Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja 5: Terror at the Talent Show

Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja 5: Terror at the Talent Show by Marcus Emerson (Allen and Unwin) PB RRP $12.99

ISBN 9781760295592

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

It’s another crazy week at Buchanan School in this, the fifth installment in the bestselling Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja series. Chase Cooper’s multi-talented cousin, Zoe, is busy organising a school talent show. She is stressed about her to-do list, and asks Chase for some weekend help to set up the school cafeteria for rehearsals. His response? ‘Yeeeeeah, that’s actually right in the middle of my nap, so I’m gonna have to say no.’

Uh oh. As per previous novels, Chase has once again let Zoe down, breaking an unspoken ninja code to do ‘the honourable thing … to help family’. When a strange kid in a hockey mask ruins the rehearsal by setting a penguin loose in the school and destroying part of the unfinished stage, Zoe thinks Chase is partly to blame. If he had’ve helped, the stage would have been properly attached. It’s up to Chase to make it up to Zoe by using his ninja skills to find the culprit, find that penguin and save the talent show.

In each novel, Emerson cleverly builds on the growing list of Chase’s enemies to make it difficult to identify the culprit. In this novel, Jake (a popular, quarterback football player) is less than impressed with Chase’s decision to change the mascot to a moose. Jake joins Wyatt, Carlisle, Olivia and Sebastian as possible suspects in the talent show disaster.

There are some loose ends in the novel that will no doubt leave fans wanting to read the rest of the series. There’s a mysterious ‘white ninja’ character, a noticeable shift in numbers between Chase and Wyatt’s ninja clans, and a foreboding promotion for Wyatt to ‘Vice President of Buchanan School’.

The novel follows the same style as the others, featuring plenty of realistic banter between the students as well as over-the-top humour. The stories require a slight suspension of disbelief on the reader’s part, which won’t be a problem for the target age group of 7–12. In addition to the missing penguin, there is also a delightful group of ‘library zombies’ in this one – a tongue-in-cheek observation by the author on the

growing (over)use of smartphones! (‘Waaaaaaatch this cuuuuuute videeeeeeoooooo’!)

Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja 4: A Game of Chase

Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja 4: A Game of Chase by Marcus Emerson (Allen and Unwin)

PB RRP $9.99

ISBN 9781760295585

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

It’s another crazy week for Chase Cooper at Buchanan School, and it all starts off with the chess piece and anonymous note he finds in his locker. Somebody, who goes by the name ‘Jovial Noise’, threatens to expose his ninja identity if he doesn’t play along with their game. Er … what game? Chase is getting tired of the crazy behind-the-scenes activities at his school. (At one stage, he humorously dwells on how many years of therapy he’s going to need after he completes just one year at the school! He also blames James Buchanan, the school’s namesake and one of America’s most controversial presidents, for the madness.)

It seems Jovial Noise is out to sabotage the school science fair … by destroying people’s projects. The game of chess certainly becomes ‘a game of chase’ when Chase has to connect the chess pieces and clues together in order to save people’s science projects. Then Chase himself is framed for Faith’s ruined project and he knows he needs to find the real culprit, fast, before more projects (and friendships) are destroyed. Is it Carlyle? Wyatt? One of the red ninjas? Or that new hall monitor, Sebastian?

This is another fast-paced, entertaining read in the bestselling Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja series by Marcus Emerson. There are lots of laugh-out-loud scenes, including a very funny conversation about ‘meese’ (the supposed plural of ‘moose’)! I particularly love how this series overturns the idea of a fist-fighting ninja and replaces it with a ninja who instead focuses on empathy, bravery and (above all) doing the right thing.

‘If you know me then you’d know I don’t fight no matter what,’ I said.

‘You don’t fight with your fists’ … ‘you’re a very strange ninja.’

This amusing series of books for 7–12 year-olds is definitely out to empower kids who want to deal with bullies … without getting physical. 

Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja 3: Rise of the Red Ninjas

Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja 3: Rise of the Red Ninjas by Marcus Emerson (Allen and Unwin)  PB RRP $9.99

ISBN 9781760295578

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

A rival ninja clan – the Red Ninjas – is out to make Chase Cooper’s life impossible in this, the third novel in the Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja series.

It all begins when a fast-moving, red-hooded thief steals Chase’s backpack right off his shoulder. In a panic, Chase goes after him, desperate to get back his ninja suit, science project … and that little love note to Faith. The red-hooded thief disappears in what can only be described as a notorious ninja move. By the end of the day, copies of the love note are plastered all over the school and Chase has earned the nickname ‘lover boy’.

