Scan barcode
samstillreading's review against another edition
5.0
Australians probably would have heard about this book recently as it’s scarily prophetic. Shafted prime minister’s daughter writes a book about an Australian prime minister being ousted from office by his female colleague who then calls a snap election- it all reflects our recent political climate. But is Jessica Rudd cashing in on her father’s name and fate?
No! Even though I am an ardent Kevin Rudd fan (geeks and academics can be prime minister…hope for us all, but that’s another story for another blog) Jessica Rudd has done a wonderful job in producing a truly funny chick lit where politics is anything but boring.
Campaign Ruby centres around Ruby Stanhope, an investment banker who is sacked as part of the credit crunch. She goes home, gets blind drunk and books herself a ticket to Melbourne. (Why Ruby has a Qantas Frequent Flyer number even though she’s never been to Australia is never explained). It’s too expensive to get out of the ticket, so luckily she flies in to a stinking hot summer where she is met by her aunt. By luck, she meets the Leader of the Opposition (leader of political party not in power) and is offered a job on the election campaign. Here Ruby makes the most of her Englishness and lack of knowledge regarding Australian slang, leading to some awkward (and funny) moments. Will the Leader of the Opposition win? Will Ruby realise which of the team has her best interests at heart in time?
Ruby is a very likeable character (even though she has a better knowledge of Australian fashion labels than most Australians) and the supporting cast (particularly the aunts and her niece Clementine) are skillfully written and unique.
Jessica doesn’t have the literary verbosity of her father (phew, I hear most of you say) but she does have an incredible talent for humout- I don’t think I’ve ever giggled my way through a chick lit as much.
It was interesting to read this in the wake of the recent Australian federal election, when we didn’t know what was going to happen in regards to who would form government- I was hoping that Jessica would predict the result!
No! Even though I am an ardent Kevin Rudd fan (geeks and academics can be prime minister…hope for us all, but that’s another story for another blog) Jessica Rudd has done a wonderful job in producing a truly funny chick lit where politics is anything but boring.
Campaign Ruby centres around Ruby Stanhope, an investment banker who is sacked as part of the credit crunch. She goes home, gets blind drunk and books herself a ticket to Melbourne. (Why Ruby has a Qantas Frequent Flyer number even though she’s never been to Australia is never explained). It’s too expensive to get out of the ticket, so luckily she flies in to a stinking hot summer where she is met by her aunt. By luck, she meets the Leader of the Opposition (leader of political party not in power) and is offered a job on the election campaign. Here Ruby makes the most of her Englishness and lack of knowledge regarding Australian slang, leading to some awkward (and funny) moments. Will the Leader of the Opposition win? Will Ruby realise which of the team has her best interests at heart in time?
Ruby is a very likeable character (even though she has a better knowledge of Australian fashion labels than most Australians) and the supporting cast (particularly the aunts and her niece Clementine) are skillfully written and unique.
Jessica doesn’t have the literary verbosity of her father (phew, I hear most of you say) but she does have an incredible talent for humout- I don’t think I’ve ever giggled my way through a chick lit as much.
It was interesting to read this in the wake of the recent Australian federal election, when we didn’t know what was going to happen in regards to who would form government- I was hoping that Jessica would predict the result!
tazzle_dazzle's review against another edition
1.0
In a word: lame. Probably not aimed at my demographic, but i found the writing wasn't great and the plot was insipid.
jacalata's review against another edition
2.0
heroine is a goddamn idiot. I can't tell if this is sharp political satire about the members of some specific political campaign or simply a badly written character, and the simplistic over reliance on chick lit cliches makes me think the latter.
juleslou's review against another edition
3.0
A great chick flick read. Vivid characters and laugh out loud moments. Peanut Noise anyone....
fionacalda's review against another edition
4.0
I've been wanting to read this for a couple of years and *finally* got hold of a copy, only to devour it in all of two days.
Ruby lost her banking job in London, drunkenly booked herself on a flight to Australia, found herself at a cocktail do which turned out to be a political party fundraiser, and she impressed all the right people to land herself a role in the party's election campaign.
