book review digest

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Biographical, up-to-date profiles of accomplished and rising stars.

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Identifies the best and most current material available to your library.

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A balanced exploration of current topics through selected essays.

Magill's Literary Annual

This title critically evaluates examples of serious literature, both fiction and nonfiction, published during the previous calendar year.

The standard thesaurus of subject terminology for libraries.

Readers' Guide to Periodicals

Broad, timely coverage of general-interest periodicals.

Index to Legal Periodicals

Coverage of legal periodicals and monographs.

Short Story Index

A unique guide to short stories of all styles and genres.

Facts About...

An expansive series of reference titles.

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Detailed accounts of the lives and work of Nobel Prize winners

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Gain access to the online databases of our titles.

Book Review Digest

Concise, critical evaluations from selected periodicals.

“A handy, useful, accurate index to a standard library tool.” - American Reference Books Annual

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Concise critical evaluations are culled from more than 100 selected American, British, and Canadian periodicals

Book Review Digest is an essential library tool that brings together book reviews on a wide range of topics, from a variety of sources. Unlike reviews on book-sale sites and the open Internet, these are serious reviews by qualified experts.

This invaluable resource for literary and biographical research is essential for readers’ advisory and collection development. It provides excerpts from, and citations to, reviews of adult and juvenile fiction and nonfiction. It also includes descriptive summaries of the books. Virtually every book has at least one substantial review excerpt, and most have at least two or more. Every book in Book Review Digest appears with all its reviews together in the same listing.

The Digest includes:

• Complete coverage of 5,000+ books reviewed by 100+ publications in the previous year
• Arranged by Author, each entry includes generous excerpts from several book reviews
• Subject & Title Index, plus See and See also references for additional guidance
• Access by Genre is included for biographies, plays, poetry, and short stories

Entries in Book Review Digest are arranged alphabetically by author, or title if appropriate, and supply:

• Publication year
• Descriptive note
• Review excerpts
• Notation of illustrations or maps

Enhancing its value as both a collection development and general reference tool, Book Review Digest offers subject access to book reviews in a separate Subject and Title Index which also provides subject headings for adult fiction under the entry for "Fiction themes," and gathers biographies in a biography section and juvenile literature into three age ranges. In addition, complete publication data is provided in every issue for each of the journals from which reviews are excerpted.

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Book Review Digest Retrospective: 1903-1982

Collecting nearly eight decades of H.W. Wilson’s Book Review Digest, this archive database provides over a million book review citations from 1903 to 1982. It covers adult and juvenile fiction and nonfiction and provides at least one review excerpt per book. 

Virtually every major idea that shaped the 20 th  century found expression in books. The reactions to those ideas are reflected in the reviews of those books, and Book Review Digest Retrospective makes it easy to search this vast record of information. 

Book Review Digest Retrospective includes at least one substantial review excerpt (up to 500 words) per book. Book reviewers are searchable by name, with excerpts by such famous writers as Edmund Wilson and John Updike.

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The Online Books Page

presents serial archive listings for

Book Review Digest

Book Review Digest is an American publication that summarizes and quotes from book reviews. (There is a Wikipedia article about this serial .)

Publication History

Book Review Digest began in 1905 as a monthly publication with an annual cumulation. No issue or contribution copyright renewals were found for this serial. ( More details ) It is still published today, both in annual volumes and in an online database. Listings below are annotated with the year they cover (which may be the year before they were published).

Persistent Archives of Complete Issues

• 1905-1928: HathiTrust has the 1st through 24th annual cumulations . Some later volumes might be searchable but not readable online here.
• 1905: The Internet Archive has the 1st annual cumulation .
• 1906: The Internet Archive has the 2nd annual cumulation .
• 1907: The Internet Archive has the 3rd annual cumulation .
• 1908: The Internet Archive has the 4th annual cumulation .
• 1909: The Internet Archive has the 5th annual cumulation .
• 1910: The Internet Archive has the 6th annual cumulation .
• 1911: The Internet Archive has the 7th annual cumulation .
• 1912: The Internet Archive has the 8th annual cumulation .
• 1913: The Internet Archive has the 9th annual cumulation .
• 1914: The Internet Archive has the 10th annual cumulation .
• 1915: The Internet Archive has the 11th annual cumulation .
• 1916: The Internet Archive has the 12th annual cumulation .
• 1917: The Internet Archive has the 13th annual cumulation .
• 1918: The Internet Archive has the 14th annual cumulation .
• 1919: The Internet Archive has the 15th annual cumulation .
• 1920: The Internet Archive has the 16th annual cumulation .
• 1921: The Internet Archive has the 17th annual cumulation . This volume includes a cumulated index for 1917-1921.
• 1922: The Internet Archive has the 18th annual cumulation .
• 1923: The Internet Archive has the 19th annual cumulation .

Book Review Digest Plus

Use this resource to answer questions like: 

• What kinds of reviews has The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo received?
• I need reviews written by Malcolm Gladwell.
• What's been published recently about women in Argentina?
• My book group needs reviews of The Poisonwood Bible .

Book Review Digest offers excerpts and full-text reviews on a wide range of topics from various sources.  Review sources include newspapers, popular magazines, and academic journals as far back as 1983.

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Provides selected extracts of book reviews as well as citations to additional reviews of adult and juvenile fiction and non-fiction.

Additional Information:

Collecting nearly eight decades of H.W. Wilson’s Book Review Digest, this archive database provides over a million book review citations from 1903 to 1982. It includes at least one review excerpt per book.

Coverage: 1903 to 1982 - Updates vary

Vendor: EBSCO

Producer: HW WIlson

Interlibrary Loan Type: Not Permitted

Simultaneous User Limit: Unlimited simultaneous users

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Featured Databases

Book Reviews

Book reviews provide summaries, contemporary criticism, and succinct evaluations about published works. Here are a few ways to track down reviews at the Library.

Book reviews provide summaries, contemporary criticism, and succinct evaluations about published works. Reviews normally appear within a year of the date of publication; if this date is not known, it often can be ascertained by searching the title of the work in CATNYP , the online catalog of the research collections; if the publication is not found therein and was acquired by the Library before 1971, it is then necessary to check the Dictionary Catalog of the Research Libraries . If these two sources are unable to provide the desired information, please consult WorldCat , an international bibliographic database. In addition, feel free to speak to a librarian at the Information Desk. If you need further assistance, visit our reference desk, or e-mail us at [email protected]

Requesting Materials

Sources for book review citations will provide the titles and dates of periodicals in which the reviews appear. To obtain the call numbers of the appropriate periodicals, first check CATNYP, the Library’s online catalog. If the periodical in question is not found in CATNYP, check the 800-volume Dictionary Catalog of the Research Libraries of the New York Public Library , listing materials acquired before 1972. Although the vast majority of the entries in the Dictionary Catalog are to be found in CATNYP, some titles, especially defunct periodicals of limited run, may be found only in the Dictionary Catalog . After determining the call number for the periodical, complete a blue and white call slip with the title of the periodical, the date of the article, and the call number. Do not include the title of the article or its author.

