"Luxenburg swings for the fences with a powerful story of resilience, justice, and loyalty—giving us a character to root for." Lee Sanders
Looking for a gripping mystery thriller with heart, grit, and unforgettable characters?
Fanny Berk Strikes Back delivers high-stakes suspense, fierce action, and a powerful emotional journey—for teens and adults alike.
After a violent attack on her family, 15-year-old Fanny Berk retreats into silence, shadows, and karate. But when she steps in to stop a brutal act of bullying, her quiet life explodes into chaos.
That moment of courage pulls her into a dangerous criminal underworld—where survival isn’t guaranteed. As the threats mount, Fanny discovers allies in unexpected places: a misfit crew of classmates and a fiercely loyal rescue dog.
Together, they’ll face danger, lies, and impossible choices. Fanny must decide what kind of fighter she really wants to be.
What You’ll Find Inside:
🔍 Bold crime & mystery with emotional depth
🥋 A strong female lead with serious martial arts skills
⚡ Twists, grit, and edge-of-your-seat suspense
🧠 Themes of bullying, trauma, healing, and hope
😂 Wry humor and laugh-out-loud moments
Perfect for fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and The Karate Kid.
"Luxenburg swings for the fences with a powerful story of resilience, justice, and loyalty—giving us a character to root for." Lee Sanders
Looking for a gripping mystery thriller with heart, grit, and unforgettable characters?
Fanny Berk Strikes Back delivers high-stakes suspense, fierce action, and a powerful emotional journey—for teens and adults alike.
After a violent attack on her family, 15-year-old Fanny Berk retreats into silence, shadows, and karate. But when she steps in to stop a brutal act of bullying, her quiet life explodes into chaos.
That moment of courage pulls her into a dangerous criminal underworld—where survival isn’t guaranteed. As the threats mount, Fanny discovers allies in unexpected places: a misfit crew of classmates and a fiercely loyal rescue dog.
Together, they’ll face danger, lies, and impossible choices. Fanny must decide what kind of fighter she really wants to be.
What You’ll Find Inside:
🔍 Bold crime & mystery with emotional depth
🥋 A strong female lead with serious martial arts skills
⚡ Twists, grit, and edge-of-your-seat suspense
🧠 Themes of bullying, trauma, healing, and hope
😂 Wry humor and laugh-out-loud moments
Perfect for fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and The Karate Kid.
At fifteen years old, I was about to become the youngest brown belt in my karate school.
Or not.
To pass, I had to fight.
Survival was looking doubtful.
The kick to my stomach was so fast, it blurred the air with a loud snap. I gasped, along with the audience, and stepped back. A fortunate move, as it allowed me to avoid the full force of the kick and Rachel’s subsequent two-punch combination. She was fast and powerful, her lightning moves fueled by a hate for me which I didn’t understand.
Takashi moved between us to pause the action, checking that I was ok. My lungs were heaving, but I still couldn’t get enough oxygen. Using the two-second pause to calm myself, I tried to swallow but my throat was too dry. Rachel noticed, and her lips curled with disdain.
I took a split second to imagine what the circle of sitting onlookers saw. Rachel was tall and muscular, while I barely filled the folds of my gi. Rachel was a hunting jaguar, and I was an otter, running for the protection of the river.
As soon as Takashi stepped away, Rachel leaped forward with a sidekick and a spinning back kick. Her shouted “KIAI” echoed in the school gym and I nearly squeaked in panic. My body, with no help from my brain, moved me out of the way, and to her outside so that both kicks met with air.
Although the defensive tactic was unintended, it felt pretty good, almost choreographed, and I skipped away to the center of the circle. I realized, too late, that in my desire to get away, I had missed an opportunity to strike at her exposed side.
Sensei Roberts, standing with arms crossed behind the circle of sitting students, was looking for more from me than just avoidance and defense.
I hesitated, making the mistake of waiting for Rachel to do something.
She did something.
She attacked. While I was busy avoiding her punches, she disappeared from sight and, using a sweeping kick, brought me to the ground so hard and fast, it knocked the breath out of me.
Takashi stepped in and squatted next to me.
I wheezed for oxygen.
“Your breath will be back shortly,” he whispered. “Calm your mind.”
I focused on his voice.
“Relax your face.”
I tried to disassociate myself from the panic of not being able to breathe, and air slowly squeezed itself into my lungs.
“Now stand.” I was not quite ready to move, but he helped me up. Then, close to my ear: “Where are those combinations I have watched you practice?”
The relief at gaining my breath back was short-lived, as Takashi stepped away and grunted: “Hajime!” Rachel came in again, an angry, roaring steam engine with fists and feet.
My jaw clenched in budding annoyance, which felt much better than fear. Rather than move away from her attack, I allowed my weight to sink into the balls of my feet and gave her a split second to come closer. Time slowed, and with sudden clarity, I saw her preparing a front kick to my stomach. She was going for my breath again. Bitch.
Annoyance became anger. Anger energized a lightning move, as I spun away from the kick in an almost full circle, to arrive facing Rachel’s side, where I delivered my eight punch combination, followed by a new one I was trying out.
Of my twelve strikes, executed in less than three seconds, at least a few connected. Onlookers applauded, hesitant. Applause was not strictly appropriate to the ceremony of a brown belt test.
