Review Archive

This archive contains over 1000 reviews, notices, and commentaries, both formal and informal, posted to AML-List since its inception in 1995.

Formal AML Reviews are now posted on the AML Discussion Board as well as here in the AML Review Archive.

If you would like to participate in AML’s formal review program, contact Jeffrey Needle, AML review editor.

Or, simply write your own “informal” review, using a copy of a book you buy yourself or borrow from a friend or library, email your book/film/play review, with the author and title in the subject line, to the AML Review Archive editor, and we will happily receive them.

You can write either a full-length review or a brief paragraph. By submitting a review to the AML Review Archive you grant permission for the Association for Mormon Letters (AML) to include the review in the AML Review Archive on the AML website.

Every review should include the following bibliographic information at the head of your review:

Author (or Director for films or plays)
Title
Publisher for books or DVDs (or Location for a play)
Date of publication for books or DVDs (or of production, for a play)
Hardcover / softcover (not applicable for plays or DVDs)
Number of pages (also not applicable for plays or DVDs)
ISBN (please give the 10 as well as the 13 ISBN)
Cost in US dollars
Three other items to include, whether in point form or in your review text:

Target audience (adults, teens, kids, etc., LDS, non-LDS, etc.)
Brief plot summary (fiction, films, plays)
Main topic or theme (poetry, essay)
Try to give a sense of the book’s (or film’s or play’s) main ideas and how well it achieves its purpose. Keep in mind that a review should help your audience decide whether or not to invest time and money in this book (etc).

In addition, please consider these three questions:

Does the author demonstrate significant writing skills?
Do you see the book fitting into any trends?
In what way does the book demonstrate Mormon culture?
Full Review
The AML Review Archive prefers full-length reviews. The following points list ONE good approach for a full review.

Spend a paragraph or two summarizing the book and describing the main characters.
Devote a paragraph or two more to your own impressions and the questions listed above (is it written with skill, does it fit in with a trend, how is it Mormon).
Somewhere in the review, include an excerpt from the book one or two paragraphs long that illustrates your points.
Minimal Review
If you find you do not have the time you expected to complete a review or you do not relate to a book’s content, please post at least a minimal review. The following points describe one approach for a minimal review.

Read the first chapter, the last chapter, and a chapter at random.
Give the bibliographic information listed above.
In one to three sentences, describe the book’s purpose or general story line.
Quote a brief excerpt (one to three sentences) as an example of the book’s style.
In one to three more sentences, give your impression of the book. If you can, touch on the three questions listed for a full review.
Post reviews to the AML List (from which they will be posted to the AML Review Archive) by emailing the book/film/play review to the AML List. Please format your subject line as follows:

PETERSON, Backslider

The individual authors retain the copyright for their reviews. You can quote the reviews as long as you follow fair-use rules: don’t reprint more than a few sentences without the author’s permission and always give the author credit. We ask that you credit the Association for Mormon Letters as well. (“Reprinting” refers to electronic, paper, or any other form of publication. You can print reviews or forward reviews to friends, but if you want to include an entire review, for example in a newsletter, web site, or e-mail list, you must first secure the author’s permission.)

If you have comments or questions about the AML Review Archive, please email the AML Review Archive editor.

Thank you. We look forward to your reviews.