Basic Reference Sources

Book Review Digest Plus An index, with abstracts, to book reviews from publications in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. It covers the period from 1983 to the present. Book Review Digest Retrospective Same as above but covers the period from 1905 through 1982. Both Book Review Digest Plus and Book Review Digest Retrospective may be searched by keyword, subject, title of book, author of book, author of review, Dewey Decimal Number, publication year, and ISBN. Book Review Index Online Covering the period from 1965 to the present, this resource indexes book reviews appearing in British and American scholarly and general interest publications. This resource may be searched by keyword, author of book, author of review, title of book, and publication date.

Book Reviews in Retrospective Sources

Nineteenth-Century Masterfile is an electronic index to many resources printed in the nineteenth century. It is especially important for its inclusion of Poole’s Index to Periodical Literature, 1802-1881 which contains book reviews. American Periodical Series and America’s Historical Newspapers are databases which can be searched by keyword. The former provides the full text of many periodicals, and the latter is the equivalent resource for newspapers; both cover the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Book reviews are found in both resources, and may be searched by title of the book, author of the book, or author of review. The following print titles provide a resource for book reviews for the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a period which precedes the introduction of the standard book review indexing tools. Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Humanities Journals, 1802-1974 (Woodbridge, CT: Research Publications, 1982-1984), 10 vols. JFF 96-5182 . Arranged alphabetically by author of the book and supplemented by title index. Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals, 1886-1974 (Arlington, Va.: Carrollton Press, 1979-1982), 15 vols. JFF 96-5151 . Arranged alphabetically by author of the book and supplemented by title index. C.R.I.S.: The Combined Retrospective Index Set to Journals in History, 1838-1974 (Washington: Carrollton Press, 1977-1978), 11 vols. JFF 94-1576 . Volumes one through four cover world history; volumes five through nine cover United States history, and volumes ten and eleven are author indexes. C.R.I.S.: The Combined Retrospective Index Set to Journals in Political Science, 1886-1974 (Washington: Carrollton Press, 1977-1978), 8 vols. JLF 86-1799 . Volume one covers international affairs, organizations, international relations, and trade; volume two covers general studies and methodology; volumes three to six cover public administration; and volumes seven and eight are the author index. C.R.I.S.: The Combined Retrospective Index Set to Journals in Sociology, 1895-1974 (Washington: Carrollton Press, 1978), 6 vols. JLF 86-1798 . Please see CATNYP for the arrangement by sub-discipline for each volume; volume 6 is the author index.

Book Reviews in Contemporary Sources

Many contemporary resources provide book reviews; they are available electronically and may be consulted on the Library’s Selected Electronic Resources page. Please check the description for each resource to determine the years covered as well as the availability of full text as opposed to citations. The following is a select list of these specialized resources. EBSCO Research Databases provide full text or abstract for articles, including book reviews, appearing in scholarly, specialized, and general periodicals. Thousands of periodicals, representing a wide range of disciplines and subjects, are covered. More specialized indexing tools include the following: Access: The Supplementary Index to Periodicals; America: History and Life; Anthropological Literature; Art Full Text; Art Index Retrospective; ATLA Religion Database; Historical Abstracts; Humanities Abstracts; Social Sciences Abstracts; Sociological Abstracts; PsychArticles; PsychInfo. The book reviews indexed in these sources may be accessed by title of book, name of author of book, and name of reviewer .

Selected Internet Sites

• Bookreporter http://www.bookreporter.com/index.asp Book reviews, author profiles and interviews, excerpts, literary games and contests.
• Booksonline http://www.booksonline.co.uk Reviews and book-related articles from the London Telegraph. Published online since 1996.
• H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/ An international, interdisciplinary consortium of scholars and teachers, H-Net creates and coordinates Internet networks in order to advance teaching and research in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Site contains peer-reviewed essays, multimedia materials, and discussions aimed at colleagues and the interested public.
• London Review of Books http://www.lrb.co.uk Website of the bimonthly London Review of Books features an extensive, full-text archive.
• New York Review of Books http://nybooks.com/nyrev/ Contains select full-text articles.
• Salon.com: Books http://www.salon.com/books/index.html Daily book reviews, interviews with writers, and a weekly list of reading recommendations by celebrated authors.

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Book Review Digest Retrospective: 1903-1982 (H. W. Wilson) - FAQs

Oct 17, 2018 • knowledge, information, q. what is book review digest retrospective .

A. Book Review Digest Retrospective is a one-of-a-kind resource that provides access to nearly eight decades worth of literary critique, evaluation, and thought. A comprehensive literary and biographical research, readers’ advisory, and collection development tool, the database features at least one substantial review excerpt (up to 500 words) for every book that was reviewed in any of over 500 indexed journals and “Master” records for each book. It contains over 41,000 full-text reviews and nearly 1.5 million review citations from key English-language magazines, newspapers, and academic journals. The product covers nearly 80 years of critical analysis for adult, young adult, and children’s fiction and nonfiction.

Q. How often is Book Review Digest Retrospective updated?

A. Content for Book Review Digest Retrospective is updated yearly.

Q. How should Book Review Digest Retrospective be used?

A. Book Review Digest Retrospective is designed to serve educators, researchers, students, publishers, corporate customers, librarians, and library patrons by providing access to concise, critical evaluations for books with subject coverage in areas such as art, biography, business, education, history, the humanities, literature, religion, science & technology, the social sciences, and much, much more. Given the database’s broad subject coverage and diverse range of review sources, Book Review Digest Retrospective easily provides the following services:

A literary research aid. “Master” book records with complete bibliographic data and coverage for over 500 indexed journals, magazines, and newspapers assist with any literature research. Virtually every major idea that shaped the 20th century found expression in books. The reactions to those ideas are reflected in the reviews of those books, and this database makes it easy to search this vast record of information.

A biographical research aid. Book reviewers are searchable by name, with excerpts by such famous writers as Edmund Wilson, John Updike, Helen Vendler, and hundreds of others.

A collection development aid. Unlike reviews available through vendor sites and the open Web, Book Review Digest Retrospective includes reviews that are serious, academic works to help librarians make informed purchasing decisions.

As a general reference tool. Book Review Digest Retrospective covers nearly 80 years of critical analysis for adult, young adult, and children’s fiction and nonfiction.

Q. What is the best way to get a review for a book?

A. There are many ways to get a review for a book; two stand out as the most efficient paths:

Search for a title or author from either the basic search screen or advanced search screen. On the results page, select Reviews within the Source Type facet on the left side of the screen.

In Advanced Search, search for the book’s title and select Review from the Document Type list.

How to Find Book Reviews: Critical Reviews

• Getting Started
• Scholarly Reviews
• Critical Reviews
• General Interest Reviews

About Critical Reviews

Critical reviews are written for an informed readership, and exist at a crossroads between journalism and scholarship. The authors are often experts in their fields, but they are writing for a general rather than a scholarly audience. These reviews are longer than general interest reviews, and might appear in such publications as the New York Review of Books , The New Yorker , or The Village Voice .

