Best examples of reflective essay examples on a book (with tips you can copy)

Starting with real examples of reflective essay examples on a book

Instead of beginning with a dry definition, let’s start where your assignment starts: with the book in your hands and a reaction in your gut.

Imagine these situations:

You just finished _The Hate U Give_ by Angie Thomas and you can’t stop thinking about police violence and your own neighborhood.

You closed _The Great Gatsby_ by F. Scott Fitzgerald and suddenly your Instagram feed full of luxury vacations feels… different.

You worked through _Atomic Habits_ by James Clear and caught yourself wondering why you never stick to New Year’s resolutions.

Each of those moments can turn into a strong reflective essay. The best examples of reflective essay examples on a book don’t just say, “This book is about X.” They say, “This book made me rethink Y in my own life.”

Let’s walk through several realistic, classroom-ready examples and then break down what makes them work.

Short example of a reflective essay on a novel you read in class

Picture a high school student writing about _The Hate U Give_.

Before reading _The Hate U Give_, police brutality felt like something I only saw in the news. I would scroll past headlines on my phone, feel bad for a second, and then move on. Starr’s story changed that for me. The way she described the shooting of Khalil and the fear her family lived with made me realize that for some people, this isn’t an occasional headline – it’s a daily possibility. I started thinking about my own school, where most of the students look like me and we rarely talk about race directly. After finishing the book, I asked my history teacher if we could spend more time on current events related to civil rights. We ended up having a class discussion where I was honest about how little I understood before. The novel didn’t give me all the answers, but it pushed me to stop treating injustice as background noise and start asking harder questions about my own silence.

Why this works:

• It connects book events (Khalil’s shooting, Starr’s fear) to personal awareness (scrolling past headlines, school environment).
• It shows change over time: before the book vs. after the book.
• It uses honest, specific actions: asking a teacher for more discussion, speaking up in class.

This is one of the best examples of reflective essay examples on a book because it does what teachers love: it shows growth.

Examples of reflective essay examples on a book that focus on personal values

Now, imagine a college student reflecting on _The Great Gatsby_ in a first-year writing course.

Reading _The Great Gatsby_ during my first semester of college felt uncomfortably familiar. I arrived on campus thinking success meant getting into the “right” friend groups, posting pictures from parties, and landing the highest-paying internship. Gatsby’s obsession with impressing Daisy through his mansion and parties looked exaggerated at first, but the more I read, the more I recognized myself in his constant need to be seen. After one weekend where I went to three different parties just to feel included, I came back to my dorm and reread the scene where Gatsby watches the green light. It hit me that I was chasing my own version of that light – an image of success that never actually satisfied me. Since then, I’ve tried to measure my semester less by what I post and more by whether I’m building relationships that feel real. Gatsby’s tragedy didn’t just make me sad; it made me suspicious of my own definition of the “American Dream.”

Notice what’s happening here:

• The writer connects Gatsby’s parties and the green light to college social life and social media.
• There’s a clear shift in values: from external validation to authentic relationships.
• It doesn’t retell the whole plot; it zooms in on one symbol (the green light) and one part of the student’s life.

Examples of reflective essay examples on a book like this show that you don’t need to cover every chapter. Focusing on one symbol or character and one part of your life is often stronger.

Example of a reflective essay on a self-help or nonfiction book

Reflective essays aren’t only for novels. Many students now write about self-help, psychology, or productivity books, especially in college success or first-year seminar courses.

Here’s a student reflecting on _Atomic Habits_ by James Clear:

I picked up _Atomic Habits_ during winter break because I was tired of breaking every goal I set. I expected another motivational book telling me to “try harder,” but Clear’s idea of focusing on systems instead of goals completely changed how I thought about progress. His example about being “1% better every day” sounded cheesy at first, but it stuck with me. When spring semester started, I stopped telling myself, “I will get an A in biology,” and instead committed to a simple rule: review notes for ten minutes after every class. That tiny habit felt too small to matter, but by midterms I realized I wasn’t cramming or panicking like I usually do. Reflecting on this book made me confront an uncomfortable truth: I liked the feeling of setting big goals more than I liked the slow, boring process of improvement. Now, when I catch myself writing dramatic to-do lists, I remember Clear’s argument that identity is built from small, repeated actions. I’m starting to see myself not as someone who “tries to be organized,” but as someone who actually shows up for the small tasks every day.

