Flamingnet Student Reviewer Evaluation Guidelines

While you are writing, try thinking of your reader as a friend to whom you're telling a story. You may want to first write your review in a word processor and then cut and paste it below.
It is very important that you make these book reviews worth reading and informative. Your reviews will be read by students and librarians looking for good books, as well as by publishing executives and authors. Publishers, like Scholastic, will also be using comments from your reviews in their marketing. Who knows, you may one day see your comments on the back of a book or on their web site. So please make your reviews well thought-out and appropriate!

Here is a short and concise article that you should read about writing book reviews.

*Include a brief plot summary of the book. Your summary should explain enough about the plot so that someone who hasn't read the book will still understand your review. This should include the author's purpose and/or the main themes of the book. Your reader should know right away what he or she is getting into should they choose to read the book! Be careful not to spoil the book for others by giving away too much about the plot or ending.

*Think about whether the book is part of a genre. Does the book fit into a type like mystery, adventure, or romance?

A good review should express the reviewer's opinion and persuade the reader to share it, to read the book, or to avoid reading it. Don't be afraid to say you didn't like the book or maybe thought the plot was boring. Was it a "page turner" or did you find yourself day-dreaming while reading it?

Here are some things to consider in your OPINION section:

BODY
*A book's setting is one of its vital components. Does the author make you feel like you're a part of the setting? Can you picture the book's setting if you close your eyes?
*Does the book contain a distinct mood or tone? If so, explain.
*Describe the book's main characters. Does the writer make you believe in them as people? Why or why not? Think about whether you like the characters and how liking them or disliking them makes you feel about the book.
*What is the author's /narrator's "voice" like? Is it funny? What do you like or dislike about the book's writing style? For example, if the book was told in the first-person was this appropriate? Did the author include too much or too little detail at points in the book? Did the author leave you wondering what happened to certain characters or subplots after you finished the book?

ANALYSIS/ EVALUATION
*Did the author achieve his or her purpose?
*Is the writing effective, powerful, difficult, beautiful? Was the vocabulary age appropriate?
*What are the strengths and weaknesses of the book?
*How does the book compare to other books you have read in the same genre or type (be specific)? For instance, will it be the next Harry Potter? How did this book compare to other books you have read by the same author?
*What is your overall response to the book? Did you find it interesting, moving, dull? Did you like the ending? Why or why not? How could the author have improved the story?
*Did you learn anything from reading the book?
*Would you recommend it to others? Why or why not?

Don’t expect professional book reviews from our students. Flamingnet student reviewers write the types of "reviews" that are common on Amazon.com (but a little better because our reviewers start with a summary). Our members have liked the frank, natural quality of our Flamingnet student reviews. Many of our student reviewers have been reviewing for Flamingnet for quite a while and write good reviews. Occasionally they submit a weak review, but the majority of their reviews are fine. In general, the “newbie” reviewers usually need the most help and guidance.

We try not to be too critical in our evaluations because we appreciate the time our student reviewers spend reading and writing reviews for Flamingnet. We don’t want them to decide that reviewing for us is more of a bother than it is worth. Therefore, please be tactful when sending your comments to a student about their review. Below we have included examples of comments that Liz Bloom has sent to Flamingnet student reviewers after evaluating their reviews. You can use these as guidelines.

For the most part, our student reviewers are a very nice group, love reading, and are dedicated to Flamingnet. You will enjoy working with them. By the way, some of their parents are professional writers, book reviewers, teachers, and librarians.

1. Select “Please Evaluate This Student Review” from the email we will send you when you are assigned a student review for evaluation.

A. Look for the review where the reviewer’s initials are within parentheses. This indicates that the review has not been accepted or rejected yet. This is the review you need to evaluate. It is usually the first review.

B. Read through the review and use Writing With Traits, along with your own criteria, to decide whether the student's review should be accepted or rejected.