Best Bet Library Databases

Individual Titles

The following magazines can be searched individually online. For other review titles (for example,  London Review of Books ) use the databases in Best Bets above to find citations and then locate the full text of the article in print.

Research Tip: Book Review Searching

Book review searching.

• Search for the title of the book, enclosed in quotation marks ("World's Best Book")
• If the title is not very distinctive, add the author's last name
• Look for limit to "book review" or add search term "review"

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• Last Updated: Apr 8, 2024 10:24 AM
• URL: https://libguides.williams.edu/book-reviews

Book Reviews: A Finding Guide: Resources by Date

• Introduction
• Online Resources
• Print Resources
• Resources by Date
• Need Help? Ask A Librarian

Chronological List of Book Review Resources

• 1665 or later to the "moving wall" -- JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive.
• 1749 to 1800. -- Index to Book Reviews in England. (Olin Reference AI 3 .F73)
• 1770 to 1993. -- Periodicals Index Online.
• 1800 to 1900. -- The Literary [and Historical] Index to American Literary Magazines. (Olin Reference Z 1225 .W38x)
• 1886 to 1974. -- Combined Retrospective Index to Scholarly Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals, 1886-1974. (Olin Reference AI 3 .C73)
• 1890 to 1982. -- Reader's Guide Retrospective.
• 1900 to 1943. -- Bibliographie der Rezensionen. (Olin Stacks + AI 9 .B583)
• Circa 1900 to date. -- Articles & Full Text.
• 1905 to 1982. -- Book Review Digest. (Olin Reference Z 1219 .B72) (print version)
• 1920 to date. -- Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL)
• 1923 to 1979. -- Science Fiction Book Review Index. (Olin Reference Z 5917 .S36 H17 and Z 5917 .S36 H171)
• 1945, 1956, or 1975 to date. -- Web of Science: Science, Social Sciences, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index.
• 1949 to date. -- ATLA Religion Database .
• 1954 to date. -- America: History & Life.
• 1960 to 1990. -- Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities. (Olin Reference AI 3 .I367)
• 1964 to 1974. -- Book Review Index to Social Science Periodicals. (Olin Reference AI 3 .I3671)
• 1965 to 1970. -- Index to Australian Book Reviews. (Uris Stacks Periodicals Oversize Z 4011 .I38)
• 1965 to date. -- Book Review Index. (Olin Reference Z 1219 .B721)
• 1968 to 1985, 1987 to 1988. -- Referencias críticas sobre autores chilenos. (Uris Stacks Z 1701 .R33)
• 1970 to 2019. -- American Reference Books Annual. (Uris Stacks Periodicals Z 1035.1 .A55)
• 1971 to date. -- Internationale Bibliographie der Rezensionen geistes- und sozialwissenschaftlicher Literatur = International bibliography of book reviews of scholarly literature on the humanities and social sciences. [aka IBR] (Olin Stacks + AI 9 .I612)
• 1972 to 1977. -- Book Reviews in Historical Periodicals. (Uris Stacks Z 6205 .I38)
• 1973 to 1995. -- French Periodical Index. (Olin Reference AI 7 .F87)
• 1975 to date with significant earlier coverage. -- Academic Search Premier.
• 1976 to 1982. -- Current Book Review Citations. (Olin Reference Z 1219 .C98)
• 1979 to date. -- London Review of Books.
• 1981 to date. -- Library Literature & Information Science Index.
• 1983 to date. -- IBR: International Bibliography of Book Reviews. (online version)
• 1986 to date. -- ProQuest Research Library.
• 1993 or later to date. -- Project MUSE.
• 2019 to date. -- Latino Book Review.
• Currently in print. -- Bowker's Books in Print ; Amazon.com
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• Last Updated: Mar 28, 2024 2:10 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/bookreviews

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How do I find reviews?

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Getting Started

Reviews for a general audience, reviews for a scholarly audience.

• Film Reviews
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Do you want to know how a book was received by scholars? Are you trying to determine the quality of a particular book? Or, are you just interested in knowing if a book is worth reading? Book reviews are a great place to start. This guide provides guidance on finding two types of book reviews, those for a general audience and those for a scholarly audience.

Literature and popular works (memoirs, travel writing, manuals, etc.) are often reviewed by journalists or fellow authors upon publication in newspapers or magazines. Use the following databases to find reviews in these publications.

• Book Review Index This link opens in a new window & more less... A comprehensive online guide to book reviews with over five million review citations from thousands of publications.
• Book Review Digest Plus This link opens in a new window & more less... Book Review Digest is a reference database that provides review excerpts and book summaries for current English-language fiction and non-fiction books. Limit of 1 simultaneous user.
• Book Review Digest Retrospective This link opens in a new window 1903-1982 & more less... Indexes and abstracts reviews of English language adult and juvenile fiction and non-fiction titles. Reviews are selected from journals in the humanities, sciences, social sciences and library review media.

Other Sources for Book Reviews

Many reviews are published in newspapers and magazines. Use the guides below to find the best databases to search for reviews in these publications.

• How do I find magazines? by Ask a Librarian Updated Feb 17, 2024 312 views this year
• How do I find newspapers? by Ask a Librarian Updated Apr 3, 2024 4365 views this year

Scholarly books are reviewed in academic or peer-reviewed journals and are written by academics. As these reviews place the work in the context of current scholarship, they can take several years to appear after the book was published.

Starting Points

• JSTOR This link opens in a new window Recommended Starting Point . Use Advanced Search and limit to "Reviews". You can also limit by discipline. & more less... A database of back issues of core journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. All issues of each journal are included in full-text except for the most recent 2-to-5 years.
• IBR Online This link opens in a new window & more less... Multilingual and interdisciplinary index to book reviews, chiefly in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
• Web of Science This link opens in a new window Conduct your search for book or author, and then limit to "Book Reviews". & more less... Authoritative, multidisciplinary content covers over 10,000 of the highest impact journals worldwide, including Open Access journals and over 110,000 conference proceedings. You'll find current and retrospective coverage in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities, with coverage available to 1900. Includes the Science Citation Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index. Web of Science is especially useful for its citation linking.
• Periodicals Index Online This link opens in a new window & more less... Part of Nineteenth Century Index. Indexes the contents of thousands of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences from 1665 to 1995, including many European titles. Includes links to some full-text articles. Dates of full-text coverage vary by title.
• Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective This link opens in a new window & more less... Database corresponds to International Index, 1907 - March 1965; Social Sciences & Humanities Index, April 1965 March 1974; Humanities Index, April 1974 March 1984; and Social Sciences Index, April 1974 March 1983

Other Databases for Book Reviews

We strongly recommend searching the article database or index that covers the academic literature in a specific field for reviews. Use the Advanced Search option and limit to "Book Reviews" or "Reviews".  Find the best database for book reviews in your field by using our subject guides.

