What do you do when your amazing, beloved sister dies?

Hide in your room for two years.
Sleep with a very, very wrong man.
Leave home and start a new life, lying to everyone you meet including your kind employer, your curious friends and the man you love?

Pip Mitchell’s an expert at making seriously bad decisions. But when her past, present and future collide at the Sydney Olympic Games, she’s going to have to decide whose side she’s on – or she’ll lose everyone she loves.

Reviews of 
No Number Nine

"Calling all #hockeyfamily - this book needs to go straight to the top of your summer reading list. Drama, love, laughter, lots of hockey players & hockey club antics we can all relate to"
​- Helen Richardson-Walsh

"Beautiful, heartbreaking, uplifting, and compelling are all words that can easily be attributed to the reading experience that No Number Nine offers its readers.
Set against the backdrop of the Olympics which is essentially the cherry on the cake, making it a must-read for sports lovers.
No Number Nine is a book that has it all. A strong female lead who like all of us has her flaws. It’s the fact she is a very human character and not the usual “perfect” characters you see crafted in other books, that makes her instantly likeable and engaging to the reader. So much so that she feels like a friend.
Another thing we love is how accessible the author has made the book for readers who haven’t seen or don’t follow hockey.
It’s a book that truly captures the spirit of the Olympics and all that the games encompass."
- tbhonest book blogger
"What a wonderful read I found this to be, I just sped through the pages as Pip started to emerge from her grief. A raw grief that haunted the character in all she did , whether near a hockey pitch or the very action of not telling people who she was related to. She had cocooned herself in grief yet as she grew up so the need to grow out of her grief grew too. She knew she had made mistakes and hated herself for them and for the ones she was making during her time in Germany. Yet she grew stronger through it all , eventually allowing herself to open up to the one who claimed her heart. A poignant coming of age story that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster and will see you emerge at the end a little wrung out but glad you had the chance to know Pip . Yes she was a bit maudlin , a bit of a rebel and there are scenes that made me smile and laugh out loud. She is a woman taking control of her life, loves and destiny and woe betide those who cross her." 
- @booksbehindthetitle book blogger
"Campbell has created a strong protagonist in Pip. Watching her struggle, find herself and move forward had me emotionally engaged and with a lump in my throat towards the end - the sporting background adds a fun and fascinating element that made this an engaging read for me that I read in one sitting."
​- @libcreads book blogger
"No Number Nine is an incredibly fast-paced, love story filled with drama, action, love and loss. Once you start reading this emotional rollercoaster of a book, be prepared to sit there until you’re done. Don’t worry if you’re not a big sport or hockey lover because I believe this book has something for everyone. If you’re like me, you’ll get into the hype of the Olympics just as much as some of the characters do. I loved the writing style of this book and I’m really excited to get stuck into some more of FJ Campbell’s work!"
​- @elliemaiblogs book blogger
"This book is in my top 5 surprise books of the year – I loved the sound of it, I’d seen good reviews about it, but I still didn’t fully know what to expect. So I went into No Number Nine not really knowing what to expect, and I came out of it with a fuzzy feeling in my chest and a stupid grin on my face."
- beautifulbookland.com (see the full review here)
"Globally, hockey is the second most played team sport and the third most played of all sports – yet it seems to be almost entirely absent from popular culture. Huh. So much so that a ‘hockey novel’ is a very niche, almost unique prospect. That was the main reason I was initially interested in reading No Number Nine when I was offered the opportunity, and I’m glad I did. Though accessible to the lay-person – anyone could enjoy this story – being a hockey player adds an extra dimension to your appreciation of the book; especially given how accurately the dynamics and complications of a large hockey club are rendered.
The story itself is a Bildungsroman (a coming-of-age-story in Germany) with a funny, conversational narrative which means it is easy to read and hard to put down – but that’s not to say it’s frothy or frivolous, it deals with complex and difficult issues in a comprehensive yet engaging way.
Ideal holiday reading in normal times, great isolation reading in today’s. The plot is like a good hockey game: fast-paced, exciting, end-to-end stuff with a result that is somehow simultaneously unpredictable and inexorable."
- Simon Moriarty, Leeds HC
"I enjoyed this book FAR more than I expected to. So much so that when I finished it I needed a break before starting something new to soak up the afterglow of it! It’s a touching, yet realistic coming-of-age story involving bereavement, romance, friendship and the Olympics. I’m not a sports-lover at all so I was dubious whether I’d have any interest in the sport aspect, but the author handles the topic well for sports dummies like me! There was something beautifully escapist about this book, whilst simultaneously managing to deal with the very real topics of bereavement and grief. I thoroughly recommend and wish I could read it for the first time again."
​- NetGalley review
"Hi sorry to intrude, but I just wanted to share with you. As you know I read No Number Nine and I really did enjoy the book, thank you. What I wanted to share was my immense gratitude because... I enjoyed the book so I suggested that my daughter (16 years old) read the book too! She does not read and really took some persuading to give it a go. But I did it - I got her to start the book on the promise that if she really didn’t get on with it I would tell her how the story unfolded. To my utter shock and surprise she put down the mobile phone, moved away from Netflix and picked up the book! So how did it go? Well 3 days later she has finished the book. I can’t believe it, I am so proud of her. I am not exaggerating - this is the first book she has ever read by choice on her own. I have tried everything to get her to read and can’t believe this has happened. Thank you. I’m off to buy another of your books now and we will be recommending No Number Nine to all her friends."
​- facebook review
Book recommendations from me:
Films and books Pip loved in 1999 / 2000

Ghost (1990)
Lola Rennt (1998)
Todo Sobre Mi Madre (1999)
Stephen Chbosky - The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999)
Bernhard Schlink - Der Vorleser / The Reader (1995)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Gladiator (2000)
JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997)
JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)
JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
Roald Dahl - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
Rudyard Kipling - The Jungle Book (1894)
Asterix - all of them
Rushmore (1998)
The Graduate (1967)
Shawshank Redemption (1994)
LA Confidential (1997)
Melissa Banks - A Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing (1999)
There’s Something About Mary (1998)
Zadie Smith - White Teeth (2000)
Bryce Courtenay - The Power of One (1989)
Tootsie (1982)
Philip Pullman - His Dark Materials trilogy:
​Northern Lights (1995), The Subtle Knife (1997), The Amber Spyglass (2000)
Bryce Courtenay - Tandia (1992)
Soundtrack to Holly & Pip’s lives (here's the Spotify playlist)
​
INXS – Never Tear Us Apart
David Bowie – Heroes
The Rembrandts – I’ll Be There For You
Cameo – Word Up
The Pogues – Fairytale of New York
TLC - No Scrubs
Macy Gray – I Try
Survivor - Eye of the Tiger
Britney Spears – ... Baby One More Time
Einaudi – Le Onde
INXS - Beautiful Girl

Contact F J Campbell

Photos used under Creative Commons from Kimmo Räisänen, Fabiano'Photography, hermilo87