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Fiction Book Review Guidelines
Format: Assignment Guidelines
For additional format specifics, please see example below:
Sorceress
by Celia Rees
Call Number: F REE Genre: Historical Fantasy
Double space in between the title and the text of the review.
Part One: This first paragraph (at least 5 sentences long) should be a brief and engaging plot
summary. This part is designed to convince your fellow classmates to read the book, so it
must be engaging but without giving away too much of the story. DO NOT USE “YOU” IN YOUR
REVIEW. Always refer to the reader or the audience.
WARNING Plagiarism (copying any part of the material from another source) will result in any automatic zero.
Part Two: The second paragraph should consist of comments on the book and the elements
of the story, the good, the bad, and the ugly with examples from the story to support your
comments. HOWEVER, the commentary must be written in the 3rd person; in other words, DO
NOT begin your comments with the word “I.” Instead, begin your comment with whatever you
are commenting on. For example, if you thought one of the characters was particularly funny
you could say, “Roger, the older brother, was very funny and kept the story going with his antics
like getting stuck in the toilet.” Note that the comment does not begin with “I” and that an
example or reason for the comment/opinion is provided. You would NOT say, “I really liked
Roger because he was so funny”--- one because the comment starts with “I” and two because no
reason or example from the story is given to support the comment. You may also speak about
other elements of the story, such as certain scenes or events, or a technique the author used like
flashbacks or flash-forwards. Your review does not have to be all positive, you may write about
those elements which you did not like as well----just be careful NOT to say, “I think” or “I liked”
or “I didn’t like” etc. The review should end with a recommendation for or against the book
and the reason why. “This book is not/recommended for/because….
Book review may be turned in early for critique and resubmitted for a grade.
Rees, Celia. Sorceress. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2002. Print.
(Don't forget that in a citation, if there is more than one line, the second line should have a hanging
indent - like this line)
Robin Jordan
Page footer:
Rev. 8/2013 R. Jordan
Educational Media I, Page 10 of 16
Rubric for grading the Fiction Book Review
Fiction Book Review
Name ______________________
Grade _____
Sample Book Review
Sorceress
by Celia Rees
Call Number: F REE Genre: Historical Fantasy
This sequel to Rees’s Witch Child is a much more complex story, taking readers into a mystical plot that crosses time and place. Agnes, a Native American, is starting college in Boston. She reads part of a diary about 17th-century Mary Newbury and realizes that she has a connection with her from a story passes down in her family about a white woman who had settled with the Mohawks. Contacting the researcher who found Mary’s diary leads to experiences that Agnes could not have imagined. While visiting the reservation, her aunt leads her in a vision quest where she
“becomes” Mary. She sees a peaceful period, followed by years of death, forced migration, and constant conflict with settlers. Her final role as a respected healer is passed down through Agnes’s ancestors, creating the link between the two women. The book ends with a series of historical notes written by Alison Rees, Celia's mother who researched the events for the book.
Rees manages to carry all of this off through her strong writing style and well-developed characters, using the artifacts that have been preserved in Agnes’s family history to add ot the credibility of the story. The book not only gives readers a view of life 400 years ago and a look at one Native American culture, but also helps them understand what draws someone to historical research by showing that history is the story of people’s lives and the events that shape them. While it can stand alone, the novel will be enjoyed more by those who have read Witch Child.
Rees, Celia. Sorceress. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2002.
Jane G. Connor, SC State Library
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