• Library Subject Guides

Book Review Indexes in Print

Below are a few print sources for finding book reviews.

• Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Humanities Journals, 1802-1974 & more less... 10 vols. Ed by Evan Ira Farber. Woodbridge: Research Publications, 1982-1984. Covers 150 literature, philosophy, classics, folklore, linguistics & music journals, from England and the US Organized by primary authors or editors and then by book titles.
• Literary and Historical index to American Magazines, 1800-1850 & more less... Ed by Daniel A. Wells & Jonathan Daniel Wells. Westport: Praeger, 2004.

Ask a Librarian

Publications with Book Reviews

• London Review of Books Library has on microfilm 1979 - present.
• New York Review of Books This link opens in a new window & more less... New York Review of Books reviews contemporary books in all subject areas.
• New Yorker Library has in print 1925 - present.
• Publishers Weekly Library has in print and microfilm 1873 - present. Recent issues available online via Find It!
• TLS: Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive This link opens in a new window & more less... Covers 1902-2006. This easy-to-navigate, fully-searchable resource is a witness to the cultural revolutions of the last 100 years and offers unparalleled opportunities for tracking the views of influential opinion-makers, the response of their peers, the controversies of the day and how they developed. --Publisher's website
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• Subjects: Social Services
• Updated: Feb 17, 2024 12:09 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uchicago.edu/reviews
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Excerpts from, and citations to, reviews of adult and juvenile fiction and non-fiction. Includes Book Review Digest Plus (1983 to the present) and Book Review Digest Retrospective (1905-1982).

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Blog – Posted on Friday, Mar 29

17 book review examples to help you write the perfect review.

It’s an exciting time to be a book reviewer. Once confined to print newspapers and journals, reviews now dot many corridors of the Internet — forever helping others discover their next great read. That said, every book reviewer will face a familiar panic: how can you do justice to a great book in just a thousand words?

As you know, the best way to learn how to do something is by immersing yourself in it. Luckily, the Internet (i.e. Goodreads and other review sites , in particular) has made book reviews more accessible than ever — which means that there are a lot of book reviews examples out there for you to view!

In this post, we compiled 17 prototypical book review examples in multiple genres to help you figure out how to write the perfect review . If you want to jump straight to the examples, you can skip the next section. Otherwise, let’s first check out what makes up a good review.

Are you interested in becoming a book reviewer? We recommend you check out Reedsy Discovery , where you can earn money for writing reviews — and are guaranteed people will read your reviews! To register as a book reviewer, sign up here.

Pro-tip : But wait! How are you sure if you should become a book reviewer in the first place? If you're on the fence, or curious about your match with a book reviewing career, take our quick quiz:

Should you become a book reviewer?

Find out the answer. Takes 30 seconds!

What must a book review contain?

Like all works of art, no two book reviews will be identical. But fear not: there are a few guidelines for any aspiring book reviewer to follow. Most book reviews, for instance, are less than 1,500 words long, with the sweet spot hitting somewhere around the 1,000-word mark. (However, this may vary depending on the platform on which you’re writing, as we’ll see later.)

In addition, all reviews share some universal elements, as shown in our book review templates . These include:

• A review will offer a concise plot summary of the book. 
• A book review will offer an evaluation of the work. 
• A book review will offer a recommendation for the audience. 

If these are the basic ingredients that make up a book review, it’s the tone and style with which the book reviewer writes that brings the extra panache. This will differ from platform to platform, of course. A book review on Goodreads, for instance, will be much more informal and personal than a book review on Kirkus Reviews, as it is catering to a different audience. However, at the end of the day, the goal of all book reviews is to give the audience the tools to determine whether or not they’d like to read the book themselves.

Keeping that in mind, let’s proceed to some book review examples to put all of this in action.

How much of a book nerd are you, really?

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Book review examples for fiction books

Since story is king in the world of fiction, it probably won’t come as any surprise to learn that a book review for a novel will concentrate on how well the story was told .

That said, book reviews in all genres follow the same basic formula that we discussed earlier. In these examples, you’ll be able to see how book reviewers on different platforms expertly intertwine the plot summary and their personal opinions of the book to produce a clear, informative, and concise review.

Note: Some of the book review examples run very long. If a book review is truncated in this post, we’ve indicated by including a […] at the end, but you can always read the entire review if you click on the link provided.

Examples of literary fiction book reviews

Kirkus Reviews reviews Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man :

An extremely powerful story of a young Southern Negro, from his late high school days through three years of college to his life in Harlem.

His early training prepared him for a life of humility before white men, but through injustices- large and small, he came to realize that he was an "invisible man". People saw in him only a reflection of their preconceived ideas of what he was, denied his individuality, and ultimately did not see him at all. This theme, which has implications far beyond the obvious racial parallel, is skillfully handled. The incidents of the story are wholly absorbing. The boy's dismissal from college because of an innocent mistake, his shocked reaction to the anonymity of the North and to Harlem, his nightmare experiences on a one-day job in a paint factory and in the hospital, his lightning success as the Harlem leader of a communistic organization known as the Brotherhood, his involvement in black versus white and black versus black clashes and his disillusion and understanding of his invisibility- all climax naturally in scenes of violence and riot, followed by a retreat which is both literal and figurative. Parts of this experience may have been told before, but never with such freshness, intensity and power.

This is Ellison's first novel, but he has complete control of his story and his style. Watch it.

Lyndsey reviews George Orwell’s 1984 on Goodreads:

YOU. ARE. THE. DEAD. Oh my God. I got the chills so many times toward the end of this book. It completely blew my mind. It managed to surpass my high expectations AND be nothing at all like I expected. Or in Newspeak "Double Plus Good." Let me preface this with an apology. If I sound stunningly inarticulate at times in this review, I can't help it. My mind is completely fried.

This book is like the dystopian Lord of the Rings, with its richly developed culture and economics, not to mention a fully developed language called Newspeak, or rather more of the anti-language, whose purpose is to limit speech and understanding instead of to enhance and expand it. The world-building is so fully fleshed out and spine-tinglingly terrifying that it's almost as if George travelled to such a place, escaped from it, and then just wrote it all down.

I read Fahrenheit 451 over ten years ago in my early teens. At the time, I remember really wanting to read 1984, although I never managed to get my hands on it. I'm almost glad I didn't. Though I would not have admitted it at the time, it would have gone over my head. Or at the very least, I wouldn't have been able to appreciate it fully. […]

The New York Times reviews Lisa Halliday’s Asymmetry :

Three-quarters of the way through Lisa Halliday’s debut novel, “Asymmetry,” a British foreign correspondent named Alistair is spending Christmas on a compound outside of Baghdad. His fellow revelers include cameramen, defense contractors, United Nations employees and aid workers. Someone’s mother has FedExed a HoneyBaked ham from Maine; people are smoking by the swimming pool. It is 2003, just days after Saddam Hussein’s capture, and though the mood is optimistic, Alistair is worrying aloud about the ethics of his chosen profession, wondering if reporting on violence doesn’t indirectly abet violence and questioning why he’d rather be in a combat zone than reading a picture book to his son. But every time he returns to London, he begins to “spin out.” He can’t go home. “You observe what people do with their freedom — what they don’t do — and it’s impossible not to judge them for it,” he says.

