Addicted to YA discussion

Hi everyone,

So I love reading, which I think I have in common with almost everybody in this group, or even on this site.
So far I've basically been rating books but I haven't really written any reviews. But... I want to start doing this.
First it's a great way to let out all the extra feels when you don't have someone to tell them to.
And I just think it's the least we can do for authors and fellow readers who might not have read the book before.

But what makes a good review? I have no clue. So if you guys could give me some tips, that would be very helpfull.

I appreciate it!

Hello Amber! I admire your thoughtfulness on this subject :). I review the books I read and I am also an author. If a reader is reviewing my books, anything said in the review is better than a rating by itself, even if it is only to say "it was okay" or "I liked it".

When I write reviews, I usually mention the elements that stand out to me in the writing and what I think other readers would want to know: whether or not I can identify with the characters, how the book made me feel, whether I would like to read more books from this author, maybe mention if it was a book that I could not put down or if it took some getting used to.

The most important part to remember is not to post spoilers unless you know how to hide the text in a link that readers can decide whether or not to view. It seems that every reviewer has their own style. If you want to just tell other readers how the book made you feel, that is a great start :).

Marie wrote: "Hello Amber! I admire your thoughtfulness on this subject :). I review the books I read and I am also an author. If a reader is reviewing my books, anything said in the review is better than a rati..."

Thank you so much Marie! Those are great tips and I will ask myself those questions when I'm reviewing a book from now on!

If you felt a connection with the characters make sure you add that there was good character building. If you felt that you could walk in the book world, and have it feel real include that, because readers love to have that in their books, because then they can enjoy the book better. Don't book bash, because it is rude. If you didn't like the book, or certain parts say it in a constructive way such as; I felt the book needed more of this, or less of this. constructive criticism actually can help the author learn what pleases the readers more. put in your review if you would recommend the book, and why.

hope that helps. I am a reader, and reviewer.

Hi there, Amber!

I'm also an author and an avid reviewer myself. Authors love reviews, especially if you loved the book. It encourages us no end to hear that you enjoyed our stories as much as we do. And it can help us gain more sales, especially reviews on sites like Amazon.

However, even if you didn't enjoy a book, most authors would still like to hear about what you thought the problem was. One of the things I don't like about Goodreads is that people can leave a rating without a review. This bothers me if someone has rated my book poorly. If they didn't enjoy it, I'm interested in knowing why. Was it just not their kind of story, or was it some problem with the story? I find these things helpful.

And the review doesn't have to be long. If you liked the book, just say you enjoyed it, and maybe name your favourite character and why. If you didn't like it, say what particularly bugged you, but you don't have to write paragraphs. Authors appreciate the effort that goes into a review, no matter how short. :-)

Thanks you guys! All of this is so helpfull.
I don't know how much I'll be reading in the next months because I'm backpacking but I'll definitely start writing reviews for every book I read!

I've actually been wondering the same thing lately, about how to write a good book review. I don't want them to sound fluffy and whatnot, so most of the time I've just rated the books. Now though after reading the advice here I feel bad for not writing something =/ I feel I owe all the authors I've read, but haven't reviewed, a deep heartfelt apology. I never considered that authors might read the reviews to gauge the success or downfalls of a book. Even though I'm not the one that asked the question, thanks for posting advice here! Much appreciated. And I'll make a better effort to write reviews from now on :)

Lynn wrote: "I've actually been wondering the same thing lately, about how to write a good book review. I don't want them to sound fluffy and whatnot, so most of the time I've just rated the books. Now though a..."

I get how you're feeling. I'll probably end up re-reading most of my books so they're fresh in my memory and then write reviews.

Say what you love about the book and what is problematic for you. It's easier to review nonfiction than fiction because how can you judge the author's vision?

I review all books, even though I think my reviews are kind of sucky =) I know I personally don't read reviews that explain the plot. Unless the blurb is extremely vague and I need more information, I will skip that one and go on to another. I am more curious to read what people thought about the book itself. Which is funny because I don't ever consider that people may be reading my reviews as well.
When I write reviews I write them for myself. It sounds silly, but it's so I can say what I liked and (usually) didn't like about the book. That way, if I continue the series or choose another book by the author later on, I can get a sense of how I will like it or refresh myself on what has already happened in the previous books. I probably come off sounding pessimistic, but I think it's a way for me to get things off my chest, and explain why the story didn't get that last star or two (or three...). I don't have any friends in real life who are readers, and my boyfriend really hates listening to me talk about books so I have to vent somewhere lol
When I add a book or am considering adding a book to my TBR shelf, I scroll down and check out my friends' reviews. Most of them rate the book but do not review it, so I'll have to go down to the general public and skim those. Which is fine, but sometimes I would like to know why one friend gave it 5 stars and one friend gave it 2. I also don't rate books that I didn't finish. I don't think that's fair to the author, but I do leave a review on why I couldn't finish it to remind myself later. Luckily I only have like 8 of those.

Amber wrote: "Lynn wrote: "I've actually been wondering the same thing lately, about how to write a good book review. I don't want them to sound fluffy and whatnot, so most of the time I've just rated the books...."

I know right?? That's what I feel like doing lol. The more recent ones I've read I can probably remember enough of what I felt and liked/disliked, so maybe I can get those written up in the meantime.

Farren wrote: "I review all books, even though I think my reviews are kind of sucky =) I know I personally don't read reviews that explain the plot. Unless the blurb is extremely vague and I need more information..."

Ahhh, yeah, reviews are definitely helpful in the case of a series. Often times having to wait for sequels to come out, I've already forgotten what happened in the previous book(s). So yes, reviews are awesome in helping spark your memory for details. Definitely a good point to keep in mind.
And yes, browsing through the public reviews, as well as friends, it is really nice to see why some people rate higher and others lower. Just seeing the stars doesn't help one decide if they want to read something or not lol.

I try to focus on three things: plot, characters, and writing "style." These can all be really subjective but that's why they're important to mention and to explain. So if i didn't like the main character, i list some of the reasons why. "they did this which didn't make sense in the context of..." or "they felt too generic because of these traits..." or "they were really unlikable because of how they treated..." For plot, it's mostly did it make sense? Was it all over the place or streamlined? Did the plot twists work in the overall context or were they just thrown in for shock value? Was the romance / paranormal / parental neglect / rivalry / reason for self sacrifice believable? For plot it's all about making sense in the context of the worl (and a little bit about personal enjoyment too).
The hardest is style, because that's so subjective. what i like not everyone will like. so i try to pick out the reaspns for what i do and don't like. were sentence lengths all the same? was the vpice pretentious? did it feel like the audience was misjudged? did you connect enough to characters? was there too much thoufht process or too much info dump or too much telling not showing? i try to pick out this stuff to justify my opion, but also because it helps readers decide if it's rhe book for them. I'm all about close dirst person, but a lot of people aren't. i think it's important to have some thinking mixed in with what's going on but for many readers it's boring.

so i guess what im saying (so long winded, i know) is focus on the whys. explain what's wrong, qhat you did and didn't like. it's pkay to have an opinion, but try to tell people why you feel that way. it's more helpful for everyone. :)

E. C. wrote: "I try to focus on three things: plot, characters, and writing "style." These can all be really subjective but that's why they're important to mention and to explain. So if i didn't like the main ch..."

Those are some really good pointers on writing a more analytical review! Some of this I've already been trying to incorporate into my reviews, but some of the others I hadn't thought of. Thanks for sharing ^_^

Thanks everybody for the amazing advice, I'm definitely going to keep these things in mind while writing reviews in the future :)!