This animation provides general guidelines to write a good book review.

2. • A book review is a short description of a book.
It is usually written on websites or in
magazines and newspapers, or as part of a
letter to inform readers and to give them your
opinion or recommendation about whether or
not they should read the book.
• Present tenses are usually used and a variety
of adjectives to make your comments clearer
and more precise.

3. The following structure must be observed:
• an introduction giving background information about
the book, for example, the title, type (adventure, horror,
sci-fi, thriller, etc.), the name of author.
• a main body consisting of two paragraphs (one giving
a summary of the plot, the other - general comments on
the plot, main characters, etc.).
• a conclusion recommending or not recommending
the book, giving reasons to support your
recommendation.

5. • Always think about
your audience. (Who are
you writing for? Who's
going to read your
review?)
• Introduce the book
you're writing about.
Give the title, and the
author, and any other
relevant background
information.
Ender's Game
One of my favourite books
of all time is Ender's Game
by the American author
Orson Scott Card. It is the
first novel in a series of
books which all take place
in the same imaginary
universe.

6. • Summarise the plot
without getting into too
much detail. (What
happens in the book?)
Ender's Game is a science
fiction story about a
talented boy, Ender, who is
taken to a military training
school at a very early age.
Ender spends his days
training and practising, but
he is never told about the
purpose of his preparation.

7. • Focus only on the most
important things that
you liked or didn't like
about the book.
After a difficult start, Ender
starts enjoying his training,
and soon becomes the
best among his fellow
trainees. What he does not
realise is that he is being
prepared for war against
an alien race.

8. • Use examples to
illustrate the points you
are making.
The story is written from
the boy's perspective, who
cannot quite understand
what is happening around
him. The reader identifies
with the protagonist, and
when the final twist comes
(which I do not want to
give away), we live through
the shock of it together
with Ender.

9. • Summarise what you
think about the book.
The book raises important
questions of innocence,
adults' responsibilities
towards children and about
the nature of special talent.
Card's powerful story-
telling makes Ender's Game
a real page-turner, and I
personally found it very
difficult to put down.

10. • If you liked the book,
recommend it for others
to read, and give a
reason why you think
they should read it.
An all-time science fiction
classic, which I would
definitely recommend to
fans of the genre.

11. • Re-read your finished review to check for mistakes.
• If there is a word limit, check that you have written the
required amount.

13. • One of my favourite books of all time is ... (title) by ...
(author).
• (Title) is an iconic novel about ... that became one of the
most famous classic novels of all time.
• The book (story) is ... (genre - a classic/a historical novel/a
biography/a romance, etc. It was written by ... . He/She is
(not) a very famous writer.

14. • The book (story) is about ...
• The plot of the story is set around ...
• The story centers on ...
• The story follows ... (main character) who ...
• The story is written from the ... (character) perspective, who ...
• The reader identifies with the protagonist, and when the final
twist comes, we live through the shock of it together with ...
(character).
• The book raises important questions of ...
• The title of the book (story) is appropriate for the story and
reflects ...
• The author has a fine imagination and has created very
believable characters.
• The important thing about the book (story) is that it is the type of
book that makes you think.

15. • The ...'s (author) powerful story-telling makes ... (book
title) a real page-turner, and I personally found it very
difficult to put down.
• I liked the book (story) because it is a book you could
spend hours with.
• If you ask me, the book is really interesting, instructive,
and informative.
• What I like best about ... (title) is ...
• I didn’t like the book (story) because it makes unhappy
reading. The plot is dull and predictable.
• It’s the worst book I’ve ever read.

16. • An all-time ... (genre), which I would definitely recommend
to fans of the genre.
• If you love books in this genre, I highly recommend it.
• The book is a really enjoyable read. I recommend it even if
you have watched the movie.
• If you are curious about this book, it’s a must read.
• If I were you, I would give this book a try.
• The plot is dull, I wouldn't recommend it.

17. A Eugene Lysak compilation
2023