The line, embedded unceremoniously in the middle of a page-long paragraph, doubles, like so many others in “Asymmetry,” as literary criticism. Halliday’s novel is so strange and startlingly smart that its mere existence seems like commentary on the state of fiction. One finishes “Asymmetry” for the first or second (or like this reader, third) time and is left wondering what other writers are not doing with their freedom — and, like Alistair, judging them for it.

Despite its title, “Asymmetry” comprises two seemingly unrelated sections of equal length, appended by a slim and quietly shocking coda. Halliday’s prose is clean and lean, almost reportorial in the style of W. G. Sebald, and like the murmurings of a shy person at a cocktail party, often comic only in single clauses. It’s a first novel that reads like the work of an author who has published many books over many years. […]

Emily W. Thompson reviews Michael Doane's The Crossing on Reedsy Discovery :

In Doane’s debut novel, a young man embarks on a journey of self-discovery with surprising results.

An unnamed protagonist (The Narrator) is dealing with heartbreak. His love, determined to see the world, sets out for Portland, Oregon. But he’s a small-town boy who hasn’t traveled much. So, the Narrator mourns her loss and hides from life, throwing himself into rehabbing an old motorcycle. Until one day, he takes a leap; he packs his bike and a few belongings and heads out to find the Girl.

Following in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac and William Least Heat-Moon, Doane offers a coming of age story about a man finding himself on the backroads of America. Doane’s a gifted writer with fluid prose and insightful observations, using The Narrator’s personal interactions to illuminate the diversity of the United States.

The Narrator initially sticks to the highways, trying to make it to the West Coast as quickly as possible. But a hitchhiker named Duke convinces him to get off the beaten path and enjoy the ride. “There’s not a place that’s like any other,” [39] Dukes contends, and The Narrator realizes he’s right. Suddenly, the trip is about the journey, not just the destination. The Narrator ditches his truck and traverses the deserts and mountains on his bike. He destroys his phone, cutting off ties with his past and living only in the moment.

As he crosses the country, The Narrator connects with several unique personalities whose experiences and views deeply impact his own. Duke, the complicated cowboy and drifter, who opens The Narrator’s eyes to a larger world. Zooey, the waitress in Colorado who opens his heart and reminds him that love can be found in this big world. And Rosie, The Narrator’s sweet landlady in Portland, who helps piece him back together both physically and emotionally.

This supporting cast of characters is excellent. Duke, in particular, is wonderfully nuanced and complicated. He’s a throwback to another time, a man without a cell phone who reads Sartre and sleeps under the stars. Yet he’s also a grifter with a “love ‘em and leave ‘em” attitude that harms those around him. It’s fascinating to watch The Narrator wrestle with Duke’s behavior, trying to determine which to model and which to discard.

Doane creates a relatable protagonist in The Narrator, whose personal growth doesn’t erase his faults. His willingness to hit the road with few resources is admirable, and he’s prescient enough to recognize the jealousy of those who cannot or will not take the leap. His encounters with new foods, places, and people broaden his horizons. Yet his immaturity and selfishness persist. He tells Rosie she’s been a good mother to him but chooses to ignore the continuing concern from his own parents as he effectively disappears from his old life.

Despite his flaws, it’s a pleasure to accompany The Narrator on his physical and emotional journey. The unexpected ending is a fitting denouement to an epic and memorable road trip.

The Book Smugglers review Anissa Gray’s The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls :

I am still dipping my toes into the literally fiction pool, finding what works for me and what doesn’t. Books like The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray are definitely my cup of tea.

Althea and Proctor Cochran had been pillars of their economically disadvantaged community for years – with their local restaurant/small market and their charity drives. Until they are found guilty of fraud for stealing and keeping most of the money they raised and sent to jail. Now disgraced, their entire family is suffering the consequences, specially their twin teenage daughters Baby Vi and Kim.  To complicate matters even more: Kim was actually the one to call the police on her parents after yet another fight with her mother. […]

Examples of children’s and YA fiction book reviews

The Book Hookup reviews Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give :

♥ Quick Thoughts and Rating: 5 stars! I can’t imagine how challenging it would be to tackle the voice of a movement like Black Lives Matter, but I do know that Thomas did it with a finesse only a talented author like herself possibly could. With an unapologetically realistic delivery packed with emotion, The Hate U Give is a crucially important portrayal of the difficulties minorities face in our country every single day. I have no doubt that this book will be met with resistance by some (possibly many) and slapped with a “controversial” label, but if you’ve ever wondered what it was like to walk in a POC’s shoes, then I feel like this is an unflinchingly honest place to start.

In Angie Thomas’s debut novel, Starr Carter bursts on to the YA scene with both heart-wrecking and heartwarming sincerity. This author is definitely one to watch.

♥ Review: The hype around this book has been unquestionable and, admittedly, that made me both eager to get my hands on it and terrified to read it. I mean, what if I was to be the one person that didn’t love it as much as others? (That seems silly now because of how truly mesmerizing THUG was in the most heartbreakingly realistic way.) However, with the relevancy of its summary in regards to the unjust predicaments POC currently face in the US, I knew this one was a must-read, so I was ready to set my fears aside and dive in. That said, I had an altogether more personal, ulterior motive for wanting to read this book. […]

The New York Times reviews Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood :

Alice Crewe (a last name she’s chosen for herself) is a fairy tale legacy: the granddaughter of Althea Proserpine, author of a collection of dark-as-night fairy tales called “Tales From the Hinterland.” The book has a cult following, and though Alice has never met her grandmother, she’s learned a little about her through internet research. She hasn’t read the stories, because her mother, Ella Proserpine, forbids it.

Alice and Ella have moved from place to place in an attempt to avoid the “bad luck” that seems to follow them. Weird things have happened. As a child, Alice was kidnapped by a man who took her on a road trip to find her grandmother; he was stopped by the police before they did so. When at 17 she sees that man again, unchanged despite the years, Alice panics. Then Ella goes missing, and Alice turns to Ellery Finch, a schoolmate who’s an Althea Proserpine superfan, for help in tracking down her mother. Not only has Finch read every fairy tale in the collection, but handily, he remembers them, sharing them with Alice as they journey to the mysterious Hazel Wood, the estate of her now-dead grandmother, where they hope to find Ella.