C. Remember, the <p> sign within the student's review is an html designation for a paragraph and is where the opinion paragraph starts. You can add <p> where you feel other paragraphs need to be designated in the text.

D. Please correct any square boxes. These usually denote ‘ or “ or -. This is a glitch in the program that we need to correct manually – sorry.

3. Copy the review from the evaluation area into your clipboard. You will eventually paste this copy of the review into the Flamingnet blog.

4. Select the Write Evaluation link to enter your evaluation into a form. Once you submit this form, your evaluation will automarically be sent to the reviewer and their sponsor (all students have an adult sponsor - teacher, librarian, parent - who should be helping them edit their reviews). Included on this evaluation form will be a link to our grammar links that the student and sponsor can use for reference. You do not need to include specific links in your evaluation form. Instead, you can refer them to information about using commas, etc. by telling them to follow the grammar link that has been included on your evaluation form.

If you are accepting the review, submitting this form will also automatically notify the publisher/contact that the book review was posted to Flamingnet.

5. Next you will select the link (select "a thumb") on the Evaluation page to Accept or Reject the review.

A. If you Accept the review, select the thumbs up picture and click the Complete Acceptance link.

                                                    1. Copy the review from the evaluation area or from the website (the review will appear on Flamingnet.com as soon as you accept it)
                                                    2. Paste the review into the body of the blog
                                                    3. Separate the text
                                                                    a. at opinion <p>
                                                                    b. content (delete if "0")
                                                                    c. rating
                                                                    d. reviewer age
                                                                    e. reviewer city and state
                                                    4. Copy title and author then paste these into the top of blog
                                                    5. Publish Post

                        2. You can send a message to us using the webmaster link

B. If you Reject the review, select the thumbs down picture and click the Complete Rejection link

Lisa,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, The Faceless Friend. Your summary of the plot was concise and you clearly expressed your opinion of the book. In editing your book review, I found numerous errors in punctuation. Please refer to the web link below for assistance with this skill.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_overvw.html

Also, remember to read your book review aloud to proofread for errors in spelling.

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Asher,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, The Heights, The Depths, and Everything in Between. I made some revisions in the following areas and included a web link to assist you with these skills:

Jake is a midget with a mom that's in love with a man who's not his dad. (who's/whose)

http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/difficulties/whoswhose.html

.......... last name of Small. (capitalization rules)

http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/capital.asp

Watch Lucy come to terms with herself and her friends lives...whenever that happens.
(pronouns)
http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/pronouns.htlm

When you read it, you'll like it, ..... (contractions)

http://www.buzzin.net/english/contract.htm

Maybe a sense of triumph for Lucy at parts, but that's it. (incomplete sentence)
Maybe you'll sense a little triumph for Lucy at parts, but that's it. (complete sentence)

http://www.myenglishteacher.net/sentencefragments.html

You effectively summarized the plot of the story and expressed your opinion of the book. However, your writing skills need improvement as well as proofreading for spelling errors. Please have your sponsor assist you with future submissions.
Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Cheyenne,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I really enjoyed reading your review of the book, Major Crush. Your summary of the plot was concise and you effectively expressed your opinion of the book.

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Stephanie,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of he book, The Sacred Sin. You effectively summarized the plot of the story and expressed your opinion of the book. As a new book reviewer, you demonstrated an understanding of writing book reviews.

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Elizabeth,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, How They Met, and Other Stories. You effectively summarized the collection of short stories and successfully expressed your opinion of the book.

Thank you.
Liz bloom

Jessica,
Your review of the book, Rich Girl contained many errors. Now that I am familiar with your writing skills, I have to question if your submissions are geared more towards quantity rather than quality. Please compare Rich Girl's review with your review of the book, 30 Days to Getting Over the Dork You Used To Call. You submitted both reviews today..... I know that you can rewrite Rich Girl with "fresh eyes" if you take your time and follow my past suggestions.

