Karma Bites

Karma Bites
by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas

Life seems to have it in for Franny Flanders. Her best friends aren’t speaking, her parents just divorced, and her hippie grandmother has moved in. The only karma Franny’s got is bad karma. Then Franny gets her hands on a box of magic recipes that could fix all of her problems. It could even change the world! Finally, life is looking up. But Franny is about to learn that magic and karma aren’t to be played with. When you mess with the universe, it can bite back in unexpected ways. Ouch!
(description taken from Amazon.com)

This was such a cute middle-grade read! Written by two authors used to doing TV and movies, including "Lizzie McGuire" which I loved, this book reads like you could see it on a screen. The characters just about jump off the page at you and the plot is hilarious.

I really liked Franny, the main character. She's twelve and sort-of generally unhappy with life, but she's also plucky and warm-hearted. When she gets the chance to try and "fix" things for everyone around her, she jumps at the chance...

Her two BFFs, Joey (uberpopular cheerleader) and Kate (eclectic skatergirl/band geek), are each special in their own ways, balance out each other and their roles in Franny's life, and each end up respecting her and showing their BFF love in their own way. Franny's Granny, Mathilda, just generally rocks and totally had me in stiches. LOVE her!

This book was great because it was fantasy, but in a light way. There was mostly just realistic middle school angst and humor...it really reminded me of being back in middle school. The recipes that were included in the book were easy, interesting, and just a little "mystical," as they included Franny's special instructions from the recipe box.

Definitely a fun read for your tweens!

Full disclosure: ARC received from publisher at author's request