“The Hazel Wood” starts out strange and gets stranger, in the best way possible. (The fairy stories Finch relays, which Albert includes as their own chapters, are as creepy and evocative as you’d hope.) Albert seamlessly combines contemporary realism with fantasy, blurring the edges in a way that highlights that place where stories and real life convene, where magic contains truth and the world as it appears is false, where just about anything can happen, particularly in the pages of a very good book. It’s a captivating debut. […]

James reviews Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight, Moon on Goodreads:

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is one of the books that followers of my blog voted as a must-read for our Children's Book August 2018 Readathon. Come check it out and join the next few weeks!

This picture book was such a delight. I hadn't remembered reading it when I was a child, but it might have been read to me... either way, it was like a whole new experience! It's always so difficult to convince a child to fall asleep at night. I don't have kids, but I do have a 5-month-old puppy who whines for 5 minutes every night when he goes in his cage/crate (hopefully he'll be fully housebroken soon so he can roam around when he wants). I can only imagine! I babysat a lot as a teenager and I have tons of younger cousins, nieces, and nephews, so I've been through it before, too. This was a believable experience, and it really helps show kids how to relax and just let go when it's time to sleep.

The bunny's are adorable. The rhymes are exquisite. I found it pretty fun, but possibly a little dated given many of those things aren't normal routines anymore. But the lessons to take from it are still powerful. Loved it! I want to sample some more books by this fine author and her illustrators.

Publishers Weekly reviews Elizabeth Lilly’s Geraldine :

This funny, thoroughly accomplished debut opens with two words: “I’m moving.” They’re spoken by the title character while she swoons across her family’s ottoman, and because Geraldine is a giraffe, her full-on melancholy mode is quite a spectacle. But while Geraldine may be a drama queen (even her mother says so), it won’t take readers long to warm up to her. The move takes Geraldine from Giraffe City, where everyone is like her, to a new school, where everyone else is human. Suddenly, the former extrovert becomes “That Giraffe Girl,” and all she wants to do is hide, which is pretty much impossible. “Even my voice tries to hide,” she says, in the book’s most poignant moment. “It’s gotten quiet and whispery.” Then she meets Cassie, who, though human, is also an outlier (“I’m that girl who wears glasses and likes MATH and always organizes her food”), and things begin to look up.

Lilly’s watercolor-and-ink drawings are as vividly comic and emotionally astute as her writing; just when readers think there are no more ways for Geraldine to contort her long neck, this highly promising talent comes up with something new.

Examples of genre fiction book reviews

Karlyn P reviews Nora Roberts’ Dark Witch , a paranormal romance novel , on Goodreads:

4 stars. Great world-building, weak romance, but still worth the read.

I hesitate to describe this book as a 'romance' novel simply because the book spent little time actually exploring the romance between Iona and Boyle. Sure, there IS a romance in this novel. Sprinkled throughout the book are a few scenes where Iona and Boyle meet, chat, wink at each, flirt some more, sleep together, have a misunderstanding, make up, and then profess their undying love. Very formulaic stuff, and all woven around the more important parts of this book.

The meat of this book is far more focused on the story of the Dark witch and her magically-gifted descendants living in Ireland. Despite being weak on the romance, I really enjoyed it. I think the book is probably better for it, because the romance itself was pretty lackluster stuff.

I absolutely plan to stick with this series as I enjoyed the world building, loved the Ireland setting, and was intrigued by all of the secondary characters. However, If you read Nora Roberts strictly for the romance scenes, this one might disappoint. But if you enjoy a solid background story with some dark magic and prophesies, you might enjoy it as much as I did.

I listened to this one on audio, and felt the narration was excellent.

Emily May reviews R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy Wars , an epic fantasy novel , on Goodreads:

“But I warn you, little warrior. The price of power is pain.”

Holy hell, what did I just read??

➽ A fantasy military school

➽ A rich world based on modern Chinese history

➽ Shamans and gods

➽ Detailed characterization leading to unforgettable characters

➽ Adorable, opium-smoking mentors

That's a basic list, but this book is all of that and SO MUCH MORE. I know 100% that The Poppy War will be one of my best reads of 2018.

Isn't it just so great when you find one of those books that completely drags you in, makes you fall in love with the characters, and demands that you sit on the edge of your seat for every horrific, nail-biting moment of it? This is one of those books for me. And I must issue a serious content warning: this book explores some very dark themes. Proceed with caution (or not at all) if you are particularly sensitive to scenes of war, drug use and addiction, genocide, racism, sexism, ableism, self-harm, torture, and rape (off-page but extremely horrific).

Because, despite the fairly innocuous first 200 pages, the title speaks the truth: this is a book about war. All of its horrors and atrocities. It is not sugar-coated, and it is often graphic. The "poppy" aspect refers to opium, which is a big part of this book. It is a fantasy, but the book draws inspiration from the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Rape of Nanking.

Crime Fiction Lover reviews Jessica Barry’s Freefall , a crime novel:

In some crime novels, the wrongdoing hits you between the eyes from page one. With others it’s a more subtle process, and that’s OK too. So where does Freefall fit into the sliding scale?

In truth, it’s not clear. This is a novel with a thrilling concept at its core. A woman survives plane crash, then runs for her life. However, it is the subtleties at play that will draw you in like a spider beckoning to an unwitting fly.

Like the heroine in Sharon Bolton’s Dead Woman Walking, Allison is lucky to be alive. She was the only passenger in a private plane, belonging to her fiancé, Ben, who was piloting the expensive aircraft, when it came down in woodlands in the Colorado Rockies. Ally is also the only survivor, but rather than sitting back and waiting for rescue, she is soon pulling together items that may help her survive a little longer – first aid kit, energy bars, warm clothes, trainers – before fleeing the scene. If you’re hearing the faint sound of alarm bells ringing, get used to it. There’s much, much more to learn about Ally before this tale is over.

Kirkus Reviews reviews Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One , a science-fiction novel :

Video-game players embrace the quest of a lifetime in a virtual world; screenwriter Cline’s first novel is old wine in new bottles.

The real world, in 2045, is the usual dystopian horror story. So who can blame Wade, our narrator, if he spends most of his time in a virtual world? The 18-year-old, orphaned at 11, has no friends in his vertical trailer park in Oklahoma City, while the OASIS has captivating bells and whistles, and it’s free. Its creator, the legendary billionaire James Halliday, left a curious will. He had devised an elaborate online game, a hunt for a hidden Easter egg. The finder would inherit his estate. Old-fashioned riddles lead to three keys and three gates. Wade, or rather his avatar Parzival, is the first gunter (egg-hunter) to win the Copper Key, first of three.

Halliday was obsessed with the pop culture of the 1980s, primarily the arcade games, so the novel is as much retro as futurist. Parzival’s great strength is that he has absorbed all Halliday’s obsessions; he knows by heart three essential movies, crossing the line from geek to freak. His most formidable competitors are the Sixers, contract gunters working for the evil conglomerate IOI, whose goal is to acquire the OASIS. Cline’s narrative is straightforward but loaded with exposition. It takes a while to reach a scene that crackles with excitement: the meeting between Parzival (now world famous as the lead contender) and Sorrento, the head of IOI. The latter tries to recruit Parzival; when he fails, he issues and executes a death threat. Wade’s trailer is demolished, his relatives killed; luckily Wade was not at home. Too bad this is the dramatic high point. Parzival threads his way between more ’80s games and movies to gain the other keys; it’s clever but not exciting. Even a romance with another avatar and the ultimate “epic throwdown” fail to stir the blood.