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Kayla,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, The Kayla Chronicles. You effectively summarized the plot of the book. Please note the correction in the following sentence in which the word she is deleted. The noun Kayla takes the place of the pronoun she.
With her newfound interest in boys and love of shoes and dancing, Kayla wonders why she has been letting her friend boss her around all the time telling her what to do and how to act.

You expressed your opinion of the book, however, you left the reader with questions.
You can picture the well thought out characters and understand how they're feeling. There were also multiple situations throughout the book where I could fully relate to
the characters. How can you picture the well thought out characters? How can you understand how they're feeling? What were the multiple situations in the book where you could fully relate to the characters?

Responses to these questions will provide the reader with a more thorough analysis of the book.
Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Youyang,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, The Job Game. Your summary of the plot was concise and you effectively expressed your opinion of the book. However, there were two revisions that you should you note regarding the capitalization of titles and ending a sentence with a preposition. Please refer to the links below for more information.

Developing your Whole Self, Education and Workspace Relations, Choosing a Career, Searching for a Job, and Behaviors in the Workplace.

http://library.thinkquest.org/2947/capitalization.html?

Not only does it motivate the reader, it also teaches the reader how this is accomplished.

www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/students/factsheets/sentence-endings.pdf -

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Jessica,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. Your writing skills continue to improve..... way to go! Your review of the book, 30 Days to Getting Over the Dork You Used To Call was most enjoyable to read. I also agree with your commentary about using the word dork to refer to your "ex", and to dream about Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. The author was not appealing to a younger teenage audience.

Jessica, you have a unique writing style in which you clearly express your voice.
Bravo.........

Thank you.
Liz

Jill,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. Once again, it was a pleasure to read your book review. Your summary of Girl Overboard was concise and you clearly expressed your opinion of the book.

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Madeline,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, Calligraphy of the Witch. Your summary of the plot was concise, and you demonstrated good analysis skills.

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Theresa,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, Wildcats in the House. Your writing skills have noticeably improved since your last book review submission. However, I made some revisions regarding word choice and tenses.
Kids, teens, and adults view High School Musical as a regular Disney movie, but the book shows the relationship the movie has with God.

I felt that the book had too much detail in those areas and needed to have more information about High school Musical and the relationship the movie had
with God.

Also, remember to proofread your book review for errors in spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Megan,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, High Spirits. Your summary of the plot was concise and you effectively expressed your opinion of the book. You also demonstrated good proofreading skills.
Keep up the good work!

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Maria,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I really enjoyed reading your review of the book, 68 Knots. I really noticed an improvement in your proofreading skills! Your summary of the plot is concise and you demonstrated good analysis skills.

I revised the following sentence so it doesn't end with a proposition. (refer to link below)
After several panicked hours, the crew decides to continue with the adventure they came for and not abandon the ship.

http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/022703.htm

I thought this sentence read better with some pauses. And Logan's, well.... Logan's unique story will have you loving him by the end.

Lastly, Bill Fi .... leads the group to victory many times; is revised to read... leads the group to many victories;

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Hi Maria,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, Haunted Heritage. You effectively summarized the plot of the book and clearly expressed your opinion about the different stories. However, please note my revisions of your review regarding the use of verb tenses. The subject and verb are either both "singular" or both "plural". You were mixing the tenses up.... which is a difficult skill to master. Please go online and check out websites on verb tenses (past, present, and future) and practice using them correctly. Also, please note the correct use of commas and semicolons in the web link below.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Semicolonvscomma

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Rachel.
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, Melcher Goes To Vietnam. You effectively summarized the plot and successfully expressed your opinion of the book. Remember to read your book review aloud for errors in spelling.

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Taylor,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. Your review of the book, Something To Blog About was a delight to read. As a new book reviewer, you demonstrated mastery of the writing process. You effectively summarized the plot and successfully expressed your opinion of the book. With your strong writing skills, I hope to read more of your reviews in the future.
Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Kelsey,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, Not Anything. You successfully summarized the plot of the story and effectively expressed your opinion of the book. However, I made some revisions regarding subject-verb agreement and the use of pronouns.