Here, the reflection:

• Connects a key idea from the book (systems vs. goals) to a specific behavior change.
• Admits a personal flaw (loving big goals more than daily work) and shows how the book challenged it.
• Uses one concrete habit (ten minutes after class) instead of staying abstract.

If your teacher asks for examples of reflective essay examples on a book that isn’t a novel, this kind of response is exactly what they’re hoping to see.

Reflective essay example on a classic often assigned in high school

Let’s look at _To Kill a Mockingbird_ by Harper Lee, a classic that appears in many U.S. classrooms.

When I first read _To Kill a Mockingbird_ in middle school, I saw Atticus as a flawless hero and Scout as a cute, curious kid. Rereading it in high school, especially after the protests in 2020, I noticed different things. I paid more attention to how the Black characters were often in the background, and how the story of racism in Maycomb was mostly told through a white family’s eyes. That realization made me uncomfortable because I had always accepted the book as a complete picture of injustice. At the same time, Atticus’s decision to defend Tom Robinson still pushed me to think about what “doing the right thing” looks like in my own life. I started to ask myself whether I only speak up when it’s safe, or when it makes me look good, instead of when it’s actually risky. The book hasn’t aged perfectly, but my reflection on it helped me see how my understanding of justice has grown more complicated – and that growth feels important to hold onto as I become an adult voter and community member.

This example shows:

• How your interpretation can change over time as you grow and as the world changes.
• That it’s okay to have a mixed reaction: appreciating parts of a book while also critiquing it.
• How to connect a classic text to current events, like protests and conversations about race.

Teachers often look for this kind of thoughtful tension in the best examples of reflective essay examples on a book.

Examples include STEM and professional reading, not just literature

You might be in nursing, engineering, business, or another field where you’re asked to reflect on a professional or scientific book. The structure is the same: book → your thinking → your practice.

Here’s a nursing student reflecting on _Being Mortal_ by Atul Gawande:

Reading _Being Mortal_ during my first clinical rotation forced me to confront how uncomfortable I am with aging and death. Gawande’s stories about patients in long-term care made me realize how often our healthcare system focuses on extending life at all costs, even when patients value independence and dignity more. During one shift, I watched a nurse gently explain to a patient why we were changing his treatment plan. After reading the book, I noticed how the conversation centered not just on medical facts, but on what the patient wanted his remaining time to look like. Reflecting on this, I saw how quick I am to jump into “problem-solving mode” in my own life, instead of asking people what matters most to them. The book hasn’t given me easy answers, but it has made me determined to practice nursing that respects patients’ values, not just their vital signs.

For students in health fields, you can find good guidance on reflective practice from universities and medical schools. For example, the University of Edinburgh offers tips on reflective writing in healthcare education: https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection

This shows that examples of reflective essay examples on a book are widely used beyond English class—they’re part of professional training in many fields.

How to structure your own reflective essay on a book (using the examples)

By now, you’ve seen several different examples of reflective essay examples on a book:

• A novel about racism and activism
• A classic about the American Dream
• A self-help book about habits
• A literary classic about justice
• A nonfiction work about healthcare and mortality

Let’s pull out a simple structure you can reuse.

Opening move: Start with your “before and after.”
One powerful pattern in the best examples is this: “Before I read this, I thought… After reading, I see…”

You might write:

• Before reading this book, I barely thought about…
• At first, I assumed…
• By the time I finished, I realized…

Middle: Zoom in on 1–2 key moments from the book.
Instead of retelling the whole plot, pick:

• One scene that shocked or moved you
• One character you related to or disliked
• One idea, statistic, or quote that stuck in your mind

Then connect that moment to:

• A personal experience
• A belief or bias you held
• A decision you made (or need to make)

Closing: Show your ongoing question or change.
The strongest examples of reflective essay examples on a book don’t end with “The end.” They end with:

• A habit you’re changing
• A question you’re still wrestling with
• A value you’re trying to live out differently

This mirrors advice from many university writing centers, such as the University of North Carolina’s Writing Center, which explains that reflective writing should show how your thinking has changed over time: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/reflection-assignments/

A full, longer example of reflective essay on a book (student-style)

To pull everything together, here’s a slightly longer, realistic example about _Educated_ by Tara Westover, a memoir often assigned in college courses.

