Review Detail

INSTANT KARMA is an overall charming YA contemporary. Prudence is finishing tenth grade and completely fed up with her biology partner, Quint. When he shows up late to class again on the morning of their important presentation, Prudence is ready to throw him under the bus and admits that he only did the report, and she did the model, poster, props, and presentation herself. This ends up backfiring, and her grade reflects the lack of teamwork. The teacher agrees to allow them to redo it, but only if they do it together.

After a karaoke song, Prudence slips and falls, hitting her head. After that, when she clenches her fist, she seems to be able to dole out instant karma with bad things happening to people who are up to no good and good things for the opposite. However, this ability leads her to feeling guilt, because who is she to judge?

As she spends the summer volunteering at a sea animal rescue to try to convince Quint to give her a second chance, she learns more about why it matters and the value of what they do. She also has a lot of ideas that might really help them out - if only she can make it happen.

What I loved: This book has a lot of complexity in the plot and characters. There are some interesting themes around money and the value of possessions/what is really important, challenges of family, ethics around animals and the environment, and the need for empathy and perspective in judgments of others. The instant karma was an interesting twist, but I actually enjoyed the rest of the story more - although Prudence was not really likable at the start, she is still growing up and learning, and I loved the way we see her character grow and endear her to the reader.

The book gives the reader a lot to think about in terms of businesses and non-profits and the ways that they may financially struggle. In addition to the other themes, this would be a perfect choice for a book club with so much to discuss and delve deeper into.

What left me wanting more: In some ways, I felt like there was almost too much going on with the storylines, and we don't quite get resolution of all the branches, though the major ones are tied off. I think I would have appreciated spending a little more time on one specific path, rather than chasing so many. I also felt like the ending was a bit rushed. There are some bad things that happen, and the resolution was too fast for my taste. I would have liked a bit more to flesh it out.

Final verdict: Overall, INSTANT KARMA is a charming YA contemporary that brings important themes to the reader. Be prepared for a book you'll want to talk about and think about after the last page is turned.