Karma Bites
Stacy Kramer and Valerie ThomasYoung adult
Available from Sandpiper
ISBN: 978-0547363011
August 2010
| It's the day before seventh grade and Franny Flanders is in a bit of a bind. A hair coloring attempt has turned her hair bright orange and her writer mother is cowering in bed from a crippling case of writer's block. With nowhere else to turn, she seeks help from her eccentric, New Age grandmother, Granny. Granny uses a mysterious potion that fixes her hair in an instant but goes beyond that to try and fix the other problems in Franny's life.
Franny doesn't need any more challenges in middle school. Her two best friends belong to different social groups and Franny precariously walks the tight rope between them as a border crosser. She doesn't want to do anything that would jeopardize her rare status. Yet when Granny's potion has her saying and doing the things she would if not for the social hierarchy at the school, her social future is put in major danger. Franny confronts Granny about the bit of magic that was used on her and becomes her grandmother's confidant about a rare magical box in her possession. When her grandmother explains to Franny that the magic is to be used selflessly for the greater good, Franny sets in motion a selfish plan for her own greater good. She comes up with a plan to use the magic to bring her two best friends together. At first her plan seems a great success. Then she comes to realize she should have listened to Granny when her world starts coming apart at the seams... Karma Bites is an enchanting and funny tale of a girl trying to survive many major issues from the divorce of her parents to the larger-than-life social order at her middle school. The authors' tell the tale of a seventh grade girl with authenticity, sharing her struggles each day with everything from touching warmth to mild sarcasm. The end result is a character that the reader strongly identifies with as they are swept up into this tale of a girl who tries to use magic to fix her life with often hilarious results. The plot moves along at a nice pace and the banter between the characters has all the charm and zip of a favorite television show -- though, I agree with Franny, Kate's "slanguage" really got annoying at times. I absolutely loved Granny's character. The recipes and instructions for the various magic used throughout the books was clever and a nice touch. Teens and tweens will be delighted with this tale but then so will the young at heart. I highly recommend Karma Bites for anyone who enjoys a fantastic story!
Overall rating:
Reviewer: Roxanne |
