University of Toronto
The book review: general guidelines
"An analytic or critical review of a book or article is not primarily a summary; rather, it comments on and evaluates the work in the light of specific issues and theoretical concerns in a course."
Queen's University
How to write book reviews
"A book review is both a description and an evaluation of a book. It should focus on the book's purpose, contents, and authority..."
Indiana University
How to write a book review
"A book review tells not only what a book is about, but also how successful it is at what it is trying to do. Professors often assign book reviews as practice in careful analytical reading."
University of Waterloo
Writing book reviews
"Every book makes different demands on the reviewer. No single approach is right for all books."
Memorial University
How to write a book review
"Before you start, you may want to read about book reviewing. You may also want to read book reviews that other people have written...."
University of Wisconsin
Writing critical reviews
"When you are asked to write a critical review of a book or article, you will need to identify, summarize, and evaluate the ideas and information the author has presented. In other words, you will be examining another person's thoughts on a topic from your point of view."
Dalhousie University
How to write a book review
"A critical review is one in which the writer describes and evaluates the book, in terms of accepted literary and historical standards, and supports this evaluation with evidence from the text."
Temple University
How to write a book review
"A book review is an essay whose purpose is to comment on a particular work or a series of works bearing upon a single subject or related subjects. The most important element about a book review to remember is that it is a commentary, not merely a summary."