Skipping away, I felt the glory of the moment and bit down on a smile. Rachel bent over and a drop of blood landed on the floor in front of her.
Oh, no. I ran forward with my hands open to see if she was alright, but she shoved me roughly away.
Both Sensei Roberts and Takashi moved in. They were murmuring together, and she stood upright again. Shaking her head at them, she smacked her padded gloves together to show that she would like to continue.
What? Really? There was blood on the floor and she wanted to continue? She stared at me, her eyes on fire. I was in trouble.
Sensei Roberts and Takashi both smiled at her enthusiasm, but Sensei shook his head. They moved back and Takashi called for us to face each other and bow.
The match was finished. The relief I felt was so encompassing, it embarrassed me.
We were both moving to join the circle of onlookers, but Sensei Roberts stopped me. He wanted me to engage in another match.
Damn! My legs shook from the release of adrenaline. My heart still pumped at an alarming rate, filling my ears with a pulse which made it hard to hear.
Sensei called on a large green belt student to stand, who pulled on forearm and shin protectors, gloves, and a padded helmet.
You would think that a brown belt candidate fighting against a student two belts below her should win with ease, but the lower belts fought with chaotic abandon. Their lack of experience increased the danger, as they had less control over flailing arms and legs.
He was large, twice my size, twice my age, and moved with a deliberate slowness, but had massive strength in his kicks and punches. Avoidance would be the best strategy, with perhaps some darting in to deliver a few quick strikes.
I focused on lowering my pulse rate and breathing deeply to oxygenate my muscles while Takashi finished wiping up the drops of blood from the floor. All oxygenation ceased when Sensei called on a fellow blue belt student to also stand.
What!
A murmur of surprise came from the onlookers.
What is going on?
A tall student stood, perhaps a couple of years older than me. He was all elbows and knees and attitude, a slight smirk on his face. He pulled on his gear, eager.
I didn’t know their names. I keep to myself. What do I care about names?
I did a marvelous job of not allowing my chin to drop at the thought of fighting two people at once. Takashi’s face revealed nothing. Before I could gather my scattered thoughts, my two opponents faced me and Takashi had us bow. It must have been a comical scene, two large males facing off a petite fifteen-year-old girl.
“Hajime!”
They sprang into action, on the prowl, separating to split my attention. I did a mental head shake to wake up my brooding brain and skipped back to keep them in one line of sight. The circle of onlookers sitting on the floor helped to limit their movements as they couldn’t spread out too much.
I surprised myself by taking the initiative, moving around the outside and attacking the larger adversary. My punches were so fast, he didn’t even see them, so he made no attempt to block them. He simply responded with a punch so obvious, it was easy to spin away.
I paused, not a good strategy, as it gave them time to attack in an uncoordinated shuffle that looked like an advancing tsunami. I couldn’t go left or right because the circle of sitting onlookers was in the way. In a moment of inspiration, I faked left, sensing the audience scrambling backwards in surprise, and then dove through the bit of space between my two opponents. The move was too sudden and unexpected for them to react.
The fabric of my gi brushed them as I made it through, like threading a needle. Rolling, I used the momentum to arrive at a standing position, facing away from my adversaries. Stepping backward to close the distance, I delivered a back kick, which the larger man received. Once again, the rush of adrenaline made the kick stronger than intended. He grunted. I was very close to both men at this point and, as one was doubling over in pain, the other stepped in and delivered a full contact elbow strike to the side of my head.
Everything went gray and darkened around the edges. I turned to jello and quivered toward the floor, feeling somebody’s arms under my armpits. The distant sound of Takashi’s voice repeated: “Breathe, just breathe. Breathe…”
Both his voice and the world faded to nothing.
Fanny Strikes Back by Avi Luxenburg is a fast-based, exciting read for YA readers who like adventure. Obsessed with karate, Fanny Berk is a complex character that readers will cheer for. Dressed in drab colors and hiding behind her hair, Fanny is a teen who wants to go unnoticed. As fate would have it, though, she does something that surprises even herself. She finds herself in the Flow and acts on her impulses—sending a set of actions in motion that will change her life.
Tired of school bullies, she uses her karate skills to take down two of the school’s worst bullies. Her actions cause some to call her a hero and a ninja, but she is mostly embarrassed by what she has done. Even worse, her actions could cost her the only passion she has—her beloved karate class. Young adults will relate to this all or nothing scenario, “Karate was everything, and I might lose it all.”
Set in British Columbia, Luxenburg includes a wide cast of characters from different backgrounds. Fanny’s family is Jewish who have experienced prejudice and persecution from a group called The Movement. Despite having to move and lose her only friend, Fanny overcomes her isolation with grit and moral courage.
Fanny's character arc is impressively steep. She goes from talking to herself, disliking dogs, to becoming a “dog” person with actual friends, a group of gifted kids who call themselves the Motley Crew. Using their varied talents, the crew investigates crimes happening inconspicuously in their own neighborhood.
Luxenburg, who was an educator, gets the school setting exactly right. He compares the halls to teeming schools of fish and the bullies as sharks. Even more dangerous than the bullies, an underground protection racket, comprised of immoral adults, is recruiting students. Unless Fanny and her crew can stop them, there are ruffians who pose more danger than the school's worst bullies.
Young adults will love Fanny and her crew who show initiative, self-sufficiency, and creative problem solving in the trickiest of situations.