Customer Reviews

Karma for Beginners

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Firstly, thank you to Nicole with The Book Report Network for sending me a copy of this book! Simply from reading the synopsis, I thought it sounded like an interesting premise and a promising story. Upon starting the book, I realized it was set in the 80's, which I also found to be a nice change from the modern setting that is usually depicted in stories lately. While I initially found the relationship between Tessa and her mother (and their move to an ashram) intriguing, ultimately the story fell flat for me.

I think the reason it didn't resonate is that I simply couldn't relate to the characters. I have never felt the way Tessa did, nor did I ever contemplate acting the way she did and making some of the decisions she chose. While this is supposed to be a young adult novel, I was really turned off by the amount of sex and drug use that was depicted. I guess it happens, but I have to admit if I had a 14-year old daughter, I would not want her reading this novel, nor do I really feel that is appropriate for anyone in that general age group. The first part of the story that focused on the move to the ashram and the effect it had on Tessa and her mother was certainly interesting, but the story started going downhill shortly thereafter.

The writing is generally solid, with my only complaint being the use of first person point of view. I seem to have become more sensitive to that lately and I really thought some of the phrases felt awkward simply because they were written in first-person. So, while I can appreciate that many people would probably enjoy Karma for Beginners, it did not work for me, nor would I feel comfortable recommending it to others.

(NOTE: My actual rating was 2-1/2 stars, but I round up for sites like Amazon.)

Tessa is used to being portable. She and her hippie mom have never really had a true home, instead they just wander around, following random guys and crummy jobs. And now they are moving yet again, only this time to an ashram for an "extended retreat". While her mom loves it there, Tessa just thinks all of the people are weird, and she can't help but feel a bit hurt at how everyone seems to overlook her. But then she meets Colin: twenty-years-old, funny, and normal. They connect through their shared love of music and begin to spend more time together. But as time goes by, Tessa finds herself drifting farther away from her mother and taking more and more risks until one day, everything backfires.

The concept for Karma for Beginners is really intriguing and entertaining. Tessa's voice is funny, smart, and authentic, but in her narration you can really feel her insecurity and yearning for a normal life, to know her father, and to have a mother who isn't a flake. Tessa's perception of the other people at the ashram is humorous and oftentimes insightful as she learns more and more about the place, and it even takes on a slightly creepy air as its cult-like inner workings are slowly revealed. The romance between Tessa and Colin is sweet, despite their age difference, and will leave you smiling, but about three quarters of the way through the book everything turns sour as drugs are introduced, and many pages are spent on Tessa's meandering thoughts as she is high. The secrets concerning her mother and what really is going on at the ashram are glossed over in the end, leaving you wondering about the details of what all really happened, and the conclusion seems a little too rushed and a little too unrealistic. However, overall Karma for Beginners is an interesting and unconventional novel about one girl's coming-of-age with an engaging and sympathetic narrator that teens can really identify with.

It has taken me a while to pick up Karma for Beginners, and I'm really not sure why. It has a pretty cover, an interesting premise and setting, and some great praise, so after some thought I decided to give it a chance.

So, here's the question: am I glad I did or not? Well, I certainly am because it was a empowering and enlightening book, which I flew right through easily; one read that I could see myself reading again someday, even though it wasn't an absolute favorite of mine.

Tessa was a character who I liked from the start, even though I didn't necessarily like all her choices. Because of Blank's excellent character development, Tessa's angst against the life her mother had chosen for her was spilled across the pages in a case were you understood her pain, her confusion, her wanting of normalcy, someone who got her, and a father figure easily. Her relationship with Collin, the sexy older boy, was done well. And while it wasn't the wisest of choices on Tessa's part, it provided her with a lot of much needed direction and strength in her life. Though, I did not like how Blank never had any of the characters face the consequences of their actions. I also liked how Blank showed the situation of a child acting like the mother and the mother acting like a dependent of child because, by the end, I felt it gave a good example how to deal with the situation if you are in Tessa's place in the relationship.

One of my favorite parts of Karma for Beginners was the use of an ashram as the setting. I've never had the chance to read a novel with that type of setting before. Which is surprising (Well, to me at least) because I feel the whole idea of people turning to a single, ordinary man for their guidance and decision making is simply fascinating. Further more, I liked how Blank used the setting to make the plot more believable and move it along.

I also enjoyed the main plot of the novel, because through Collin and Tessa's relationship it gave an overall message of why everyone should stand up for themselves and voice their opinions no matter what the situation.

My only real complaints about Karma for Beginners was that I feel the conversations between the characters felt more stilled rather than real, as well as the rushed ending and what I mentioned before about the consequences.

Overall, Karma for Beginners is a novel with an interesting setting and characters and plot events that set examples for teens, as well as provided fun reading material. I'm looking forward to reading more by Blank.

