who learned the craft of writing a book review became literary critics! The
real value of crafting a well-written book review for a student does not lie in
their ability to impact book sales. Understanding how to produce a well-
written book review helps students to:

●     Engage critically with a text

●     Critically evaluate a text
●     Respond personally to a range of different writing genres
●     Improve their own reading, writing, and thinking skills.