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 is a book written by two authors and it is written about books and finding love. I wondered if it was from their own experience on where the journey for this book was going.
The character of Frankie Rose wanted to be a writer but her plans to become one became squashed.
Her life-long close friend Cat owned a bookshop and Frankie worked there. I began reading the book and thoroughly enjoyed the light- heartedness of their bantering with each other.
It’s not hard to really enjoy the character of Cat who is married to Claude and expecting their first child.
Watching her friend with happiness, Frankie is desperate to find love too. Frankie is a blogger and decides to find the true love of her life by leaving books on trains but with special messages inside the books that would also have her contact details.
Frankie meets a few people and then meets Sunny and there are ups and downs in this relationship.
Another character that is annoying is Frankie’s mum. Gosh, the antics of her interfering mother certainly reminds you of your own (in some cases) but of course, she is just looking out for Frankie.
For myself I sort of lost interest in the book but I continued to read and it wasn’t until I came to the part of Winnie the Turtle that my senses kicked in with the book and it was from then, that I started to enjoy reading the book. This then became a page turner and I really wanted to know, did true love exist from finding a book on a train?
Throughout the book there are references to other novels that have been around. I was totally amazed at a lot of them as I had never heard of them. Then there are the classic novels that I do know and loved.
At the back of the book, the authors have put in all of the books and who they were written by at the end of the book for great reference if you wanted to read them.
I would say that this book is probably more suited from your 20s to your 40s. In saying that though, I did enjoy the storyline once I realised what it was about and it was a fun book to read.
It will make me wonder if I see a book lying on a train now and think of the person that owned it.
Thank you to Beauty & Lace and Simon and Schuster for an interesting unusual read.
The Book Ninja was a wonderful, witty and heartwarming story of love, being quirky and the adventures we face daily.
I thoroughly enjoyed the character Frankie Rose and her struggle to write again while cocooning herself in a bookshop with best friend Cat. Cat who has her own outrageous personality and secrets.
The charming character Sunny with his beautiful charms, looks and very different perceptions adds such a lovely twist to the Frankie’s world at exactly the right time.
The witty idea of leaving books with notes around the city in the hope of whats to come allows for a compelling look into the world and what it is like to to feel that some times normal isn’t the same for everyone and that is quite alright.
Dramas unfold, worries and confusion become life and the quite book life is flipped for one of blogging, emails and remorse as the main characters control the wonderfully created roadblocks in their lives.
Reflecting on this novel I love that it is quirky and outside of the box as I think it is parallel to real life and he realities we must face- regardless of what we want out lives to be like often it takes a lot of twists and terms to get ourselves there.
I couldnt put this book down. it was delightful!
I was very pleased when The Book Ninja by Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus arrived at my door. This book was a fantastic read. I enjoyed reading about the perils of Frankie’s love life. For me personally the book had multiple modern aspects, including the blog Frankie wrote about her daily life and the mention of current pop culture.
I think that her new approach to dating was refreshing and interesting, to follow along with, throughout the book. It was extremely entertaining and used humour to make light of the situations Frankie found herself in. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in a light hearted, funny read about modern day dating. Thank you to Simon and Schumer for the opportunity to read this fantastic book!
I recently finished readying The Book Ninja by Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus – what a wonderful book! It was fun, witty, easy to read and kept me wanting to keep reading to find out the ending!
The story follows Frankie who has not been on a date in a while, she is also a writer, blogger and works in a bookshop with her best friend Cat – so she comes up with an idea – dropping her favourite books on public transport in Melbourne with her details. I thought this was such a fun story to follow – and laughed at the amusing dates she went on.
Then we meet Sunny – and oh he seems so perfect, but has a little darkness from his past shadowing him. It was a joy to see him come out of his shell and develop as a character, but also how he and Frankie evolved together (and the turtle was just gorgeous!) I just loved these two together, and I was very pleased with the ending. The supporting characters are also wonderfully written – from her pregnant best friend Cat and her husband, to the school boy who has a crush on her, to her over the top mother and quiet dad. It all just ted together so well.
Highly recommend The Book Ninja and am so glad I was able to read it to review thanks to Beauty and Lace.
The Book Ninja. By Ali Berg & Michelle Kalus. 7.7.18
The authors of this book are the ones who began Books on The Rail, (www.booksontherail.com) , an Australian idea of leaving books on public transport for others to pick up and read. I have been following this idea on Facebook for a while, so to be able to read this novel by the authors was a thrill for me.
And it is SUCH a quirky read. Two women, Frankie and Cat, are best friends and work together in a Melbourne book store. Cat is married and expecting her first child, but Frankie is single, so they devise a way for her to meet someone who would share her love of books. She begins to leave well read books on trains, with her contact details hidden near the end of the book, so only those who are reading the book will find this. She asks them to contact her, and for them to go on a date together. This leads to some very different meetings!
