Customer Reviews

The Karma Club

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When you mess with karma, karma will mess with you. The Karma Club by Jessica Brody explores the eastern philosophy of karma in a contemporary setting. Madison Kasparkova has been fairly lucky. She's got good friends and an almost-perfect boyfriend. Things are definitely going her way, until one day her boyfriend burns her by cheating on her with the most popular girl in school. Clearly, every school has a mean girl, and this boyfriend stealer is that girl. It seems as though karma is not intervening, so Maddy and her friends take karma into their own hands.

What results is pranks! Pranks galore! I have this to say about the pranks, plz moar pranks! I loved it. I thought the pranks were both funny AND appropriate. Each person they pranked got what they deserved. Hell seriously hath no fury like a woman scorned. It's petty of me, but I love it when bad people get what is coming to them.

"My point is: Guys have been screwing us over our entire lives. And we keep telling ourselves that they'll get what they deserve. That Karma will take its course. Because it makes us feel better long enough for us to shack up with a new and supposedlyu better loser who will do the same thing to us. Well, screw that. It's time to make Karma work for us." - pg. 68

To delve a bit below the surface, one thing I enjoyed about The Karma Club was how well it captures emotions. You ever get your heart broken? Brody puts the wrench in heartwrenching.To be honest, I was reluctant to continue, because I was bummed over the heartbreak scene, but I could not put this book down. I am very glad I kept reading, because turns out, I really enjoyed myself. Although I did not experience this in high school, I am betting many high schoolers can relate to this:

"I mean, how sad is it that I needed a freaking Facebook profile to tell me that my boyfriend was no longer my boyfriend? As if Facebook is the official record keeper of relationships and you have to confirm all breakups and hookups with this sacred online registrar before you can consider them certified and approved." pg. 141

Besides emotions, there are friendships! FRIENDSHIPS! Girls who help each other out without an underlying backstabber reasons. I like that girls can be friends without being catty to each other. PLZ MOAR OF THIS.

There's a great message in The Karma Club, but it is cloaked in fun and not seriousness, thank goodness. Honestly, I read this book in about two and half hours, that is how great it was. I read this and set it down with a smile and proceeded to tweet about how much I enjoyed it. The Karma Club is absolutely a book I recommend.

Madison Kasparkova, has a textbook-perfect boyfriend, Mason, and two wonderful best friends, Angie and Jade, but what Maddy really wants out of life is hardcore popularity. To that end, she sends her boyfriend's photo and mini-bio to a teen magazine so that he'll be featured and everyone will envy her when they read the article about him, thus catapulting her to new social heights. Her plan backfires, because after the article runs, Mason dumps her for the queen bee of their high school. Maddy decides that because he hurt her, she needs to pay him back in kind. Angie and Jade are more than willing to help her form a Karma Club to avenge herself on Mason, because it means that they'll get to dole out some tail-kicking karma to their own awful ex-boyfriends.

I don't really like the premise. The girls complain about how horrible it is that bad people don't get paid back for their bad deeds, but what they really mean is that anyone who has been mean to the three of them shouldn't go unpunished. When forming the club, Maddy stipulates, "No one can know that we are in any way responsible for what is about to happen. Everything has to be completely and utterly anonymous. Untraceable. Otherwise, it wouldn't be Karma. It would just be three bitter girls trying to get back at a bunch of their ex-boyfriends and the girl who stole one of them, which isn't the point at all" (pg 69). It sounds to me like it's exactly the point, otherwise the girls wouldn't be trying to forcibly induce karmic balance for only the people who've personally wounded them. I think I would have enjoyed the story more if Maddy and her friends had been more honest about their motivations--I could really get into a book called the Bitter Revenge Club.

Maddy's not an awful person, but I couldn't connect to her because it seemed that pre-breakup, all she wanted was popularity, and post-breakup all she wanted was for Mason to be miserable. She's a second-semester senior, and her goals make her feel like a much younger teen. The character I liked best was Spencer, the most popular boy in school, who takes an interest in Maddy and turns out to be less shallow than he originally appears.

