Book Review Examples – why should I use them?
Let’s dive right into it: writing a book review is not the same as writing a book report. A review is a more demanding task that asks you to read a book, think about it and put together a written piece that will tell others whether they should read it, too. Yeah, the temptation is great: if you got bored to death but spent money on it and so decided to read it to the end anyway, you may well want others to do the same. Get redeemed, so to say. Or at least have a dark pleasure of gloating over others.
But we believe that you are a good person and so you do plan to pen a review that will save time for some readers and will make other readers meet the book they really need. Besides, a review is usually a marked college task, and so you have to do well on it to get a good grade for English 101 or 106. To accomplish it, you should not only know the theory but also have some solid patterns before your eyes. Read on, explore our book review examples and learn the ins and outs of this art.
What is a good book review?
So, what is a book review, anyway? Speaking in the language of movies, a book report is one large spoiler and retelling, and a review is a carefully made teaser. The review provides just enough initial information to make readers interested, and then it provides additional explanations of the book characteristics without getting into plot details. You may mention themes or universal topics, but not more. Otherwise, a reader will lose the thrill of discovering everything in person.
Before exploring what exactly goes into this written piece and what tricks you can use to make it interesting and captivating, let us get to a less thrilling topic of rules of essay writing. As any other academic essay, a review will contain an introduction, the main body, and a conclusion. Unlike in argumentative or descriptive essays, the body may not be that much structured into arguments and evidence as it will be a flow of your opinion. But no matter what you should have an introductory section, the main section and a summary that drives your message home – 'read it or skip it, my dear reader'.
Book Review – Introduction
As good examples of book review show, the intro should not be long, since the main argument will be developed in the body. Nevertheless, the intro includes valuable info that attributes the book and gives some insight into who the author is. Try to include the following points (not as a list, but as full sentences):
- Who is text author, what books he wrote (if any), is this the first one or not?
- Credentials of a writer, scholar or fiction writer, experienced or new in the field?
- Is the book for academic circles, pop science, or leisure reading?
After you mentioned this, you can arrive at a thesis – whether a book is good in its category, successful with readers, interesting, useful, or boring and disappointing. Not it is time to transition to the main body of the paper.
Book Review – Far Beyond Summary
If a true book review example is not a plot summary or character analysis, what is one supposed to put in it? Lots of information, actually. You will begin by introducing the main character and his/her initial whereabouts. Whether a fictional protagonist of a novel or a researcher who tells stories about the world and its functioning, a fellow human being is a key to catching readers’ focus. Then you will continue to tell about relations of a character to the world in the book, and so develop a background. It is not summary, since you uncover only the beginning and in very broad strokes.
For example, the book protagonist, Jordan, hit a midlife crisis, quit his job and so is struggling to find a new meaning in life. Or: a scholar provides a simple but careful account of the history of vehicles, connecting them to developments in science and cultural beliefs of humanity.
You may point out some important moments and conditions, but vaguely, if you write for a blog, and in details, if you write for class. Like, the mentioned above Jordan is an experienced doctor, and his childhood dream was to work in India or Africa, where people need him, but he chose money and boring job in some affluent American clinic. The relation between Jordan’s crisis and his dreams already suggests a lot – but does not reveal much. By introducing such details, you let readers guess what will happen and so invite them to read the book to see if they guessed it right. At the same time, you fend off readers who do not like such kinds of stories, and so they will happily skip it.
That’s basically all summary that you should put into a book review example. Then you will describe not the plot, but the characteristics of narration and of the whole book.
Mention if it is interesting in the first place. You may add that you personally prefer this or that kind of books, and so this very book pulled the strings of your soul or did not resonate at all. Then get into some details, like a book poses eternal questions and tries to provide some plausible answers. Or the book deals with one of the universal topics like love or revenge, but the author managed to make it fresh and compelling. A book can be surprising, unpredictable, putting the readers off-guard or philosophical and coherent, easy to follow, and comprehend. It may allow looking into a different kind of life or reality or provide a refuge from daily worries. It may be amusing but serious in handling sensitive issues, or it may be straightforward, promoting clear views on good and bad.
As you describe the nature of the book, you will say something about characters – if they are believable, well developed, attractive, or flat, stereotyped, uninteresting. You will point if the book treats its topic originally or takes a beaten path, whether it’s gripping or slow and dreamy. Or maybe just outwardly dull.
If you deal with a scholarly book, evaluate the author’s argumentation – is it solid and professional, relying on research and science? Is it coherent? Is argumentation complete? Maybe the author is affiliated to some entity or idea that makes him or her push the agenda despite lack of evidence? If you evaluate a scholarly book in such a way of demonstrating critical thinking, a good mark is already in your pocket.
Mention the writing style – clear and simple or complex language with lots of literary devices. Use some citations, but carefully, not too much, especially if you write for a blog. Your instructor already knows what the book is about, so he/she would not mind if you use a citation from the middle or end of the book.
Book Review – Conclusion
Here you will recap all you have said in a sentence or two – you recommend the book because it is well written and interesting, amusing or true-to-life, or you do not recommend it because of so-and-so. You may also mention what category of readers will like it and why. Or you can say what readers will benefit most from it if the book is academic.
Examples of a book review
If you still cannot fathom how to put everything together and need some assistance, you can always rely on us in writing a book review template. Our writers at Cosmoessay will create a sample according to your clear-cut specifications so that is demonstrated how exactly YOUR paper should look like. Below you can have a glimpse at already created papers that overview different books. They are diverse, but they can give you an understanding of how to begin or end the paper. Besides, you will see what level of expertise you can tap into when you order essays from us. We urge you to look at them and find a guide you need so much.
Conclusion
We hope that we have organized everything properly and now you fully understand how to go about a book review task. If no, it is not a problem either. We at cosmoessay.com provide all kinds of services regarding book-related papers, whether reviews, analysis or reports. Pick the type you need, specify the book, number of pages, and leave the rest to us. You will get a perfectly crafted paper for a very reasonable price and will get yourself some free time as well. Refreshed and rested, you will be better at learning and processing new material, so take our help as a necessary tool for our academic success!