An online community for SLJ Reviewers
Sure, it’s only July, but the SLJ review editors are already starting to think about the December issue, aka our Best Books issue. We typically start with our long list of starred reviews (though we do maintain the prerogative of “besting” titles we didn’t star) and whittle it down from there. So, what have been your […]
Perhaps you’ve loved a title, given it a glowing review, and checked the little box marked “Star.” But it didn’t get a star when the magazine came out. Or maybe you reviewed a title for SLJ, didn’t mark the box, but the book wound up getting an SLJ star all the same. What gives? A […]
The following is excerpted from Jennifer Johnson Higgins’s research project. High literary quality. No distortions or omissions of history. Look for various perspectives to be represented. Stereotyping. There are no negative or inaccurate stereotypes of the ethnic group being portrayed. Loaded words. There are no derogatory overtones to the words used to describe the characters […]
Authority Who is the author? What are her qualifications for writing on this subject? Does the author have a point of view? How does it come across in the text? Organization How is the subject matter organized? Is it constructed in a logical way? Are facts and concepts easy to follow and understand, keeping in […]
Plot The story and how it is revealed Is it a good story? Engaging? Interesting? How does the action progress? Is there conflict? Suspense? Is it believable? (For genre fiction, within the world created?) How do events build to a climax? How do they resolve? Overall, how well-constructed is the story? Setting The time and […]