Susie's mother died years ago, and she never got over that tragedy. Her father seems to feel the same way, although Susie wouldn't know that as they barely talk to each other,and when they do it is very concise.
Mr. Murphy is Susie's favorite teacher and he asked her .... (past tense)
However, problems occur with everyone....Susie's best friend Marisal,..... (pronoun)
How does Susie deal with all of her problems and does she like Danny more than a friend? (nouns taking the place of a pronoun)

Please review these skills and have your sponsor assist you with future book reviews.
Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Emily,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, Hell Girl. You effectively summarized the plot of the story and expressed your opinion of the book. However, please note the corrections in the following areas...

Homonyms: When their life becomes miserable, they here about a website that people can only access at midnight.

Do Not End Sentences With A Preposition: The Hell Girl soon appears.

All of the characters agree and the Hell Girl gets revenge.

Appositives: I may continue reading the series to see if the character, Hell Girl, develops or if we learn more about her grandmother, who was mentioned once

(please refer to website) .http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_appos.html

Hopefully, these suggestions will assist you with future book reviews.

Thank you.

Liz Bloom

Cassie,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, Finding Stinko. Your summary of the plot was concise and you successfully expressed your opinion of the book. However, please note the revisions that I made in the following areas....

1. Subject-Verb Agreement : From the time Newboy was one week old, he had

been living in the state child care system.
2. Not Ending A Sentence With A Preposition: They were the worst foster parents he'd ever had, so Newboy decided to listen to his instincts.
3. Sentence Meaning/ Commas : He had no where in particular to go, and with only a few possessions, Newboy was on the run.
4. Pronoun/ Noun Review (used as subjects...Newboy/he/him)

Hopefully, these suggestions will assist you with future book reviews.
Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Courtney,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, Eifelheim. You successfully summarized the plot of the story and effectively expressed your opinion of the book. However, please note the correction that I made regarding ending a sentence with a preposition. He wakes up in his bed and knows that something bad is going to happen, but he doesn't know what will take place. You can review prepositions by opening the website below.

http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/022703.htm

Also, be aware of writing complete sentences and the correct use of commas in the revised following sentence. A part of the town catches on fire, and Dietrich, and some friends find a hurt race of alien beings.

Hopefully, these suggestions will assist you with future book reviews.
Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Erin,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, Better Off Famous. As a new book reviewer, you followed the guidelines for writing a book review. However, please note the correction in the following sentence. I dropped the word her as you don't want to end a sentence with a preposition. After receiving a letter from her aunt, Annie travels to New York City for a visit. Also, please visit the website below reviewing comma rules.

http://www.montanalife.com/writing/Comma_Rules.html

Finally, your opinion of the book could have provided the reader with more information.

It was very easy to read and everything made sense in it. What made sense in the book? Explain.... Better Off Famous is a great story that teenage girls will love. Why would teenage girls love the book?

I hope these suggestions assist you with future book reviews.
Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Tasha,
Your review was accepted and recently posted at www.flamingnet.com. I enjoyed reading your review of the book, The Chicken Dance. For a new book reviewer, you successfully summarized the plot of the story and effectively expressed your opinion of the book. However, there were some sentences that needed revising.

He is unpopular at school (he has absolutely no friends and everyone refers to him as "new kid," even though he has lived on Horse Island since kindergarten) and at home (where his mother constantly refers to his dead sister Dawn, and thinks the world revolves around herself). I think the sentences read better if you delete the parentheses and write the information as sentences.
He is unpopular at school as well as at home. He has absolutely no friends and everyone refers to him as "new kid," even though he has lived on Horse Island since kindergarten. At home his mother constantly refers to his dead sister Dawn, and thinks the world revolves around herself.
Don wonders who Stanley could be and when he asks his father who he is his Father simply tells him that it is his birth certificate and that they changed his name to Don, because the uncle who he was named after was a bad man. This is one long, run on sentence filled with too many pronouns.
Don wonders who Stanley could be and decides to ask his father. His father simply tells Stanley that it is his birth certificate and they changed his name to Don, because the uncle whom he was named after was a bad man.

