Author: Ali Berg & Michelle Kalus
ISBN: 9781925640298
RRP: $29.99
Publication Date: 1st June 2018
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
The Book Ninja is unique, it’s witty and it’s intriguing and there was a lot that I loved about it. I am now sitting here trying to work out how to tackle a review, how I felt about it and what I want to say. There are a lot of elements that I adore but when it all comes together and I look at it as a whole I have mixed feelings and I can’t convincingly put my finger on why.
Frankie and Cat are best friends, have been forever, and they share everything with one another… until they don’t. Their relationship dynamic was fun, there is a lot of banter and good natured ribbing but there are an inordinate number of nicknames. I thought that was quite a quirky touch and it amused me because I am one who loves to have a long list of nicknames up my sleeve, unfortunately my children don’t agree. Not only are they best friends but they also run a Melbourne bookshop together, inherited by Cat’s husband.
It has a bookshop, what’s not to love. It is a story inhabited by book lovers of every shape, size and genre and the literary title dropping is epic. The bookish banter is non-stop from quotes to comparisons and, of course, nicknames. This is one of the elements I loved. Bookshops are my happy place and I loved the literary name dropping because I wanted to know what would be next.
The premise is actually pretty novel, (hehe) and I enjoyed it. It is something I hadn’t heard a lot about but random acts of book sharing are becoming quite popular. There are little roadside libraries popping up all over the place that offer free book swaps, movements that see the book you finish on the plane being left for someone else to come along and find and the Books on the Rail movement founded by Ali and Michelle in Melbourne (which is now spreading it’s carriages across the country). In The Book Ninja there’s a twist to the random book dropping, it’s not just to share great literature but to help tragically single Frankie Rose find a boyfriend.
The characters, now here’s where my mixed feelings come in. The characters were an endless source of entertainment, they amused me, but I just didn’t like them very much. Their behaviour throughout the book was dishonest, secretive and selfish. They seemed to be connected only to their own best interests and they frustrated me no end.
Frankie Rose is a little lost in her life, she has had two novels published and the second one amassed some pretty nasty reviews which saw young Frankie put down the pen and walk away from her dreams, all her literary passion to be quenched by reading the never-ending supply of new material constantly arriving at the bookstore. Her long term relationship is over and she’s almost ready to get back out there but nothing she’s tried has worked. Inspiration strikes and she embarks on an experiment that sees her leaving copies of her favourite books on trains with her contact details printed in them; in the hopes that likeminded men will find them and get in touch.
All good social experiments require recording, and in this case Frankie decided to put fingers to keyboard and begin a blog, which gives us a fabulous format for the book. It’s told through a range of storytelling mediums from narrative, emails, message interaction and blog posts. The mix of mediums keeps the story fresh and the wit razor sharp. The issue is that the behaviour of the characters is less than desirable.
I read an uncorrected proof of the copy and I’m not sure what changes would have been made between my reading and the printing of the book so I’m not sure if I should even mention it, in case it’s gone, but the timeline just didn’t seem to flow the way it should. It almost seemed to me like all the different events seemed to happen on their own timeline and they didn’t always run together. I completely lost track of the narrative and one of the characters for a while and then just as I started wondering what was going on, she was back.
As I was reading I kept wondering just how much the book has in common with the lives of the authors because there are some similarities there but I think that was just me wandering off track for a while.
The writing flowed beautifully, but you do need to make timeline allowances, the prose was punchy and engaging and the basic premise was intriguing. The characters were at times painful and they’re behaviour was pretty deplorable, I wanted to like them but they just did some pretty selfish and terrible things that I couldn’t get past. The secondary characters were all as quirky as they come and it was amusing trying to juggle the sheer volume of quirky in one, relatively small, group of people. The behaviour wasn’t bad enough that any of them were irredeemable but I couldn’t be in their corner cheering them on for their happy ever after.
Another of the elements I loved is the organ donor plotline that explores the need for more publicity so that more people will become organ donors and potentially save lives. What I really loved about it was the way it was done. Graphic imagery, with literary ties, that will jump up and down to get your attention and remind you of the importance of organ donation.
