24 Book Review Questions to Ask Before Writing a Review

Trying to write a book review but don’t know where to start? I’ve been writing book reviews for over 15 years, and have put together a list of book review questions to help you on your way!

Writing a book review or book report can feel overwhelming for one of two reasons. Either you have too much to say or nothing to say at all.

In either case, having some structure to your review and a roadmap of questions to answer can be helpful in focussing your thoughts so you can write a useful book review.

I’ve been writing book reviews for over 15 years, and these are the book review questions I have developed over time to help me write helpful book reviews.

These book report questions are designed to get your brain thinking about some of the key issues and interesting points about the book you’re writing about.

You certainly don’t have to answer all of them, and you don’t need to follow the order I have used either.

But hopefully these questions can serve as a kind of template for your own book reviews.

What is the book about?

Before you delve into sharing your own opinions, you should share some general information about the book.

This can be to do with its plot, its genre, the setting and whether there is anything readers should be aware of before diving in.

These are good questions to ask about a book as a basic starting point, and, in my view, where you should always begin.

• What is the book about?
• What genre does this book fit into?
• In what time and place is the book set?
• Who is the intended audience of the book?
• Is the book appropriate for that audience?
• Should this book come with any content warnings?

What did you think about the writing style?

An author could craft the most fascinating story in the world, but if they can’t convey that story with an interesting or logical style, then a book may well just fall flat.

Consider whether the author of the book you are reviewing has a particularly interesting style, and what it is about their style that shaped the book and your opinion of it.

• What style is the book written in?
• What point of view is the book written from?
• Does the author use any interesting techniques?

What did you think about the characters?

Really compelling characters, whether you love them or hate them, can make a book really stand out. If they don’t feel real, then a book can crumble pretty quickly.

Make sure that you include some information about the main character (or characters), but don’t feel like you need to mention every single character in the book. Reviews should be comprehensive but don’t need to cover every small detail.

• Who are the key characters in the book?
• Did the characters feel real?
• Are the characters likeable?
• Which character did you find most compelling?
• Could you relate to the key characters?

What did you think about the book overall?

Of course, any good book review should contain what you, the reviewer, actually thought about it! These book review questions to ask yourself are some of the most important.

Did you discover a new favourite book or is this one you wish you had never picked up in the first place?

Try to share a balanced view so readers of your review can come to their own conclusions about whether this book is worth reading for them.

Some points that you might not have liked might be another reader’s favourite trope!

• What did you like about the book?
• What did you dislike about the book?
• What could have been improved?
• How did the book make you feel?
• How does the book compare to other similar books?

What’s your final verdict?

Make sure to wrap up your book review with some final reflections about who should read this book, what you learnt from it and what other books it is similar to.

If a reader sees that a book is similar to one they have already read and loved, then that’s a great indication that they’ll love this one too.

• Would you recommend this book?
• What did you learn from reading this?
• What sort of reader would like this book?
• What other books did this one remind you of?
• What star rating would you give this book?

That concludes my list of book questions to ask yourself to kick your brain in gear, and get you thinking about all the most interesting points of the book you’ve just read.

If you found this post helpful, you may also enjoy these posts about book blogging:
How to Write a Negative Book Review
How to Start a Book Blog
36 Easy Book Blog Post Ideas