Too much puzzle-solving, not enough suspense.

Book review examples for non-fiction books

Nonfiction books are generally written to inform readers about a certain topic. As such, the focus of a nonfiction book review will be on the clarity and effectiveness of this communication . In carrying this out, a book review may analyze the author’s source materials and assess the thesis in order to determine whether or not the book meets expectations.

Again, we’ve included abbreviated versions of long reviews here, so feel free to click on the link to read the entire piece!

The Washington Post reviews David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon :

The arc of David Grann’s career reminds one of a software whiz-kid or a latest-thing talk-show host — certainly not an investigative reporter, even if he is one of the best in the business. The newly released movie of his first book, “The Lost City of Z,” is generating all kinds of Oscar talk, and now comes the release of his second book, “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” the film rights to which have already been sold for $5 million in what one industry journal called the “biggest and wildest book rights auction in memory.”

Grann deserves the attention. He’s canny about the stories he chases, he’s willing to go anywhere to chase them, and he’s a maestro in his ability to parcel out information at just the right clip: a hint here, a shading of meaning there, a smartly paced buildup of multiple possibilities followed by an inevitable reversal of readerly expectations or, in some cases, by a thrilling and dislocating pull of the entire narrative rug.

All of these strengths are on display in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Around the turn of the 20th century, oil was discovered underneath Osage lands in the Oklahoma Territory, lands that were soon to become part of the state of Oklahoma. Through foresight and legal maneuvering, the Osage found a way to permanently attach that oil to themselves and shield it from the prying hands of white interlopers; this mechanism was known as “headrights,” which forbade the outright sale of oil rights and granted each full member of the tribe — and, supposedly, no one else — a share in the proceeds from any lease arrangement. For a while, the fail-safes did their job, and the Osage got rich — diamond-ring and chauffeured-car and imported-French-fashion rich — following which quite a large group of white men started to work like devils to separate the Osage from their money. And soon enough, and predictably enough, this work involved murder. Here in Jazz Age America’s most isolated of locales, dozens or even hundreds of Osage in possession of great fortunes — and of the potential for even greater fortunes in the future — were dispatched by poison, by gunshot and by dynamite. […]

Stacked Books reviews Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers :

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Malcolm Gladwell’s writing. Friends and co-workers tell me that his subjects are interesting and his writing style is easy to follow without talking down to the reader. I wasn’t disappointed with Outliers. In it, Gladwell tackles the subject of success – how people obtain it and what contributes to extraordinary success as opposed to everyday success.

The thesis – that our success depends much more on circumstances out of our control than any effort we put forth – isn’t exactly revolutionary. Most of us know it to be true. However, I don’t think I’m lying when I say that most of us also believe that we if we just try that much harder and develop our talent that much further, it will be enough to become wildly successful, despite bad or just mediocre beginnings. Not so, says Gladwell.

Most of the evidence Gladwell gives us is anecdotal, which is my favorite kind to read. I can’t really speak to how scientifically valid it is, but it sure makes for engrossing listening. For example, did you know that successful hockey players are almost all born in January, February, or March? Kids born during these months are older than the others kids when they start playing in the youth leagues, which means they’re already better at the game (because they’re bigger). Thus, they get more play time, which means their skill increases at a faster rate, and it compounds as time goes by. Within a few years, they’re much, much better than the kids born just a few months later in the year. Basically, these kids’ birthdates are a huge factor in their success as adults – and it’s nothing they can do anything about. If anyone could make hockey interesting to a Texan who only grudgingly admits the sport even exists, it’s Gladwell. […]

Quill and Quire reviews Rick Prashaw’s Soar, Adam, Soar :

Ten years ago, I read a book called Almost Perfect. The young-adult novel by Brian Katcher won some awards and was held up as a powerful, nuanced portrayal of a young trans person. But the reality did not live up to the book’s billing. Instead, it turned out to be a one-dimensional and highly fetishized portrait of a trans person’s life, one that was nevertheless repeatedly dubbed “realistic” and “affecting” by non-transgender readers possessing only a vague, mass-market understanding of trans experiences.

In the intervening decade, trans narratives have emerged further into the literary spotlight, but those authored by trans people ourselves – and by trans men in particular – have seemed to fall under the shadow of cisgender sensationalized imaginings. Two current Canadian releases – Soar, Adam, Soar and This One Looks Like a Boy – provide a pointed object lesson into why trans-authored work about transgender experiences remains critical.

To be fair, Soar, Adam, Soar isn’t just a story about a trans man. It’s also a story about epilepsy, the medical establishment, and coming of age as seen through a grieving father’s eyes. Adam, Prashaw’s trans son, died unexpectedly at age 22. Woven through the elder Prashaw’s narrative are excerpts from Adam’s social media posts, giving us glimpses into the young man’s interior life as he traverses his late teens and early 20s. […]

Book Geeks reviews Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love :

WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5

SUBJECT: 4/5

CANDIDNESS: 4.5/5

RELEVANCE: 3.5/5

ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5/5

“Eat Pray Love” is so popular that it is almost impossible to not read it. Having felt ashamed many times on my not having read this book, I quietly ordered the book (before I saw the movie) from amazon.in and sat down to read it. I don’t remember what I expected it to be – maybe more like a chick lit thing but it turned out quite different. The book is a real story and is a short journal from the time when its writer went travelling to three different countries in pursuit of three different things – Italy (Pleasure), India (Spirituality), Bali (Balance) and this is what corresponds to the book’s name – EAT (in Italy), PRAY (in India) and LOVE (in Bali, Indonesia). These are also the three Is – ITALY, INDIA, INDONESIA.

Though she had everything a middle-aged American woman can aspire for – MONEY, CAREER, FRIENDS, HUSBAND; Elizabeth was not happy in her life, she wasn’t happy in her marriage. Having suffered a terrible divorce and terrible breakup soon after, Elizabeth was shattered. She didn’t know where to go and what to do – all she knew was that she wanted to run away. So she set out on a weird adventure – she will go to three countries in a year and see if she can find out what she was looking for in life. This book is about that life changing journey that she takes for one whole year. […]

Emily May reviews Michelle Obama’s Becoming on Goodreads:

Look, I'm not a happy crier. I might cry at songs about leaving and missing someone; I might cry at books where things don't work out; I might cry at movies where someone dies. I've just never really understood why people get all choked up over happy, inspirational things. But Michelle Obama's kindness and empathy changed that. This book had me in tears for all the right reasons.

This is not really a book about politics, though political experiences obviously do come into it. It's a shame that some will dismiss this book because of a difference in political opinion, when it is really about a woman's life. About growing up poor and black on the South Side of Chicago; about getting married and struggling to maintain that marriage; about motherhood; about being thrown into an amazing and terrifying position.

