My Life as a Ninja

My Life #6

by Janet Tashjian, Jake Tashjian (Illustrator)

Derek becomes a ninja-in-training in Book 6 of the bestselling My Life series by Janet Tashjian

Derek Fallon has expanded his taste in cartoons to the world of manga and anime. Together with his friends Carly, Matt, and Umberto, Derek has fun learning about all the cool aspects of ninja culture.

When someone starts vandalizing their school with graffiti of a mischievous troll-like figure, these ninjas-in-training are convinced they'll be able to crack the case. But it turns out that being a ninja is a lot more work than they thought, and this adventure brings about new opportunities for Derek to embarrass himself. For once, can he be the hero that saves the day?

Find out in the sixth illustrated installment of the beloved middle-grade series!

A Christy Ottaviano Book

Praise for the My Life series:

"Give this to kids who think they don't like reading. It might change their minds." —Booklist, starred review

"A kinder, gentler Wimpy Kid with all the fun and more plot." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Humor

240 pages, Hardcover

First published April 11, 2017

About the author

Janet Tashjian is a middle-grade and young adult novelist who’s been writing books for children for fifteen years. Her first novel Tru Confessions was made into a critically acclaimed Disney TV movie starring Clara Bryant and Shia LaBeouf. The Gospel According to Larry is a cult favorite and Fault Line is taught in many middle and high schools. Her novels My Life As a Book, My Life As a Stuntboy, and My Life As a Cartoonist are all illustrated by her teenage son, Jake. Their collaboration continues with Einstein the Class Hamster coming in August.

Janet lives with her family in Los Angeles, enjoying her respite from the long Boston winters. When she isn’t writing, she’s rewriting.

Janet has been doing school visits for fifteen years; you can email her at spatulaproductions@mac.com for details.

We invite you to follow her on Twitter @JanetTashjian and like her books on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Lif...
https://www.facebook.com/ForWhatItsWo...

Plus, check out her YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/janettash...

Reviews

[Coralinaae · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75/5⭐

[Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

4th choice book. 3rd quarter.


Lemme just start out by saying that I loved this book! This is a funny book in general. The main character Derek, deals with a lot of struggles. Derek wants to become a ninja, so he's taking ninja classes, and throughout the book his teacher really confuses him. Then there's a bunch of vandalism going on throughout the town, and Derek's mission is to find out who the culprit is. Then there's the school play, that Derek never really wanted to join in the first place, but it happened. Derek has a lot of conflicts but he gets through them just fine. The author does a great job writing the story:)

[Janessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun book! My son has been stuck on graphic novels for some time now. I saw this on the shelf at the library. After much complaining, I talked him into reading it. We couldn’t put it down. It was so entertaining. Ninjas, spying, and being there for your friend. We enjoyed it so much, we reserved the entire series from the library. Thank you for getting my 9 year old to read “books” again!

[Elina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading the my life. It was good but they could have put something exciting in the book it was kind of boring that's Why I gave it to 4 stars. We have all seen vandalizing before. When I read this book I learn a lot of new vocabulary. This series always teaches me about different lifestyles. 4/5

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Derek and his friends want to be ninjas. They start going to a dojo where all they do is stand and be still. Not their idea of fun but Derek does begin to learn to be quiet. Murals have been popping up around town of a Minotaur. Derek sees clues everywhere and suspects many people. But is he right? Also Carly is directing the school play and is using the American Revolution as the theme. Derek "volunteers" then unvolunteers when he learns that John Adams was married to Abigail Adams which part is being played by Carly. Will the play ever happen?

I love this series. It is funny. The characters are great. This can be read as a standalone but it is better to read in order of the series especially important to learn about Frank. I laughed when Derek and Matt dyed their ninja clothes. I also chuckled when Derek learns his part will be reading letters with Carly which were written by John and Abigail Adams, including the love letter parts. I enjoyed seeing Frank again. I also liked when Derek's dad goes with him to spy as ninjas.