When I picked up _Educated_, I expected a simple “escape from a strict family” story. Instead, I found myself uncomfortably reflecting on my own definition of education. Westover’s descriptions of growing up without formal schooling, medical care, or even a birth certificate felt like the opposite of my life. I have spent most of my existence surrounded by institutions: public schools, doctors’ offices, standardized tests. At first, it was easy to feel superior, to think, “That would never happen to me.”

But as I kept reading, I started to recognize smaller versions of her experience in my own story. When Tara describes how hard it was to question her father’s beliefs, I thought about how rarely I have challenged my own family’s political opinions at the dinner table. I might have had access to textbooks and teachers, but I realized I often used my education to defend the views I already held, not to examine them. That realization bothered me more than any of the dramatic scenes in the book.

One moment that stayed with me was Tara’s first college lecture, where she didn’t know what the Holocaust was. I judged her at first, then immediately remembered all the times I stayed silent in class because I didn’t want to reveal what I didn’t know. Her ignorance was more extreme, but the fear behind it felt familiar. Since reading the book, I’ve tried to raise my hand more when I’m confused, even if I worry the question is basic. It feels like a small way of honoring the education she fought so hard to claim.

Reflecting on _Educated_ has changed how I see my own college experience. I used to think of education mainly as a path to a stable job. Now I’m starting to see it as a chance to build the courage to question, to say “I don’t know,” and to step away from beliefs that no longer fit. Tara’s story doesn’t make me hate my upbringing or my parents’ values, but it does make me more aware that I have choices they didn’t always have—and that wasting those choices might be its own kind of tragedy.

This full example of a reflective essay on a book shows all the pieces working together: before/after, key scenes, personal connection, and a forward-looking conclusion.

Quick checklist: Are you actually reflecting, or just summarizing?

When teachers ask for examples of reflective essay examples on a book, they’re often trying to pull students away from simple plot summaries. Use this quick mental checklist as you write:

• If I removed the book’s title, would the essay still reveal something about me?
• Have I shown how my thinking changed from the beginning to the end?
• Did I pick specific scenes or ideas, instead of retelling the whole book?
• Did I connect the book to my life, values, decisions, or future plans?

If you can answer yes to those, you’re on the right track.

For more help on reflective writing in general, you can explore resources from places like Harvard’s Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, which discusses reflection as a tool for deeper learning: https://bokcenter.harvard.edu

FAQ about writing reflective essays on a book

How long should a reflective essay on a book be?
It depends on your assignment, but many high school and college tasks fall between 500–1,500 words. Shorter pieces might focus on one scene or idea; longer ones can explore several angles, as you saw in the examples of reflective essay examples on a book above.

Can I use “I” in a reflective essay?
Yes. In fact, you usually should. Reflective writing is about your reaction, growth, and perspective. Check your instructor’s guidelines, but in most cases, first person (“I”) is expected.

What are some good examples of books to reflect on?
Almost any book can work: novels, memoirs, nonfiction, even professional texts. Popular choices include The Hate U Give, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Educated, Atomic Habits, and field-specific books like Being Mortal. The best examples of reflective essay examples on a book come from texts that genuinely stirred something in you—curiosity, anger, inspiration, or discomfort.

How is a reflective essay different from a book report?
A book report mostly summarizes what happens. A reflective essay focuses on what the book did to you: how it changed your thinking, confirmed something you already believed, or pushed you to act differently. Summary supports your reflection, but it should never dominate the essay.

Can I criticize the book in a reflective essay?
Yes, as long as you stay respectful and explain your reasoning. Many strong essays include both appreciation and critique, like noticing where a classic feels dated while still recognizing its impact on your thinking.

By studying real examples of reflective essay examples on a book and then trying your own, you’re not just completing an assignment—you’re practicing a habit that shows up in college, in your career, and in your life: reading something, pausing, and honestly asking, “What does this change for me?”