What makes a Reviewer? Alison McCaffrey talks books and reviews
By Mia Macrossan
I have been writing for many, many years. Recently I returned to my longtime passion, finding my voice and comfort zone among the words of Young Adult stories, and I am constantly learning and evolving. What are writers without the joy and freedom of reading the books of others? For the last few years, I have been reading – greedily, excessively, and with untamed fervour – as many new release, ‘modern classic’, recommended by friends, and randomly chosen young adult books as I can get my hands on.
Alison McCaffrey is a YA reviewer for StoryLinks. She has just finished reviewing the six titles shortlisted in the CBCA 2026 Book of the Year Older Readers category. Her witty reviews are notable for the engaging plot summaries and insightful comments on the writer’s themes and style.
Why do you review books?
I started reviewing to get more exposure to current Australian YA literature, but now it opens me up to reading YA genres I wouldn’t likely choose otherwise.
What do you think is the purpose of a review?
To guide informed choices for readers, especially those just getting into or back to reading, and to help guide choices for gifting or selecting suitable books for someone other than yourself. And to tell the author it’s been read, it’s been seen, and it’s been appreciated.
Why is reviewing important?
It allows everyone a quick glimpse into a book they may otherwise overlook, hopefully getting it into more hands and hearts.
Who should read reviews?
Readers, teachers and parents (for children’s books). But also publishers, booksellers, and authors.
What books do you prefer to review and why this genre?
Young Adult, but within that it’s easier to say I don’t much like historical fiction around the World Wars. My favourite genre is contemporary fiction, because it hits me deepest, emotionally, so I connect the most with that. But I’ll read almost anything once if it keeps me past chapter three.
What is the hardest/easiest part of writing a review?
The easiest part is translating my reaction into words – sometimes it’s so strong that I write the first line mid-read on a sticky note that lives on the page until I finish. The hardest part is usually keeping the summary snappy and without spoilers, but also working with my words when there’s something I don’t particularly like in an overall good book that I enjoyed.
Do you read a novel differently if you know you are going to review it?
When I first started reviewing, yes. Not anymore, because all books are for review and research, even if it’s all kept in my own head.
Do you read other people’s reviews and if yes, what do you look for? Has another person’s review of a book ever changed your mind?
I suppose it goes against what I do here, but I try not to read any reviews before reading a book, and definitely not if I’m writing my own review. I do read some later, mostly to see how they’re written.
I have always chosen books based on the cover and the blurb, or when recommended by someone who knows me well enough to know what I won’t like. Reading a review I disagree with is interesting to see another point of view, but I trust my instinct and my tastes. I’m sure if I ever read them first I could be swayed, but I’d just be more disappointed if I read a raving review then didn’t enjoy the book.
Do you gain anything yourself from writing reviews?
So much! Everything I write is a lesson in writing. Reviewing expands my knowledge base, challenges my use of vocabulary, forces me to think critically about word choice and emotionally about attachment to books and words. It allows me to really linger over why a book was good (for me), how it connected, how I got to that opinion, then find a way to put those feelings into words that will convey all that to someone else without being face to face and waving my arms like the inflatables at a used car yard.
How long have you been reviewing? Have you changed over that time, and if yes, in what way?
It was July last year that I wrote the review for Invisible Boys, which really cemented my love for reviewing. My process has only changed in that now I read more books for review and have less time to write them, so there is a longer break between finishing the book and writing the review.
What book/s are you reading now?
I’ve just started Suzy Zail’s latest A New Kind of Beautiful, I’m in the middle of the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas, then the first book of a series so I can read the second in context for a review.
Her pick for the winner of the CBCA Older Reader Book of the Year is Golden by Jade Timms, closely followed by We Saw What You Started, but she does say ‘they are all of equally high merit in slightly different ways, this is where the reviewing and voting becomes subjective.’
