Karma Bites by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas

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Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 348 pages
Publisher: Sandpiper (August 23, 2010)

Book summary: 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! 

My review: Dealing with middle school's problems like the cliques and having fights with friends is all pretty stressful, and that's not counting the schoolwork. But for Franny Flanders, it gets even crazier when her Buddhist grandmother moves in and brings her magic box with her. Franny, finding it the easy way out, tries to use the power of the box to fix everything in her life. But then Franny finds out that things don't always go the way she wants. . . . Well, I don't wanna spoil it for the readers.

This has to be one of my favorite books that I've read lately. It's well written and has just the right amount of detail. I also liked how the author captured the perfect tween voice.

I liked most of the characters, except Franny's best friends, Joey and Kate. I felt like they sometimes cared more about themselves than their friendship with Franny. Sometimes I felt that they should have put their dislikes aside and been there for Franny.

Franny's Granny has to be one of my all time favorite secondary characters. She was so funny and witty! I also liked the Lama's character in the end. He was awesome!!

Elodie's character was relatable to some middle schoolers, but I thought her rule that she had to be the first to enter the school and how there was people guarding the doors was over-rated. But how her past uses with the box was so unexpected, but a great touch.

Overall, this book was truly a "magical" story. ;)

Favorite excerpt: (From page 340)
"To the light in you, Francisco," Granny said. "To the light in you, Granny."

Cover comment: The cover is a picture of Franny opening up the magic box.

Rating: ++++ 1/2

Comments

  1. valerie thomasMay 5, 2012 at 11:22 AM

    what a lovely review. I am one of the authors of the book and nothing makes me happier than a happy reader! Would you be interested in reviewing our latest book, it's a YA novel called FROM WHAT I REMEMBER. If so, let me know and I'll have the publisher get you a copy. thanks.

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