Request A Review

Allison’s Book Bag is a dedicated to reviewing books for young people. This includes picture books, chapter books, middle-grade books, and young adult books.

I consider book review requests from authors, editors, and publishers. I do not accept requests for self-published books. There are plenty of other bloggers who will, some of whom you might find at: Book Blogs.

Request can be for fiction or nonfiction. My preference for review books are those that boys will read, describe a different region or culture, or fall under problem stories. I welcome the opportunity to read a new and/or young writer. Last, best sellers are always fun to read, but I also like to support small press books.

There are some types of books I will not read. While it is expected that young adult novels may contain mature content, I avoid books with excessive profanity, gratuitous violence, explicit sex, or an anti-religion message. I will review a nonfiction book, but only if I have some knowledge of the topic. Anthologies of short stories or essays are acceptable. I do not review collections of poems.

In requesting a review, it is understood that you will provide a review copy in print form. I do not accept requests for e-books. If you have a deadline for when you need a review posted, please contact me as soon as you can. Normally, I’m normally booked up to two months in advance. In addition, certain months are reserved for thematic reviews. Last, summer is my busiest time.

My typical routine is to post teasers during the week and follow-up with a review and extra features on Saturday. If you need this schedule changed for a book tour, please contact me about alternative days. However, I keep Sundays free for church and family. In my reviews, I include a short plot summary that is free of major spoilers. I also discuss what I did and didn’t like. Based on my reaction to the book, I will recommend readers to either:

* buy the book
* borrow the book
* leave the book on the shelf

To help with promotion of a book, I will also post a copy of my review at various other communities including Book Blogs, Good Reads, JacketFlap, and Facebook. As part of my review, I will also post a Buy at Amazon link for the convenience of readers.

I am always happy to consider author interviews, guest blogs, virtual book tours, and giveaways. When I interview authors with multiple books, I might provide a round-up of some of their other books too. Because WordPress strips some of the needed code, I do not to participate in blog hops.

For interviews, I prefer to use email. Should an author prefer a telephone interview, I will need permission to record the call. In either format, the author should also understand that I will edit for clarity, may rearrange or drop questions, but otherwise will post the interview as it is received. If you want tight control over the exact wording of your answers, you should request an e-mail rather than a phone interview.

To contact me, email me at ahunter_nf at yahoo.com. In the subject, type Allison’s Book Bag or Book Review Request so that it is not filtered as spam.

I look forward to hearing from you!