The Karma Club

The Karma Club
by Jessica Brody

Madison Kasparkova always thought she understood how Karma works. Do good things and you'll be rewarded, do something bad and Karma will make sure you get what you deserve. But when Maddy’s boyfriend cheats on her, nothing bad comes his way. That’s why Maddy starts the Karma Club, to clean up the messes that the universe has left behind. Sometimes, though, it isn’t wise to meddle with the universe. It turns out Karma often has plans of its own.
(description taken from Amazon.com)

This was a really refreshing, fun teen read. I loved how Maddy reacts just like anyone else would when she is first humiliated and dumped. She starts out totally devastated...then plots revenge! What's great, though, is that she learns that through finding balance in her own self...in creating a better life for herself, she then can pass that on to others, and reap the karmic, but NOT selfish benefits.

I love how, yes, she finds the perfect guy, but it's really only after she's learned to be a better person on her own. He does not come along and fix her...in fact, she inspires him in some ways. All in all, a fun, and morally stimulating book. :)

For some more fun, check out this book trailer for The Karma Club:

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

Teaser Tuesday - Karma Bites

This meme is hosted by MizB at Should be Reading.

The rules are simple:
-Grab your current read.
-Let the book fall open to a random page.
-Share 2 "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
-Give the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from - that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
-And remember - please avoid spoilers!


Karma Bites
by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas

p. 112

I cleaned my room, picking up my jeans and the Fix-It-Formula I'd taken from Granny's closet that I'd dropped onto the floor. I figured I should probably use it or lose it.

Karma Club

Check out this great trailer for Jessica Brody's book, The Karma Club, out tomorrow, April 27th!!



You can also enter a contest on Jessica Brody's website, for a chance to win one of four Flip Video Cameras! Very cool.

Check it out and boost your karma!!