Forgetting that this was written by the daughter of the prime minister, who managed to write about the female treasurer ousting the prime minister in a leadership spill, thus becoming the first female prime minister of Australia.... all this she might have written BEFORE it actually happened in reality (happened in June 2010, book got published August 2010.. )... ok so forgetting this book is written by Ms Rudd daughter of Kevin, it really was a quite up-to-standard chick-lit and thoroughly enjoyable. I've read much much worse.
The only thing that grated on me was Ruby's clumsiness, which too many chick-lit protagonists seem to have as a "quirky" character trait (Bridget Jones being the most famous). But her love of shoes, good wine and to-do lists were endearing nonetheless.
I really loved the whole scene of the election campaign. I loved the madness of it all, of hopping on planes going from one random location to another every day, of combatting bad-news stories and thinking of election-spin for anything that goes wrong, of those 4am tele-conferences and grabbing meals on the go (burgers and nuggets at Macca's, hilarious!), all with a massive election-day deadline and trying to win the country's vote, much less trying to keep up with personal dilemmas (mostly not being in the same place as her clothes) and family issues. How Ruby managed to recover from her rhinosinusitis with hardly any sleep I'll never know. And on top of that Ruby's a Pom in Australia and in need of translation most of the time (the Australian-isms were probably a little *too* strong I think).
(Does the Leader of the Opposition really get called the "LOO"??)
My favourite secondary character was little Clem, Ruby's niece, though I've never met a five-year-old so interested in other people. The dialogue where Ruby was explaining to Clem that she "tripped and fell over a journalist" was bloody funny.
Oh yeah, speaking of which, there IS romance, kinda the whole point in chick-lit novels. How she fit it into her hectic hectic life I don't know. But it works.
So.. I loved the book, not sure I want to read the next one as this one's enough. Thank you Ms Rudd.
Ruby lost her banking job in London, drunkenly booked herself on a flight to Australia, found herself at a cocktail do which turned out to be a political party fundraiser, and she impressed all the right people to land herself a role in the party's election campaign.
Forgetting that this was written by the daughter of the prime minister, who managed to write about the female treasurer ousting the prime minister in a leadership spill, thus becoming the first female prime minister of Australia.... all this she might have written BEFORE it actually happened in reality (happened in June 2010, book got published August 2010.. )... ok so forgetting this book is written by Ms Rudd daughter of Kevin, it really was a quite up-to-standard chick-lit and thoroughly enjoyable. I've read much much worse.
The only thing that grated on me was Ruby's clumsiness, which too many chick-lit protagonists seem to have as a "quirky" character trait (Bridget Jones being the most famous). But her love of shoes, good wine and to-do lists were endearing nonetheless.
I really loved the whole scene of the election campaign. I loved the madness of it all, of hopping on planes going from one random location to another every day, of combatting bad-news stories and thinking of election-spin for anything that goes wrong, of those 4am tele-conferences and grabbing meals on the go (burgers and nuggets at Macca's, hilarious!), all with a massive election-day deadline and trying to win the country's vote, much less trying to keep up with personal dilemmas (mostly not being in the same place as her clothes) and family issues. How Ruby managed to recover from her rhinosinusitis with hardly any sleep I'll never know. And on top of that Ruby's a Pom in Australia and in need of translation most of the time (the Australian-isms were probably a little *too* strong I think).
(Does the Leader of the Opposition really get called the "LOO"??)
My favourite secondary character was little Clem, Ruby's niece, though I've never met a five-year-old so interested in other people. The dialogue where Ruby was explaining to Clem that she "tripped and fell over a journalist" was bloody funny.
Oh yeah, speaking of which, there IS romance, kinda the whole point in chick-lit novels. How she fit it into her hectic hectic life I don't know. But it works.