The Book Ninja is a story that I would recommend, I did enjoy it; just be aware that the characters behave pretty badly. It’s a light-hearted read that’s good for a giggle; with a splash of romance, a dash of banter and a bucketload of bookishness.
The Book Ninja is book #25 for the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge 2018.
Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and their website.
The Book Ninja is published June 1st by Simon and Schuster and is available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster 30 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading The Book Ninja so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
This has got to be my favourite fiction novel from this year. I’m a frequent visitor to Melbourne so I loved all the local references and the idea of a love story with a bunch of literary references thrown in for good measure? I’m shocked that this hasn’t actually been done before.
What a novel book with an interesting protagonist named Frankie Rose and her unique approach to finding dates! That is, until one Sunny Day turns up with his YA fiction in tow and knocks everything on it’s head. They say love comes knocking when you least expect it and for Frankie and Sunny that is certainly true. And the clever little twist at the end was absolute gold.
Thank you ladies for such a fantastic book! 😀
I’d seen this book across social media a lot, and liked the sound of it, so was happy to be selected as a reviewer thanks to Beauty & Lace and Simon & Schuster Australia.
Needless to say, being a book blogger, I adore all things book related, so I found the many bookish references throughout The Book Ninja delightful, and quite a few of the titles and/or characters were familiar to me, which made me connect with the book more.
The two main characters are Frankie Rose and her life-long best friend Cat.
The two work together in a bookshop in Melbourne.
Cat is married to knitting-obsessed Claud, and pregnant with her first baby.
Frankie is single, but keen to find love. She decides to embark on a love experiment; leaving some of her favourite titles (with her contact details added) on trains to try and hook the man of her dreams.
She meets Sunny, and the two hit it off, but it isn’t long until problems arise! You will need to read the book to see what happens as I don’t want to spoil it for others.
The story was highly entertaining; I enjoyed some of the characters more than others (some of the characters were quite selfish and did some things that I didn’t agree with). I especially liked Frankie’s quirky mum.
I’d recommend this book for those after an easy and enjoyable read, and I think that book lovers in particular will find this story really entertaining.
Thanks for the opportunity to read this book. I loved so many things about this book – the title, the many literary references (I actually started keeping a list of the books mentioned that i’d love to read), the story line about the bookshop and its readers, the idea of meeting people by leaving your favourite books in public places with your contact details. All these things had me hooked!
This was an easy book to read and it got me hooked early on. There were some great characters and interesting and diverse story lines. I did find myself some what frustrated by some of their behaviour but maybe that was a sign of how connected to the story I was.
I enjoyed the different mediums used in the book – blog posts, emails and reader comments.
I would highly recommend this book, especially for any book lovers!
This was so much fun for a booky person (like me) to read! It was pacy and entertaining, and had quite a few surprises. The exciting thing is that I’ve actually already been a ‘Book Ninja’ – another booky friend gave our entire book club some stickers from Books on the Rail, to leave two books on public transport for others to find. Sydney Rail got two great books from me, and I truly hope they found happy readers.
The main character here, bookseller Frankie, is forlorn and loveless. Most of her romance comes from Jane Austen, and other classic romances. So she decides her love life needs a boost – as does her writing life – and she begins her secret book ninja activities. She drops books on trains and buses and trams around Melbourne, leaving a note on the 7th last page of each book, asking the readers to email her for a date. You never know, she might find the love of her life through mutual book love. When they do email her and a date happens, she blogs about it.
The books she drops are fantastic, often fond favourites of mine. Please one day, let me find one!
But love isn’t that easy, even with fellow book lovers. Then she meets Sunny, who mainly reads – gasp! – young adult books. Yes, Frankie is a little bit of a book snob. But even so, Sunny has megawatt appeal. Actually, there is a passionate passage about how fabulous YA books are in ‘The Book Ninja’, which really resonated with me. Don’t think I didn’t notice, Ali Berg & Michelle Kalus.
I loved Frankie’s small circle of friends, particularly the crazy, pregnant Cat. I loved the different ways the book is presented, not just through ‘normal’ print but also through tweets, texts, Facebook comments (often Facebook stalking), emails, Frankie’s blog, and funniest of all, the blog comments which also unfold as a little romance between two blog commenters happens right there…
Naturally everything goes pear-shaped in Frankie’s life before it can get better. But along the way, right to the great ending, you get to enjoy a fresh, funny, booky book. What are you waiting for?
Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Simon and Schuster I was selected to review “The Book Ninja” by Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus. A funny, lighthearted and easy read.
Frankie is a romantic at heart and a lover of Jane Austin books, works in her pregnant best friend, Cat’s, bookshop and is looking for love. She was once a writer but after some bad reviews turned to writing a blog instead.
Frankie and Cat come up with an idea to start leaving messages in books then leaving the books on trams and trains on the Melbourne lines for people to find in the hope she finds the “one”. This is where she becomes “The Book Ninja”. Once found the finder of the message would email her and set up a date. This is where her blog really takes off, writing about her dates.
She eventually finds the one she truly loves in Sunny but struggles to fully open up and all in the meantime gets carried away with the “dates” to continue on her blog writing, which all takes place without Sunny knowing until one day he finds out in an unexpected way. Will this damage her relationship with Sunny forever and will she lose the one she loved so dearly?
If anything Frankie begins to learn who she really is and what it is she really wants. Can she end up getting everything she wants?
It refers to lots of books and lines from books throughout, which I got a little lost with at times as I wasn’t familiar with all the references but I thought it was a very clever idea. I liked it being based in Melbourne as I was familiar with the majority of the places. I did have a giggle a few times throughout and I do like how they list all the book titles that were referred to at the back of the book.
Id definitely recommend it.
5 out of 5 ! I laughed, I cried, I snorted into my cup of coffee- this such a fun book for a book lover.
Thanks so much to Simon Schuster Australia and Beauty and Lace of course for the chance to enjoy another fun and different book.
The story, evolves around Frankie and Cat who together front desk a book shop while Claud, the knitting accountant (his knitting makes the book worth reading on its own if you are a crafter like me) works in the back. Frankie looks for love amongst the book lovers by leaving copies of her favourite books on the train with contact details- the hillarious stories that result from these communications form into a blog, which goes on in parallel to a love story with Sunny, and Cat’s story leading to the birth of the new baby. Well written, engaging and fun, the story travels well and there is a list of all the book references in the back (as well as book club questions) which I enjoyed immensely as I knew some but not all. As a book lover it is great that feeling to know the characters as they are referenced, another boon of the book. I am tempted to go fill in my gaps in young adult reading…
This book was a really easy and fun read. It had some really unique ideas and I loved all the book references throughout, I started a list of ones of I thought I might like to read at some stage. The characters were quirky and I really liked some of the minor characters more than the main ones.
As Frankie trys a different way of finding love by leaving books on trains, As she goes she documents it in a blog, I was always happy when it got to a blog entry as I was guaranteed a laugh.
At times the characters acted in ways that I struggled with and other parts if the story that I just didn’t understand why they were included. But overall I did enjoy this book as an easy weekend read.
Thanks to Beauty & Lace and Simon & Schuster Australia for giving me the chance to read this book.
I loved this book! Anyone who loves the classics would appreciate the many references.
The beautiful love story between Frankie and Sunny is sweet and pulls at the heart strings. Although the betrayals (both from Cat and Frankie) are something I’m not sure I could forgive as easily as the characters in the book.
I loved the romance of finding books on the train and was so happy to see that this is something the authors did actually do. I have signed up for the stickers!!! Watch out for books on the trains!
The book ninja is a nice, breezy read that centres around a little book store in Melbourne and the quirky loveable characters that work there. Frankie is in the search for love and looks outside the norm for a way to meet a man who has a shared love of the same books she adores. Chaos ensues when she falls for someone that has the complete opposite attraction in books and she will have to decide whether not having a love of classic literature is a deal breaker or whether she can see past her book biases and fall for the man instead. Would recommend for anyone that’s in need of a fun read and who love books which reference other books. Ps. There’s also a great reference list at the back for anyone that needs a list of great contemporary/classic fiction reads.
The book of ninja is a good read I would not take dating advice from Frankie she was dating a guy called Sunny he was for her but her blogging dates stop the relationship in its tracks. You will; have to the book to find out what happens.