When Frankie meets Sunny Day on a train, she begins to fall for him. But he hasn’t read her favourites, he reads Young Adult books (shock, horror for Frankie) so can a romance ever work between them?
I enjoyed the Melbourne setting of the story, with lots of locations that I have heard of, and I liked the many references to lines from books, and a list at the end of all books quoted from. The character of Frankie was warm and real. The ending was a brilliant twist that I did not see coming. An enjoyable read.
Thanks to Beauty and Lace Book Club, and to Simon & Schuster for the chance to read this entertaining book.
I loved this book but I do have to agree that the characters behave pretty badly. The story follows Frankie and Cat who are best friends and work in a Melbourne bookstore together that Cat’s husband owns. Frankie is an author herself but after writing 2 books and getting some terrible reviews she has decided to stop writing. Frankie’s love life is also not great at the moment so she decides to try and meet guys by leaving her favourite books on trains and trams with her contact details inside in the hope she finds a guy that loves books as much as she does. This concept of leaving books on the train was actually started by the authors of this book and is called Books on the Rail.
Frankie starts a blog writing about her dates which is interspersed throughout the book along with emails and texts. Frankie ends up meeting the perfect guy but he loves Young Adult novels which she hates so it’s not smooth sailing. Unfortunately we then see Frankie doing some pretty bad things and her best friend Cat is even worse. I still loved the book though and enjoyed the amount of book references and the long list of books to read at the end. Also because it’s set in Melbourne it references so many places I know so well. It’s a silly fun read with a love of books and I loved reading it. Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Beauty and Lace for this wonderful read.
Firstly, apologies this review is so late, I’m afraid life ( or should i say everyone else but me sick at work) got in the way.
I was intrigued at Frankies idea of dating, but what a wonderful idea, find people who love the same kind of books you so…surely that means a match made in heaven…
Great quirky characters getting themselves in all kinds of situations, some believable some not so…
Love can be found in all kinds of places, I suppose the pages of a book shouldn’t surprise me
A great Saturday afternoon read, fun, quirky, romantic…..but with a slightly surprising ending…
4 stars
Thankyou for letting me read this book, after reading the blurb I was very excited to get going!
Unfortunately I found the book very slow to get going and that it didn’t “flow” so well at the beginning. I didn’t start really enjoying it until half way through part one of two, Even once I started to get into the story I still didn’t enjoy the “blog posts”, I guess it was that I don’t enjoy switching up the formats im reading after each chapter or so.
I did love reading about Frankie’s interesting way of trying to find the perfect date. I simply love that in the back of the book the Authors referenced every title that appeared throughout the book in a list and I’m going to read them all.
Thank you Beauty and Lace and Simon and Schuster for gifting me this book to read.
This is
a book about love,
a book about the love of books.
a book about a book helping to find love.
This is a book about not judging a person by the book they read.
Frankie is looking for love and working in a book store has given her an idea.
An idea to find love, the man of her dreams or a semi-normal person at least.
Her idea is to leave copies of her favourite books on public transport with a little note inside towards the back of the book letting the reader know how to contact her for a date.
Before any of these novels are read she meets Sunny and begins to fall for him but his reading material is not the same as hers. She prefers the classics and he likes Young Adult.
The books are found and dates are made and men are met and Frankie writes all about these dates on her blog.
The use of the blog in the book was a wonderful way for us to see the date as she described it to her readers.
Her blog writings are funny and give us a look at the date and what happened.
Frankie’s friends are fun lovable characters that we meet along the way.
Cat and her husband Claud are having a baby and this story line is a nice little side story to Frankie.
The characters in the story are full of warm and I wonder which characteristics of themselves the authors put into the characters.
This book was amazing and fun from start to finish and I had such a great time reading it.
Even a tear was almost shed for Winnie.
Thank you Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus for writing such a great story.
Thank you so much Beauty and Lace and Simon Schuster for allowing me to read this book.
I finished it about a week ago but wanted to do the review justice.
The book centres around Frankie, a young woman in her twenties who works in her best friends Cat’s book store.
Cat and her husband Claud get pregnant and Frankie and Cat come up with a great idea to get her a man. She puts her favourite novels on public transport with her contact details at the end. Most who read them contact her for a date. With these date experiences she writes a blog on them.
Complicating things is the fact she met a man called Sunny who she ended up falling in love with despite keeping up the books on the train and the dates. Inevitably once Sunny finds out the relationship is over.
Not accepting this Frankie puts books from Sunny’s favourite genre on all of the public transport lines he takes. She thinks it does nothing until one day she gets on a train and see hundred on A A Milne books (a book they both love) and in each one of them is a note from Sunny to meet him. They meet up and end up together again.
I love it and the blog posts really broke it up.