YA title Fanny Berk Strikes Back combines karate, racism, and collaboration to start new series

Title: Fanny Berk Strikes Back

Author: Avi Luxenburg

Publisher: Catalyst Ember Press LTD

ISBN: Paperback 978-1-0692848-3-9, ebook 978-1-0692848-1-5, Audio 978-1-0692848-4-6 

Buy here.

How does a guarded, self-conscious girl of fifteen break free from the confines of her personal prison?  Karate, of course.

Fanny Berks rises as an unlikely heroine in this unblinking coming-of-age novel penned by Avi Luxenburg. Fanny’s life is a morose one, dominated by the scars of a lurid past and the confusion of an overbearing present.  Ironically pursuing identity through isolation and passivity, Fanny hides behind a veil of dark oversized garb, a curtain of hair, and the use of earbuds to drown the sound of the outside world. 

Orchard Valley is the town from which she and her family have fled, escaping a dark memory which will ultimately return, even in this ostensible refuge of Northridge River.  Although unstated, Fanny’s big desire is to create an identity.  The irony, though, is that she and her family are in fact running from their own identity.  You see, their real name is Berkowitz.  They are Jewish.  And because of this heritage they were attacked by a mindless gang of white supremacists known as “The Movement,” an attack that results in her never again seeing her truest friend, setting Fanny on a path of withdrawal and isolation.

But Fanny is not a quitter.  In Northridge, Fanny chooses to join a Karate dojo where they teach a discipline by which she can deal with the confusion.  In martial arts terms, this discipline is called the Flow.  The Flow is where she can find serenity in the eye of the storm - and a storm is coming.

As she masters the art, she evolves and later surprises herself by becoming the reluctant leader of a group of classmates called “The Motley Crew.”  She’ll need their help because the racist bigotry and wanton destruction that once found her will again rear its disgusting head.  Fanny’s inner need to guard the innocent finds her in a battle with school bullies whom she dispatches with alarming aplomb if not violence.  What she doesn’t know is that these bullies are similar to the collection of racist bigots she’d encountered before. She’s presented with a choice. Join the cause, or get snuffed out.

Unique to the narrative is Fanny’s dialogue with her inner self.  Laced with self-deprecation, cynicism, and a touch of wit, can Fanny listen and be transformed?  Will she harness the power learned from the Flow?  As fires kindle inside her, arsonists literally devour the outside landscape.  It’ll take everything Fanny’s got to find a way.

Luxenburg spins an ambitious tale in this new book series for young adults.  Though a little tedious in spots, it nonetheless casts a well-formed arc, as Fanny changes from an introverted and guarded outsider to a commanding and determined leader.  Presenting deep themes of racial injustice, isolation, resilience, and loyalty, Luxenburg has dared to swing for the fences.  And we all can respect that.  The result is a character we can root for, and a story we can admire.  It even sparks a little romance in the reader.  After all, who doesn’t love Karate?

Review by Lee Sanders