Photo by  The Lazy Artist Gallery

Calling all readers

We'd love to hear about a book you loved reading.

If you have read a brilliant book and want to tell everyone about it, then this is your chance!! Write a short (not toooo long) review, let me know your first name and age, and send it to Raewyn at: info@adhd.org.nz

We'll endeavour to publish your review and put only your first name and age in our Hyper Express newsletter and on our website.

So, with that in mind, here are some tips on writing book reviews:

Fiction
When you are writing a fiction book review, these are some points that you should include:

• title and author – make sure you include the title and the author of the book. This will help people find the book and read it themselves.
• plot – this is what happens in the book. Tell your audience a little bit about what happens in the book. Does the story sound exciting and believable? Is it a story that you can get lost in?
• characters – describe some the characters in the book. You could write about who your favourite character was, and why. Are the characters believable? Are you interested in finding out what happens to them?
• highlights – you could describe your favourite part of the book. Was there a particular piece of action, description, or character’s speech you really enjoyed?
• opinion – how many marks out of 10 would you give the book? What age do you think would enjoy it the most? Does it suit boys or girls better?

You could also choose one these sentence starters and write 3-4 sentences:

• the story took place in… This was important to the story…
• I like/disliked it when…. because...
• The character of… changed by the end of the story…
• an important decision made by the main character was…
• a problem the main character had was…
• this book made me think about…
• from reading the book I learned…
• the title of the story was important…
• an exciting/sad/tense/interesting/important part of the book was…

Keep these tips in mind:

• be detailed – Tell us what you liked or didn’t like. What made it special?
• be accurate – Make sure you get the title, author and character names right, and make sure you double check your spelling and punctuation, and
• don’t spoil it – Please don’t give away the ending! Tell readers enough about the book to get them interested, but keep them hanging so they want to read the book.

Here is a sample that you could use:

• title of book:
• a book that I have just read is _______________ (title) by _______________ (author). 
• I liked it because…
• my favourite character was…
• my favourite part of the book was…, and
• I would recommend it for… I give it _________ marks out of 10.

Non-fiction
If you are reviewing a non-fiction book that you’ve read, your review will look slightly different:

• title and author
• subject – write a sentence or two about the subject of the book you’re reviewing
• summary – tell the audience, in your own words, about what the author had to say about the subject. Pick the most important point, and
• opinion – express your thoughts about the book. What was the most interesting thing you learned about the book’s subject? Was the information clear?

Good luck and we look forward to seeing your reviews!!

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