I hate words like "inspirational" because they've become so overdone and cheesy, but I just have to say it-- Michelle Obama is an inspiration. I had the privilege of seeing her speak at The Forum in Inglewood, and she is one of the warmest, funniest, smartest, down-to-earth people I have ever seen in this world.

And yes, I know we present what we want the world to see, but I truly do think it's genuine. I think she is someone who really cares about people - especially kids - and wants to give them better lives and opportunities.

She's obviously intelligent, but she also doesn't gussy up her words. She talks straight, with an openness and honesty rarely seen. She's been one of the most powerful women in the world, she's been a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, she's had her own successful career, and yet she has remained throughout that same girl - Michelle Robinson - from a working class family in Chicago.

I don't think there's anyone who wouldn't benefit from reading this book.

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9 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

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Our recommended books this week include two very different kinds of memoirs — RuPaul’s “The House of Hidden Meanings,” about the drag icon’s childhood and path to superstardom, and Alexandra Fuller’s “Fi,” about the death of her 21-year-old son — as well as a biography of the art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner, a study of Germany’s self-reckoning after World War II, a look at what Abraham Lincoln’s era has in common with ours and a history of baseball in New York.

In fiction, we recommend a romance novel, a twisty detective story about translators on the hunt for a missing author and a stylish story collection from Amor Towles. Happy reading. — Gregory Cowles

FI: A Memoir Alexandra Fuller

In her fifth memoir, Fuller describes the sudden death of her 21-year-old son. Devastating as this elegant and honest account may be — and it’s certainly not for the faint of heart — it also leaves the reader with a sense of having known a lovely and lively young man.

“A sublime writer. … This book is a mesmeric celebration of a boy who died too soon, a mother’s love and her resilience.”

From David Sheff’s review

Grove | $28

WAKE ME MOST WICKEDLY Felicia Grossman

The second of Grossman’s fairy-tale-inspired romances set among Jewish families in Regency London finds the saucy scion of a disgraced family falling for a raven-haired criminal pawnshop owner. Based on “Snow White,” a fairy tale all about trust and betrayal, “Wake Me Most Wickedly” thrives in the space between what people hide and what they reveal.

“Rich and complex and a little discomfiting, this book prefers difficult questions and nuanced truths to comfortable reductions.”

From Olivia Waite’s romance column

Forever | Paperback, $9.99

TABLE FOR TWO: Fictions Amor Towles

Towles, known for his wildly popular books like “A Gentleman in Moscow,” collects six short stories set in New York around the new millennium. There’s also one story set in Golden Age Hollywood, a continuation of his novel “Rules of Civility.”

“There’s more here than high gloss. … Sharp-edged satire deceptively wrapped like a box of Neuhaus chocolates, ‘Table for Two’ is a winner.”

From Hamilton Cain’s review

Viking | $32

THE NEW YORK GAME: Baseball and the Rise of a New City Kevin Baker

What makes New York baseball unique, the novelist and historian argues in this insightful, beautifully crafted narrative — which concludes with the end of World War II — is its role as chronicler of cultural change. Whatever baseball’s roots in cow pastures and small towns, it came of age as an urban game.

“Baseball grew as New York City grew. … One hopes for a second volume from Kevin Baker, every bit as good as this one.”

From David Oshinsky’s review

Knopf | $35

THE EXTINCTION OF IRENA REY Jennifer Croft

Croft is an acclaimed translator, and won the 2018 Man Booker International Prize for her English translation of Olga Tokarczuk’s “Flights.” It seems fitting that her first novel is a detective story following a troupe of translators tracking down their missing author.

“Oh my mushrooms, ‘The Extinction of Irena Rey’ is incredibly strange, savvy, sly and hard to classify. I also couldn’t put it down.”

From Fiona Maazel’s review

Bloomsbury | $28.99

THE HOUSE OF HIDDEN MEANINGS: A Memoir RuPaul

The “Drag Race” superstar has already written three books, but from its black-and-white cover photo onward, this one is serious: A study in self-creation and survival that reveals a striver high on his own supply.

“RuPaul isn’t just famous, glamorous and funny; he’s interesting. … Less a memoir than a prophecy unpacked in reverse.”

From Saeed Jones’s review

Dey Street | $29.99

CHASING BEAUTY: The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner Natalie Dykstra

Isabella Stewart Gardner is best known today for the Boston museum that bears her name, but as Dykstra makes clear in her luminous new biography, the Gilded Age doyenne was herself a figure to be reckoned with. A daughter of wealth who married into more, the flamboyant Gardner quickly became the queen of haute bohemia — and in the process, one of America’s most serious collectors. A lively portrait of a moment, a woman and the power of art.

“Astutely situates her subject within Gardner’s growing web of connections. … But its deeper revelations have more to do with Gardner’s emerging attunement to the emotional affirmation to be found in art.”

From Megan O’Grady’s review

Mariner | $37.50

OUT OF THE DARKNESS: The Germans, 1942-2022 Frank Trentmann

Over the past eight decades, the public debates about guilt and suffering in the wake of World War II have structured civil society in Germany. Trentmann tracks the evolution of this moral awakening with a remarkably rich history of the country that runs from the Battle of Stalingrad to the War in Ukraine.

“Recognizes the costs and complexities of the quest for moral security. … As Trentmann captures, the post-1945 transformation has been remarkable.”

From Peter Fritzsche’s review

Knopf | $50

OUR ANCIENT FAITH: Lincoln, Democracy, and the American Experiment Allen C. Guelzo

In this beautifully written exploration of Abraham Lincoln’s thoughts on democracy, Guelzo argues that the president, who fought autocratic forces in the South while restricting civil liberties in the North, can help us figure out how to sustain a free society in the face of rising illiberalism today.

“Guelzo points out the ‘uncanny’ similarities between Lincoln’s time and ours. … Reveals the fragility of democracy in such moments. But its precarity can also be a strength.”

From Parker Henry’s review

Knopf | $30

Explore More in Books

Want to know about the best books to read and the latest news start here..

Salman Rushdie’s new memoir, “Knife,” addresses the attack that maimed him  in 2022, and pays tribute to his wife who saw him through .

Recent books by Allen Bratton, Daniel Lefferts and Garrard Conley depict gay Christian characters not usually seen in queer literature.

What can fiction tell us about the apocalypse? The writer Ayana Mathis finds unexpected hope in novels of crisis by Ling Ma, Jenny Offill and Jesmyn Ward .

At 28, the poet Tayi Tibble has been hailed as the funny, fresh and immensely skilled voice of a generation in Māori writing .

Amid a surge in book bans, the most challenged books in the United States in 2023 continued to focus on the experiences of L.G.B.T.Q. people or explore themes of race.

Each week, top authors and critics join the Book Review’s podcast to talk about the latest news in the literary world. Listen here .

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