Sample Conclusions for a Book Evaluation Essay

# 1 – Audience: Princeton High School teachers considering letting their students read this book.

As you can see, Anthony Bukoski's book Time Between Trains has some problems; however, it also has some positive aspects.  Things like good characters, short stories, and stories that your students might relate to make this an okay book.  However, awkward settings and abrupt endings draw back the wellness of Time Between Trains.  In conclusion, I think that you should allow your students to choose from a few books, like Time Between Trains and Of Mice and Men, instead of making either book mandatory.

# 2 – Audience: College students who are looking for a book to read.

Overall, I think college students will have great experiences with this book, because it presents a lot of great qualities and situations that they could relate to.  In general, I believe Bukoski's theme of the book was about people facing the future without letting go of their true selves and forgetting where they came from.  Bukoski's interesting characters and detailed settings kept me very focused when I read this book.  I would also suggest students to either attend his presentation or do some research on information that was unclear to them.  Most of these stories that he wrote about ten or fifteen years old, but he spent many years revising how he wanted them to sound like.  He also wrote three other collectsion, Twelve Below Zero, Children of Strangers, and Polonaise, if the students want to further their reading with this author.  Bukoski is an intelligent author and this was a very thoughtful book that he has put together.

# 3 – Audience: High School Students

In conclusion, even though Bukoski did include a couple interesting stories and one interesting character, that was not enough for me to like or recommend Time Between Trains.  I do not recommend this book to high school students because the endings were unclear, and the stories were unfocused, boring, and confusing.  Bukoski seemed like an interesting person in real life, but I just didn't like what he chose to write about.  When he gave his presentation to our school, he mentioned that he had no concept in mind for his book.  I believe it.  I found his book overall to have no apparent structure, formation or concept.  Hopefully, his other books were more planned out.

# 4 – Audience: I am writing to high school teachers thinking about having their students read this book.

Overall, I think this is a great book that high school students can relate to.  I think they will enjoy the honesty the book has in it.  I don't think it is a book they will get bored with because it has many good characters and has an interesting story line in it.

# 5 – Audience: High School-Aged Students

The ideas of Marshall losing a mother, seeing his friend, Todd, experience abuse, and Gayle becoming a friend were all ideas that were represented well in the book, Right By My Side by David Haynes.  By presenting these ideas, Haynes also incorporated into these lessons positive ways to handle them for high-school-aged adolescents.  These ideas, therefore, led me to enjoy the book.  Even though the disappointing ending may anger some students, the overall impression that they will get from reading this is one that if you handle a situation well, the rewards are plentiful, both for Marshall and for application in young adolescents' lives.