Review: The Karma Club by Jessica Brody

Apr 1, 2010 by shanyn

Title: The Karma Club
Author: Jessica Brody
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Publication Date: April 27, 2010

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Book Summary:
“Personally, I’m tired of waiting for the universe to get off its butt and start fixing stuff. I don’t want to wait around for Mason to get what’s coming to him. Or Heather Campbell, for that matter . . . I want to be there to see it happen.”

Madison Kasparkova always thought she understood how Karma works. It’s that mysterious, powerful force that brings harmony to the universe. You know—do good things and you will be rewarded, do something bad and Karma will make sure you get what’s coming to you. A sort of cosmic balancing act.

But when Mason Brooks, Maddy’s boyfriend of two years, gets caught tongue-wrestling with Miss Perfect Body Heather Campbell, and absolutely nothing happens to either of them—except that they wind up the hot new couple of Colonial High School, it seems like Karma has officially left Maddy in the lurch. That’s why Maddy and her best friends, Angie and Jade, decide to start the Karma Club—a secret, members-only organization whose sole purpose is to clean up the messes that the universe has been leaving behind. Whether they’re modifying Heather Campbell’s acne cream as part of “Operation Butterface,” or righting a few wrongs when it comes to Angie and Jade’s own slimy exes, they know they’re just doing what Karma should have done in the first place. They’re taking care of one another.

Sometimes, though, it isn’t wise to meddle with the universe. Because it turns out, when you mess with Karma, Karma messes back. Now Maddy must find a way to balance her life for good, even as everything around her seems to be toppling to the ground.

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Review:
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.

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