Hold onto your hats, 'cause we're about to dive into the wild world of Chicago Style book review citations! It might sound like something only a super-smart historian would do, but trust me, even you—yes, you, the one who just learned how to microwave popcorn—can nail this. Think of this as your secret cheat code to looking like an academic superstar. We’re tackling the book review specifically, which is kinda like citing someone's super-long, professional Yelp review for a book.
The Lowdown: Why Bother with Citation?
You might be thinking, "Citation? Booooring! Why can’t I just say 'I saw it somewhere?'" Great question, lil’ scholar! Citing is basically giving a shout-out to the original author. It's like saying, "Props to the person who did the hard work!" Plus, it stops you from accidentally being a plagiarizing parrot (which is not a good look). We're focusing on the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), specifically the Notes and Bibliography (N-B) system—it's the one with the footnotes and the big list at the end.
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| How To Cite Book Review Chicago |
Step 1: ️♀️ Gathering Your Citation Ingredients
First things first, you gotta find the deets! Think of this like prepping your ingredients before you bake a cake, except instead of flour and sugar, you're grabbing names and dates.
1.1 Who Wrote the Review?
Find the reviewer's name. This is the person whose opinion you're quoting. Let's call them the Opinion Boss. Their name is super important!
1.2 What's the Review Called?
Sometimes, the review has its own title (like "A Binge-Worthy Read!"). If it doesn't, no sweat! You just skip this bit.
1.3 What Book Are They Reviewing?
You need the title of the book being reviewed. This is the main event!
1.4 Where Did This Review Go Down?
You need the journal, magazine, or newspaper where the review was published. This is the Location, Location, Location of your citation. You'll also need the volume and issue numbers (if it's a journal) and the date (month, day, and year for newspapers/magazines, or just year for journals).
Tip: Stop when confused — clarity comes with patience.
1.5 What Page Is It On?
Find the page number(s) where the review lives. If you’re citing a specific quote, you'll need the exact page. If you're citing the whole review, you use the range (e.g., 45-47).
Phew! That's the heavy lifting. Now, let's assemble this citation machine! ️
Step 2: Building the Footnote (The Quick Shout-Out)
The footnote (or endnote) is a tiny number you put in your paper after a sentence where you quote or use information from the review. Then, at the bottom of the page (or end of the chapter), you write the full citation next to that number. It’s a sneaky-fast way to show your source.
2.1 The Footnote Formula
The footnote is your "Notes" entry. It follows a special pattern, like a secret code:
Reviewer’s First Name Last Name, "Review Title," review of Book Title, by Author of Book, Journal/Magazine/Newspaper Title Volume, no. Issue (Date of Publication): Page Number.
2.2 An Awesome Example (The Magic)
Let's imagine a reviewer named D. Fluffy McWigglebottom wrote a review called "Seriously, Get This Book" about The History of Snarky Squirrels by B. Nutsy. It was in The Rodent's Review Quarterly in Volume 12, Issue 3, in 2024, on page 88.
Your footnote (let's say it's your first time citing this) would look like this:
1. D. Fluffy McWigglebottom, "Seriously, Get This Book," review of The History of Snarky Squirrels, by B. Nutsy, The Rodent's Review Quarterly 12, no. 3 (2024): 88.
See all those commas and parentheses? They’re like the punctuation police—totally essential! And peep the italics—book and journal titles get the fancy slant!
QuickTip: Read section by section for better flow.
Step 3: Creating the Bibliography Entry (The Big List)
The Bibliography is the master list of all your sources, chilling out at the very end of your paper. This is the formal, alphabetized list for anyone who wants to become a super-sleuth and check out your sources.
3.1 The Bibliography Formula
This one is slightly different from the footnote—it’s like the fancy version you use for special occasions. Note the periods instead of commas, and the swapped names (last name first for easy alphabetizing!).
Reviewer’s Last Name, First Name. "Review Title." Review of Book Title, by Author of Book. Journal/Magazine/Newspaper Title Volume, no. Issue (Date of Publication): Page Range.
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3.2 Another Awesome Example (The Finale)
Using the same D. Fluffy McWigglebottom review:
McWigglebottom, D. Fluffy. "Seriously, Get This Book." Review of The History of Snarky Squirrels, by B. Nutsy. The Rodent's Review Quarterly 12, no. 3 (2024): 87-90.
Notice:
McWigglebottom comes first (alphabetical order, yo!)
The page numbers are a range (87-90) because you’re citing the whole review's location.
Periods separate the main chunks of info.
And that’s it! You've just mastered a super-tough Chicago style citation. Go treat yourself to some well-deserved popcorn. You're a citation champion!
How to Cite Book Review Chicago FAQs
Tip: Skim once, study twice.
How to start a Chicago citation for a book review?
Start with the reviewer's name (First Last for the footnote, Last, First for the bibliography).
How to handle a book review with no title?
If the review doesn't have its own title, simply skip that part in the citation and start with "review of" in the next step.
How to use italics in a book review citation?
The title of the book being reviewed and the title of the journal/magazine where the review appears are always in italics.
How to cite an online book review in Chicago?
Add a URL or DOI (Digital Object Identifier) to the end of the citation, right after the page numbers (or in place of them if no page numbers exist).
How to know the difference between a footnote and a bibliography entry?
A footnote uses commas and includes the specific page number you are referencing; a bibliography entry uses periods and lists the full page range of the source.
Tip: Read at your own pace, not too fast.
How to format the journal title and issue information?
The journal title is in italics, followed by the Volume number, then "no." and the Issue number in parentheses. (e.g., Journal Title 15, no. 2).
How to cite a newspaper book review in Chicago?
Treat it like a journal, but use the full date (e.g., May 15, 2024) instead of the volume/issue numbers and the year.
How to cite a second time from the same book review?
Use a shortened footnote form: only the Reviewer's Last Name, a short Review Title, and the specific page number (e.g., McWigglebottom, "Seriously," 90).
How to cite the author of the book within the citation?
Their name (First Last) goes after the book's title, preceded by "by" (e.g., Book Title, by Author Name).
How to cite a book review found on a website (not a journal)?
Treat the website as the publication source, replacing the journal title and volume/issue info, and include the URL.
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