So.. I loved the book, not sure I want to read the next one as this one's enough. Thank you Ms Rudd.
mcbaird's review against another edition
5.0
Just awesome. Delivered exactly what was promised - light, funny and satisfying. Reminded me of Bridget Jones' Diary not in style but in the way the character gets herself into emabarrassing situations. Humour toward all things Aussie that baffles foreigners was well done and not too occa and over the top which was a relief. Pure pleasure to read and I look forward to the next one.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
‘Before I lost my job, got pickled on peanut noise, switched hemispheres ..’
‘.. and joined this travelling circus my life was a relatively straightforward one.’
Ruby Stanhope, 28 year old English investment banker, is fired by eMail. Using the same medium to respond, Ruby protests about her treatment in an eMail addressed to the bank’s board.
The next day, Ruby awakens with a hangover to discover that not only has her impromptu reply to the board gone viral and been published on both facebook and in the Financial Times, she has also managed to book a non-refundable same-day ticket to Melbourne, Australia. Ruby plans to stay with her Aunt in the Yarra Valley (she has time for a holiday now that she is unemployed), but things just don’t work out that way.
Ruby attends a fund-raiser at a local winery and receives an unexpected job offer as the financial policy adviser to the federal Leader of the Opposition (LOO), Max Masters. Ruby heads off to Melbourne the next morning to have coffee with the LOO’s Chief of Staff – and finds herself in the middle of Deputy Prime Minister Gabrielle Brennan’s overthrow of the Prime Minister, and the announcement of an early election.
Ruby, nicknamed ‘Roo’ by her colleagues, is thrown into the campaign and spends the next four weeks travelling around Australia discovering the realities of both the 24 hour news cycle and the gruelling campaign trail. Ruby is nothing if not resilient and she manages to negotiate wardrobe malfunctions, media mishaps and possible deportation.
Those familiar with Australian politics earlier this year will recognise an uncanny resemblance between fact (Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is Jessica’s father) and fiction. And, I must confess, it was this connection that initially prompted me to read the novel. But once I started reading, it was Ruby’s story that engaged and amused me. The novel contains some delightful laugh out loud moments, and a realistic peek into the world of political campaigning. Ruby herself is likeable, has an obsession with making lists and has a passion for shoes (and good wine) that many women will relate to.
A good, fun ‘chick lit’ read.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
‘.. and joined this travelling circus my life was a relatively straightforward one.’
Ruby Stanhope, 28 year old English investment banker, is fired by eMail. Using the same medium to respond, Ruby protests about her treatment in an eMail addressed to the bank’s board.
The next day, Ruby awakens with a hangover to discover that not only has her impromptu reply to the board gone viral and been published on both facebook and in the Financial Times, she has also managed to book a non-refundable same-day ticket to Melbourne, Australia. Ruby plans to stay with her Aunt in the Yarra Valley (she has time for a holiday now that she is unemployed), but things just don’t work out that way.
Ruby attends a fund-raiser at a local winery and receives an unexpected job offer as the financial policy adviser to the federal Leader of the Opposition (LOO), Max Masters. Ruby heads off to Melbourne the next morning to have coffee with the LOO’s Chief of Staff – and finds herself in the middle of Deputy Prime Minister Gabrielle Brennan’s overthrow of the Prime Minister, and the announcement of an early election.
Ruby, nicknamed ‘Roo’ by her colleagues, is thrown into the campaign and spends the next four weeks travelling around Australia discovering the realities of both the 24 hour news cycle and the gruelling campaign trail. Ruby is nothing if not resilient and she manages to negotiate wardrobe malfunctions, media mishaps and possible deportation.
Those familiar with Australian politics earlier this year will recognise an uncanny resemblance between fact (Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is Jessica’s father) and fiction. And, I must confess, it was this connection that initially prompted me to read the novel. But once I started reading, it was Ruby’s story that engaged and amused me. The novel contains some delightful laugh out loud moments, and a realistic peek into the world of political campaigning. Ruby herself is likeable, has an obsession with making lists and has a passion for shoes (and good wine) that many women will relate to.
A good, fun ‘chick lit’ read.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
aridd1's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25