This is such a fun series. Perfect for girls and boys over 8.

[Thumbnail That · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great middle school book. It is the sixth book in “The My Life” series. It is quite relatable for a middle schooler–especially boys. I really liked that there was a girl included in the group of friends. Her character adds a little balance to what could have been a male-dominated reading experience. Not that would have been a bad thing, but she adds a layer that opens the door for female readers to appreciate the text as well.

The cartoons were a cute addition throughout the story. The text was easy to read and the storylines that ran simultaneously were quite engaging. This is definitely a book series that my middle schooler would enjoy. I would like to read at least one more book in the series to compare. This book was reminiscent of “Captain Underpants” and I can see the appeal to a sixth or seventh grader.

[s0ul_34t3r · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story about friendship, persistence, and the art of being a ninja.
I read this series in the most interesting way possible. I began with the second book. Then, I moved on to the fifth. Before long, I had finished the second and fourth. Afterwards, I tackled the third. After a long wait, the seventh was done, and then the sixth.
And through this series, I learned two big things: One, art and vocabulary go great together. Two, we can all have many different lives, whether it's as a book or a cartoonist, gamer or YouTuber, ninja or reader of this wonderful collection of books.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story about friendship, persistence, and the art of being a ninja.
I read this series in the most interesting way possible. I began with the second book. Then, I moved on to the fifth. Before long, I had finished the second and fourth. Afterwards, I tackled the third. After a long wait, the seventh was done, and then the sixth.
And through this series, I learned two big things: One, art and vocabulary go great together. Two, we can all have many different lives, whether it's as a book or a cartoonist, gamer or YouTuber, ninja or reader of this wonderful collection of books.

[Kaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this as an advisor for an elementary Battle of the Books team. Unlike many of the other books chosen for this 4th and 5th grade competition, I think this book was a great pick for readers that age.
There was some challenging vocabulary, while the story and action was very relatable for the 8 to 12 year old crowd.
The story moved along, contained several different plot elements, and the answer to the mystery wasn’t telegraphed.
An enjoyable book - I’ll probably search out at least one or two other books from the series.

[Eileen Winfrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me forever to get through this book, because I just wasn't that interested. However, what reading this has done for me is this: I have a new series that I can recommend to kids who only want to read Diary of a Wimpy kid. A group of friends get together and overcome some kind of not-too-threatening problem. I especially like the stick figure drawings on the side that demonstrate the meaning of words. I'd recommend this to reluctant 3rd and maybe even 4th grade readers.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Derek and the gang decide they want to become Ninja’s and take martial art classes. Carly volunteers to direct a play and has everyone involved in the play. I like how the played turned out. Someone is tagging the community and several people, including Derek and his buddies have been suspected. Can the police catch them? Can the Ninja’s?

[Stacey Socholotuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters have grown up some since the first in this series, but they still maintain their quirky dynamic and honest opinions. A fun read for grades 4-6

[Roberto R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book read it if u have read the other books or if u like stuff about ninjas.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh My God this book was so amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!. if you havent read the first book read it or read this

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. As a teacher, I really like the way the author used drawings to explain possible unknown words. This is a fun book to read.

[Tracy Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series. It is great for reluctant readers and students who need a little help with vocabulary.

[Shailesh Newaskar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Adventurous and mystery

I liked this book more than I thought I would !
Five out of five for me

[Gurshaan]

Dis is a rlly goated boook u should read it

[Adrian Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this off the shelf based on the name only and handed it to my 8yo. He loved it. I liked it a lot too, mostly because the kids are so normal and the "adventures" are so normal too.

[Error · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, To be honest, I used to not like this one. I'm not really sure why. But my 2nd time that i read it i liked it a lot more. Especially the play stuff. 8.5/10

[David Erkale · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ninja story was okay, if not unrealistic. The illustrations for the defining of words mostly don't give a good example of what a word really means.

[G I · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was really cool

[Sam Oestreich]

Happily Flad

[Alexander]

GOOD.