Of course, by the end the girls all learn a big lesson about the dangers of seeking revenge, so that's an upside. The Karma Club isn't a bad book at all--it just didn't work for me.

Jessica Brody's first YA novel, The Karma Club, is absolutely terrific. She wove a tale about Mason Brooks, a girl who is cruelly dumped by her boyfriend of two years. Her two best friends also have been dumped by their heartless boyfriends. When Mason learns about the power of karma--what comes around goes around-- she realizes that the girls need to take action and rebalance the universe by getting revenge on their boyfriends. The Karma Club is formed and the girls dish out some pretty harsh punishment. But karma isn't meant to be messed with and events ricochet back in unforeseen ways leaving Mason desperate to rebalance life once again. There's a powerful lesson here - to take control of your life by doing acts of kindness. In the end, kindness is much sweeter than revenge and causing others pain in order to deal with your own pain isn't payback at all, even if the person deserves it.
The Karma Club really made me think about the numerous social situations YA face every day - bullying, backstabbing, cheating etc. It's incredibly tempting to retaliate. But I can't think of one instance where retaliation had positive results. YA need to seek support and assistance. Not retaliating doesn't mean not taking action. The Karma Club shows the value of navigating through the difficulties often faced in high school by finding positive means to channel ones' energy.
I highly recommend The Karma Club and Jessica Brody's second YA novel My Life Undecided!

Jessica Brody's THE KARMA CLUB is a great novel with an even greater message.

Maddy Kasparkova is an extremely relateable heroine, though I did find her a tad overwhelming at the beginning of the novel. She is completely consumed with being popular, which was definitely not me in high school. After Maddy realizes that being popular isn't all it's cracked up to be, she grew on me. I'm not sure it's a good thing, but I definitely identified with her revenge schemes. I think everyone has those times when they're fed up with how the chips fall and how terribly unfair things can be. Like Maddy, I sometimes feel like I should somehow even the score. I've learned that, while it may feel good in the moment, it doesn't feel so great later, a lesson Maddy quickly learns as well.


I'll admit to finding the Karma Club's revenge schemes hilarious. "Operation Butterface?" Classic. But it wasn't just the adventures and sticky situations the girls find themselves in that I found amusing, the dialogue and Maddy's inner monologue kept a smile on my face as well.

At the start of the novel, I wasn't sure that Maddy would have a romantic interest. In a fit of girl power she swears of boys and I felt confident that she'd keep that promise. I was suprised, but happy, when I discovered that was not the case... Actually, Maddy's unexpected relationship bore a happy resemblance to my favorite One Tree Hill (CW) romance.

It's rare that I can pinpoint my favorite part of a novel, especially in a fun novel like THE KARMA CLUB, but there was a part, near the end, that sticks out to me. After Maddy realizes that she has completely misunderstood karma, and scored herself some bad mojo in the process, she still admits that there is a part of her that enjoys all the drama and stunts The Karma Club orchestrated. I loved how honest that was. And it sticks with me because you can know something is wrong and still get some satisfaction from it. I find that people, myself included, often have a hard time admitting that. I thought it was important that Maddy came to that realization.

THE KARMA CLUB relays some important messages under the guise of a fun, lighthearted read. I highly recommend!

What happens when a girl goes to a spiritual retreat after being dumped by her cheating boyfriend?

The Karma Club: a way to make sure those who do bad also get the bad back at them.

Debut author Jessica Brody's The Karma Club is a story of girls getting revenge on the boys (and girls!) who've done them wrong.

The Karma Club is a readalike to Suzanne Young's The Naughty List, though it is not an intentionally humorous and at times borders on didactic. The ending wraps up a little too tidily, though that will certainly appeal to a number of readers. The story itself is cleaner, with very minimal language issues.

This is a contemporary book, with references to Facebook and text messaging. Themes include karma and revenge, as well as relationships and how social status can impact those relationships.

Though far from perfect, Brody's book is an easy read -- one I read in an hour on an airplane. It is not a fully fleshed but that will be the big draw for many readers. Reluctant readers may find this a good choice, as well. As mentioned, fans of Young's book and fans of Elizabeth Eulberg's The Lonely Hearts Club will find this an excellent reading choice.