Taylor,
Thank you for your book review submission of the book, Serving Humanity. As a new reviewer, please read the book review guidelines below. It may also be helpful if you would go to the flamingnet blog and read other student reviews for further clarification.

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

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Theresa,
Your review of the book, Style A to Zoe needs revision. Your organization is good, however, there are many errors that detracted from the content of your writing. Practice proofreading your book review aloud for spelling, sentence structure, and word meaning. Also, watch your verb tenses and the use of homonyms ...their is (there are). Be sure to define terms such as stuff. Some sentences need to be totally edited.... Now on the stengths in this book it has to be when celebritys talk on what they try to wear, do for events. And some of your sentences were sentence fragments..... much weaknesses but the fact that it was not a page turner for me. And .... Like it was more on facts. The last sentence of your book review is a run- on sentence, and needs revising as it also contains errors in spelling, grammar, and capitalization.

I hope these suggestions help you with your rewrite. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Melissa,
Your review of the book, Slippery Slopes needs editing before it is accepted to flamingnet.com. Please follow my suggestions so that you may have a sound understanding of the mechanics of good writing.
It is beneficial to read your review aloud to proofread for errors in: sentence meaning; (Melissa is working host... Melissa is working as a host) sentence fragments; (And Dove is cooking the meals for the rich, and sometimes royal .... And Dove is cooking the meals for the rich, and sometimes royal clientele.) run on sentences; ( But Melissa and Dove know.... Dove is trying to stay loyal... Melissa and Dove know that love is only knee deep as the ski bums are after Melissa, and Dove is trying to stay loyal to her beach boyfriend. But what happens when there are holidays, ski races, dances, and secret parties .... this year is going to be unforgettable.)
tenses; ( stay focus... focused) prepositions; (decision of the book.... about); poorly constructed sentences ( ... just because the other did not get fully in depth with the characters and plot... just because it did not explore the depth of the characters and plot.)
Please don't be discouraged... feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Jonathan,
Your review of the book, The White House needs editing before we can accept it. Please follow my suggestions so that you may have a sound understanding of the mechanics of good writing.

It is beneficial to read your review aloud to proofread for errors in: spelling (pruducer .... producer); punctuation (his friends, The Beetles, like London).... refer to appositives link; capitalization (The Beetles); word choice ( He goes to many different places.... travels);
the use of prepositions ( ... takes him onto a new life ... into .... And the sentence ... the pictures also included in on how well could ... refer to preposition link); incorrect sentence structure ( With the trips that he takes he always finds new offerings for jobs and sometimes he does not want the job.)

http://www.dailygrammar.com/126to130.shtml
http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/preposit.html

Please email me if you have any questions..... I'll be glad to help you.
Thank you.
Liz Bloom

Jordan,
Your review of the book, For Now needs a revision. I thought it was very clever of you to compare Jes to a blender. However, your summary lacked details making it difficult for the reader to understand what you are trying to convey. She been dealing, being calm about her new family, especially when her mom announces that she is pregnant. What new family? How has she been dealing? But what is up with her next-door neighbor suddenly making her melt, and her best friend Dell, all she can talk about is her creepy boyfriend. Again, more details are needed to complete the "picture" of the neighbor, and her best friend. What does twirled mean?..... being twirled out of everybody's life. It is important to give examples to give your writing credibility. This book has its ups and downs..... What are the ups? and downs? .....I seemed to like it at some parts and the others not so much. Again, what parts did you like? and not like? Be aware of your verb tenses.....I myself is not a big fan.... You may want to practice reading your book review aloud for spelling, sentence structure, and word meaning.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Thank you.
Liz Bloom