when writing an essay about a nonfiction book what tense should i use

Answer 1

The book placed me in the setting of ...

The setting of the book is

The setting of the book was

The setting of the book should have ..

So what tense do you want to use? Use the tense that give power to your essay, and its purpose. There is no rule for the right tense.

Answer 2

Bob's right. One thing is consistency, however. Do not jump from tense to tense without a specific reason to do so.

I always have trouble reading essays or stories where the person starts in present, switches to past, throws in a few futures, and is overall disorganized.