HOW TO WRITE A BOOK REVIEW

I'm doing a huge giveaway! If you post a review of AUDITION on Amazon or B&N, you could win a FREE, IN-PERSON AUTHOR VISIT from yours truly!
BUT with all your work, homework, and extracurriculars, do you really have time to write anything extra, even for a prize? As someone who writes, wants to support YA literature, doesn’t love everything, and has limited time, I've developed this quick model. Feel free to tweak it to suit your own needs...

HOW TO WRITE A BOOK REVIEW

IN 3 EASY STEPS

1. Write a one-sentence plot description (without spoilers). Think of it as a movie trailer line.
2. Write 2 sentences explaining what interested you. Comment on a character (intense, relatable, hot), a relationship (mother-daughter, boyfriend-girlfriend), or something abstract, such as setting (cool that it takes place at Disney land) or imagery (the author uses ice cream flavors to represent different moods of the main character). Pick just one or two of these suggestions.
3. Write a summary comment. Here you can say, “liked” or “loved.” If you really hated it, you are welcome to say so. I’m a bit of a Golden Rule gal myself, so I try to note something that appealed to me even if I don’t think the book totally worked. For example, “The author really tries to get inside the villain’s head and, even if you don’t reach the book’s conclusion with compassion for this character, you feel like you’ve been given a detailed glimpse into the mind of an angry troll (or whatever).”

I can put together one of these reviews in about twenty minutes (for some examples, check my Reviews page). Of course, if I love a book, I sometimes take more time. However, I want to help bring awareness to YA literature so I feel that getting a decent review done quickly is sometimes better than taking six months to finish a really detailed look at a novel.

Every review written counts as one entry in my giveaway, so if everyone in your class writes a review, you’ve got tons of chances to meet me in person. I'll come to one school in the continental US for FREE (airfare, travel, hotel, all covered). Plus I’ll bring a signed book. And swag. Mystery swag :)