No Number Nine by F.J Campbell {book tour book review}
*This book was gifted to me by Literary PR in exchange for an honest review. This review is also a part of the Virtual Book Tour for no Number Nine by F.J Campbell. More details at the end of this article. On a side note, I also appreciated the little gift of Vegan chocolate as it meant I could enjoy it and it really shows the inclusivity that Literary PR strive for. This article also contains an Affiliate link.
ID: The book No Number Nine by F. J Campbell. next to the book is a wrapped bar of chocolate and the Media Information Sheet for the book and the author.
Hello friends,
It’s my day of the Virtual Book Tour for No Number Nine by F.J Campbell today and I’m looking forward to telling you about this bookend sharing my thoughts on it with you all. But first, I feel it’s important to share some trigger warnings for this book:
Grief due to death of a sibling and discussion of grief.
Attempted rape and assault.
Issue of consent and discussion about that.
These topics aren’t easy to read about at the best of times but I know for some people, they’re a no no. So I wanted to make sure that if you do decide to read this, you are fully aware of what’s included. I will also be briefly touching on these topics in this review, but won’t be doing so in depth.
It’s September 1999 when we meet Pip Mitchell, about two years after she’s lost her older sister Holly. While in some cases, grief can ease over time, for Pip this doesn’t seem to be the case. She’s very much struggling to cope with her grief and has decided that moving away from England, to start a whole new life where no one knows her or her sister might just help. So she takes a job as an Au Pair for the von Feldstein family in Germany. What could go wrong?
However, once Pip arrives, she starts to realise that certain things were omitted from the letter Mr von Feldstein had sent her detailing the job role and information about his family. Pip is soon confronted with a situation and a lifestyle that she was trying so hard to get away from! The von Feldsteins are really into sport and not just any sport, but Hockey, {Field Hockey for my U.S friends} which was the sport that Holly played up to Olympic level, that Pip herself played extensively and that her parents were coaches for at the Coventry Hockey Club. Basically, until Holly’s death, Pip had lived and breathed Hockey, just like the von Feldsteins ~ I mean this family even owns the Club House!
“It’s not about how Holly died or how my parents ignored me for most of my life... It’s not about how I sat in my room for two years, or how I ran away from England and the whopping great lies I told. None of that matters any more. It’s what I do now...that’s what matter.”
But Pip isn’t ready to share about Holly and her old life with the new people around her. So she begins omitting certain truths about her life when her curious new friends begin asking questions as they notice at times her behaviour is a little “off” when it comes to the topic of Hockey, and taking the two young boys in her care to the Hockey Club. On top of that, both the older von Feldstein brothers are working towards playing for the German Hockey team in the Sydney 2000 Olympics. In a different life, both Pip and her sister Holly should also have been aiming on playing Hockey at those Olympics, but this isn’t a different life and now Pip has to navigate being surrounded by Hockey players and reminders of her sister wherever she looks!
As the year the book covers continues and Pip becomes closer to the family she is working for, especially to one of the older brothers, she begins to realise that she needs to change certain things in her life. Not only does she feel she needs to tell the family about Holly, especially as more connections to her sister are emerging within the new life she’s trying to live, there’s also a very inappropriate relationship, born out of grief for both parties, that needs to be rectified. Pip’s deadline for all this? The Sydney 2000 Olympics.
F. J Campbell has created a very heartfelt story set to the backdrop of a life in sport, with it’s climax at the Sydney Olympics, the spirit of which is captured beautifully. The cast of characters surrounding Pip are wonderful and quite believable in some cases. The von Feldstein family were great and the way they took Pip in and treated her as one of their own, even though she technically worked of them, was lovely to see. The two younger boys, Max and Ferdi, were among my favourites; They become so attached to Pip and are very protective of her and she was one of the very few people in their lives to embrace their high energy and passion for life, which was wonderful to see.
Another of my favourite characters was Pip’s best friend from England, Nadine. No matter how much Pip at first tries to not stay in touch with her after she’s moved away, Nadine keeps trying to keep that contact with her. This leads to her eventually arriving in Germany and it’s then that you see Pip realise that actually she needs someone she can talk to about her old life, who was right there with her when she lost her sister. Pip also confides in her about a number of other things and Nadine becomes her voice of reason.
ID: The book No Number Nine by F. J Campbell sat on a grey footstool. The background is blurred but a grey tartan chair arm and part of a bookshelf is visible. The cover of the book is a dusk purple colour with a woman on it. You can only see the back of the woman’s head and a small part of her left shoulder.
Once Nadine is back in England, Pip and her stay in touch via email until they are back together in Sydney for the Olympics. Nadine is just the support Pip needs during the games as it’s the first games since she lost Holly and that hits Pip hard; especially when she sees the GB Hockey team, the majority of whom, she knows. It’s during this time that you see Pip struggle the most with her grief and F. J Campbell handles it so well and you see Pip grow even more while she’s in Sydney and the events that play out there.
One such event is an attempted rape, which I’ll be completely honest, I skimmed a little bit because it wasn’t nice to read. While I felt it may have been a little unnecessary, I think I just wanted Pip to not having else bad happen to her, it lead to some really important issues being raised. The dialogue that follows first between Pip and Leo, who found her, brings in the topic not only of consent, which relates back to something that happens between them earlier in the book, but also that the attack must have been Pip’s fault because she’d had a drink and because of what she was wearing. Within this conversation, you see Pip really find her voice expressing feelings and fears that many women have. So while I wasn’t sure about the attack being completely necessary, F. J Campbell handled the situation and the following conversation, which raised some important points, wonderfully.
With some strong persuasion and support from Nadine, Pip goes to the Police Station to report what happened to her. Again Pip is met with some accusing questions but with the back up of another officer {a woman she met the previous night} and Nadine, she makes her statement. This isn’t a long scene but the way F. J Campbell shows women support women is again, beautifully done.
Overall, No Number Nine made me laugh and cry and while there were a few difficult moments to read, it was an enjoyable read. I also found it was one of those books that just stayed with me even when I began reading something else and I was very tempted to pick it back up again ~ something that doesn’t happen too often!
The story being set against the life of Hockey players and towards the end, the Sydney Olympics, made it feel unique. I grew up being involved in many different types of sport: Swimming, Netball and Equestrianism especially and seeing the passion of some of the Hockey players in this book, reminded me of my own during those times ~ as a child I even had dreams of being an Olympic Swimmer, how life has changed! While I didn’t play hockey as extensively {I did own a Hockey Stick at one point though} as other sports, reading this book made me wish I ‘d been more involved in it while I was at High School, where I first played the sport.
So if you’re looking for a unique read, with sport included, a main character to root for, a best friend everyone should have and two adorable, high energy boys, then No Number Nine is the book for you. Also, there’s no better time to pick this book up than right now with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games going on and to help keep that Olympic sprit going, even when you’re not watching any of the sporting events.
Finally, I just want to say a huge thank you to Literary PR for gifting me this book, it was a wonderful read and I’m so glad I could be a part of the Virtual Book Tour for it.
Stay Safe. Read a Book.
L x
ID: Louise’s Animal Crossing New Horizons Character. She is Caucasian, has a big smile on her face and is stood on the beach. She has dark brown hair and is wearing black glasses, white trainers, black shorts, a white t-shirt and waving a flag. The t-shirt and flag both have Tokyo 2020 and the Olympic Rings on them. Creator ID for them is: MA-5076-2362-1266
