Questions & Answers about Bu kitap pek iyi değil.
Can I use çok instead of pek for 'very' here?
You can, but pek is much more natural in this context. While çok means 'very' or 'a lot' in positive sentences, pek is a special word usually reserved for negative sentences. When combined with a negative word like değil, pek translates perfectly to 'not very' or 'not quite'.
Where is the word 'is' in this sentence?
In Turkish, there is no exact standalone word for 'is'. For the third person (he, she, it) in the present tense, the 'is' is usually just understood from the context without needing a suffix. In this sentence, the negative word değil essentially acts as the entire phrase 'is not'.
Why does değil come after iyi instead of before it?