Grade: B-

Jessica Blank's writing style is straight forward and bare to the bone. With the first sentence, I was hooked enough to want to read the book straight through. The story is told through the eyes of a fourteen year old girl, Tess, who was abandoned by her father and living with her mother who had not grown up herself. They were on and off the road for most of the girl's life. Her mother was drawn to living in an ashram. I don't know if this was a true picture of what life is like in ashram but I think it is possible.
The girl at times in the beginning was more forgiving of her mother than I expected. Tess gave her mother good marks for effort. She thought her mother was doing the best that she could do but when I was reading the book, I thought her mother could do so much more. The mother allows her daughter no choices of where they would live, what they would do and or anything. It is like the mother only desired to look within herself for spiritual happiness. In the meantime her mother missed all that was important with her daughter. She was searching herself but somehow could not see her daughter's need for love and attention.
Tess, the daughter need to be loved and taken care of here, to have someone to was really there for her. She thought she found that in Colin, but he doesn't protect from taking risks with himself or his buddies. I felt very satisfied with the ending. There was a point in the book that I thought took plenty of guts from Tess, I felt proud of her. This book is abundant with issues that need to be discussed between mother and daughter. I loved this book.

I loved this book from the start.

This is a book of abandonment. It's a story that so many girls can identify with: Raised by a single mother with no father in the picture, seeking a father's love, the fear that everyone will abandon you as he did, and a selfish and emotionally-distant mother to boot.

Tessa's mother is totally self-absorbed. I know women like this. My best friend's mother was quite a bit like this. Her needs came first instead of that of her children. Tessa is always second-place in her mother's life (or third or fourth).

After she and her mother become residents of an isolated cult, Tessa feels more abandoned than ever as her mother thrives in the new community. Tessa turns to an older man for comfort and acceptance. Her new peer group of older men causes her to deal with situations that she is not prepared to deal with.

These situations were especially interesting to me, because they sort of start out thrilling and warm and cozy and enlightening, and Tessa thinks how wonderful these experiences are, but then reality sets in. She begins to lose herself and feels her life spiraling out of control. I think that most of us can identify with the feeling of hitting bottom...

"Just go home, I tell myself. Just sneak into your bed and close your eyes and crawl between the sheets. Alone and quiet I can piece myself together; the world will slow to steady and I'll find solid ground again."

I really liked this story. Warm and gentle, stirring memories of my childhood, with moments of heartbreak, I would recommend this "coming of age" story to anyone. Please be warned that, although this is young adult, there is quite a bit of vulgarity in it, so be wary if this offends you or if you are concerned with exposing your child to foul language and other "adult situations".

Karma for Beginners was completely different from what I expected. From the summary and excerpt on the back cover, it sounds like will focus mostly on the relationship between MC and Collin. However, it seemed to focus more on Tessa's life in the ashram than the relationship, which was a slight let-down because I was looking forward to a good book about dating an older guy. But, once I figured that out, I was able to easily fall into the book.

I found it extremely interesting to read about life in the ashram because I'd never heard of it before. It's shocking to think such a lifestyle is acceptable. I did feel it dragged a bit with the descriptions but it was worth it.

While the relationship between Tessa and Collin wasn't the biggest part of the book, there was still a lot of it in there. At first, I LOVED it. The age difference was played out nicely and Collin was just a great guy. He was quick to lend a hug and never forced her to do anything. Then something changed and he became a total ass and pretty much just let her go. But then I guess guys are like that.

Unfortunately, the ending was quite abrupt. There was a big scene, a little fight, and then it was over. I do like how the story played out but I would've liked to have seen more added to give the ending a realistic quality.

So overall - Good book and I do recommend it, there were just some things I didn't like. Also, while the MC is only 14-turning-15, be cautious about who picks this up as there is sex and drug use.

Tessa is tired of always packing up and moving at the whim of her mother, but since she's only 14, she doesn't have much choice. This time around, her single, free-spirited hippie mom takes her to an ashram, where she doesn't have to go to school, but does have to do seva (chores), and doesn't know anyone. While her mom goes on a spiritual journey, Tessa falls for an older guy (he's 20) and starts to sneak off with him when they're done fixing buses. She's tried to reach out to her dad, who's in the hilariously named band Green Tea Experience, but he wants nothing to do with her. As her time with Colin gets more and more intense, she finds herself, paradoxically, more and more alone as she, and soon, her mom, are largely shunned at the ashram...save for the mysterious and, in Blank's prose, decidedly creepy, guru.

Blank's first YA novel, Almost Home, featured outstanding characterization and a gripping story. There are less characters here, but they are equally intriguing. Though we don't get to know Tessa's mom quite as well as we get to know her, her motives, her parenting, her idea that her life was cut short by getting pregnant so young, all inform the book. Blank excels at skewering the supposedly pure life on the ashram, from a questionable encounter Tessa has with the guru, to her being told that her outfits are too provocative and are "distracting" the adult men of the ashram. While Tessa is discovering the joy of first love, and exploration, with Colin, she also learns that she can get in over her head. Woven in are some lessons from the ashram that show that Tessa, and Blank, don't entirely discount their spiritual teachings; when Tessa muses that, yes, you can choose to change your feelings, it's a revelation to her, and a revelation, or perhaps, a reminder, to the reader. Blank has once again woven a powerful, gripping story that will appeal to most any teenage girl in a power struggle with her mother, or anyone who's ever been in that position.