The One Minute Critic!

How to write a One Minute Review:

5-8 sentences long is plenty. 150 words is best – over 200 and you’d have to be a speed reader to get through it in one minute. In your review, include:

1. Title and Author.
2. What I liked (or disliked) about the book is…
   1. A good review makes a personal connection – you’re telling us a little about yourself by saying right up front what you liked most about the book.
3. The book is the story of…
   1. Use this part for some of the facts of the book. The plot if it has one, or it’s defining features. This type of information is like a very condensed version of what you might find on a dust-jacket. Give just enough that your audience’s interest is piqued, but leave enough out that people still need to read the book.
4. Who would you recommend the book to?
   1. A recommendation can tie things together nicely – if the book is accessible, you might recommend it to anyone, but if it’s a tough read, you might only recommend it to fans of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy.

Example:

“Snow Crash,” by Neal Stephenson.

I like many things about this early cyberpunk novel: the near-future setting that looks both alien and familiar, the gritty, iconic characters, the fast-paced action, the biting, sardonic humor - but the thing I like most about it is that Stephenson also provides a depth of knowledge about language, history, and computer science, so though it was first published in 1992, the future it imagines still seems very plausible.

Snow Crash is the story of Hiro Protagonist - a pizza delivery man working for the mafia’s chain of pizza restaurants. America is in a state of lawless anarchy, and middle America lives in walled “burb-claves.” In Hiro’s off time he works as a hacker, until one day one of his friends in the Metaverse is laid low by the computer virus “Snow Crash.” As he searches for the source of Snow Crash, he uncovers plots within plots, clashes of world powers, and some of the deepest secrets of the human race.

I love this book, but I often hesitate recommending it – it’s not a ‘nice’ book.

I have included a template to help write out your own review. Print out a couple of copies and write a few different reviews - that way if someone else reviews your first choice, you have a backup! We won’t stop you from reviewing the same book as someone else, but we also like to hear about lots of different books.

Follow the link to get to the form: One Minute Critic Review Form