It’s a social disaster as Chase tries to do some damage control to save his friendship with science partner – and secret crush – Faith. But the two of them have become the laughingstock of the school thanks to a new clan of ninjas, the red ninjas, who are out to humiliate Chase. Faith is mad at him, Zoe is mad at him. His best friend Brayden has been framed for theft … and Chase doesn’t have the courage to help him.

It is not necessary to have read the first two books in the series, because Emerson provides a recap at the beginning. However, readers of the first two books will immediately guess that Wyatt is behind all the trouble in this book.

The Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja stories are very entertaining reads for 7–12 year-olds. (This third novel has a highly amusing reference to the original version of The Karate Kid that sadly might be missed by younger readers though!)

Zoe remains the ever-so-cool cousin who takes the moral high ground to keep Chase in check, but there’s a difference in this third book (and it’s not just in the page length). Though Chase wins victory in an absurdly funny roller-skating spectacle of ‘Shoot the Duck’, justice is not served at the end. Rather:

‘… sometimes people get away with what they’ve done.’

Of course it cleverly indicates that this means war, thus setting the climax for the next book in the series.

Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja 2: Pirate Invasion

Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja 2: Pirate Invasion by Marcus Emerson (Allen and Unwin)

PB RRP $9.99

ISBN 9781760295561

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

“It’s not that anyone is against me … It’s just that nobody is exactly with me.”

So says Chase in this, the second book in the popular Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja series, which begins with ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day’. New kid, Carlyle, has Chase’s guard up. Why does he still talk like a pirate when it’s no longer funny? Chase’s ninjas are bored and restless. Now that Wyatt isn’t leading them, there’s no more stealing, no more action. Chase has them all learning ninja moves … but nobody really knows what they’re training for (including Chase). Carlyle seems to be wooing everybody with his funny pirate talk … including Zoe. It turns out Carlyle is the leader of a secret band of pirates, and is secretly recruiting Chase’s ninjas. He is also seeking to avenge his cousin’s expulsion from the school.

The fast-paced story builds up action in the lead-up to the school ‘Dance Til You Drop’ event. The student who raises the most sponsorship money gets to choose a new school mascot, and Carlyle has convinced his growing legion of pirate fans to hand their sponsorship money to him. Once crowned winner, Carlyle is going to change the school mascot to a buccaneer.

Can pirates really trump ninjas? Does Chase even have the willpower to stop them? Poor Chase. It seems the more he tries to disappear, the more he stands out. After a talk with his dad, Chase decides to revolt against the crowd and stand up for what he thinks is right … in an absurdly funny obstacle course showdown.

This book is laugh-out-loud funny from the very first page, where Chase draws his self-portrait (‘Ladies, please remain calm’). I’m never quite sure where Emerson is going to take the story next, but I can be assured it will be an entertaining journey! The dialogue in this book is hugely appealing to the age group (7–12), with lots of kid slang. (For example, Zoe’s cry of ‘Oh em gee!’)

The novel concludes with Chase learning another lesson in leadership, Zoe demonstrating her family loyalty, and Carlyle planting a rumour that good old Wyatt is set to return.

Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja

Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja by Marcus Emerson (Allen and Unwin)

PB RRP $9.99   ISBN 9781760295554

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

Desperate to make friends at his new school, Chase Cooper falls in with the wrong sort of crowd – a secret group of ninjas who are up to no good. In order to be initiated, he has to prove his worth by stealing from one of his classmates. His cousin Zoe, sympathetic to Chase’s struggle to make friends, goes along with it all at first. She quickly feels sickened by their lack of morals though, and angrily leaves the group.

The ninjas decide to retaliate by stealing the school fundraising money for the ‘Student Hunger Drive’ and framing Zoe for the theft – but they want Chase to be the one to set her up. Chase must work out whether belonging to a group is more important to him than hurting Zoe, his truest ally.

Diary of a 6^th Grade Ninja is the first book in a series currently featuring ten titles, all to be released for publication between the months of January and March, 2017. Author, Marcus Emerson, self-published the series first and achieved amazing success with over 200,000 copies of the books sold worldwide.

Readers aged 7–12 years will find this story fun and engaging. It is told from a first-person perspective and is rich in dialogue, making it easy to read. The sheer quirkiness of the tale also makes it hard to put down! (Chase describes it best when he says ‘I just lived through it, and even I don’t believe that tale.’) In amidst the fast paced action, Emerson explores themes of loneliness and social anxieties in a school-based setting.

The book does feature occasional black and white illustrations throughout, to complement the story. Its formatting is far more traditional compared to, say, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid or the Weirdo books, but I believe fans of those novels will enjoy this series also.

Emerson gives the series a strong sense of direction with this first novel, which finishes off with a leadership upset and an impending new adventure that ties in with the second book.