This is a good book to read if you have absolutely nothing else to read. Although the story is kinda fun, it isn't anything great. It's predictable and very preachy. The voice of Maddy is very whiny and juvenille. She also seems extremely stupid and naive- especially for a high school senior. The book doesn't have any cursing or sexuality, which I guess parents would like, but is unrealistic for a high schooler. It's an amatuer book, which I guess makes sense, because this is Jessica Brody's first novel. All of the characters are extremely one-dimentional, even Maddy, and it's told from her point of view. It's also like Brody wanted to show that people aren't like they seem, but really she was just using a cliche in trying to stay away from one. There are a lot of corny points in the book that literally make you cringe while you're reading them. I don't suggest this book for anyone over the age of 12, even though it's about a twelfth grader.
Not a good book.

It is easy to imagine the plot line of a book about karma. Group of girls decide to get back at others to make things right and equal in the world - hilarity ensues (or at least creative hijinks are performed). If you imagined this like I did, then you've got this book spot on - these things DO happen.

About halfway through, though, we begin to see a little bit more. Does getting back at someone for doing something bad to you really equal out the universe? What does karma really mean?

As our trio of Karma Club girls begin to realize that things aren't working out quite as they planned, they start to make some steps towards understanding not only the concept of karma, but more about themselves as individuals.

A fulfilling, thought provoking read, The Karma Club is a solid young adult novel by Jessica Brody that will make anyone (young adult or not) stop and think.

How is it fair that Madison's boyfriend can cheat on her with the most popular girl in school and come away socially unscathed? Madison knows that eventually her boyfriend will get what he deserves, or so her friends say, but it is seriously unsatisfying watching him go around with his new girlfriend as if nothing at all is wrong. Madison doesn't really want to wait around for Karma to do its work, because, let's face it, Karma can be a really slow process, and Madison wants to be around to see its results. So she and her friends decide to form the Karma Club in order to speed up Karma's work. But when things start to go wrong, Madison will have to realize that maybe messing with Karma wasn't such a good idea after all.

Brody has a knack for imagining slightly ridiculous yet not completely improbable situations to spice up the high school life. Her young adult debut The Karma Club speaks to every person out there who's ever felt wronged: what better way to take back control than act as Karma's worldly agent? Through Madison's hilarious and heartbreaking story, Brody explores the consequences of the choices we make, both personally and for those around us. Despite being a little predictable in both outcome and message, this story remains enjoyable due to its quirky characters, unusual situations, and constant humor. Brody's second YA novel, My Life Undecided, is a little more entertaining and sophisticated than her first, but The Karma Club is still a quick, funny, and satisfying read.

The Karma Club will be enjoyed by fans of Paisley Hanover Kisses and Tells by Cameron Tuttle, The ABC's of Kissing Boys by Tina Ferraro, and Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern.

reposted from [...]

Jessica Brody has created a light-hearted story about a group of friends who decide that the universe isn't quick enough to punish those who have wronged them. When Maddy walks in on her soon-to-be-ex boyfriend making out with the most popular girl at school she wants nothing more than to make him feel the same hurt and humiliation that she did, but when the universe takes too long in righting this wrong, she decides to take things into her own hands. She decides to form the Karma Club with her friends and get back at the cheating boyfriends who have hurt them.

What the friends soon learn is that every action has a consequence. Will they be able to handle all the consequences or will the universe be able to balance itself out again?

This was a light-hearted read with interesting characters. At times it felt like a self-help book as it explained the rules of karma and the butterfly effect. But, the actions and consequences that the characters run into made it an interesting read.

I found this book to be pretty comical. Not in anyway the best book ever but a good book if you want an easy read. The things the characters do as karmic pay back is pretty inspired! lol...The ending felt like it wrapped up a little too neatly in my opinion. I mean, they did some pretty awful things and got away with it all. Although I think they were just handing out karmic justice I felt they should be held responsible for their actions as well...I dunno. Other than that small issue it is a pretty good read.