Parents' Guide to

Instant Karma

By Mary Cosola, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Opposites attract and karma is served in cute teen romance.

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Kids say (11 ):

This heartwarming romance is cute and fun, but it's overly long and gets bogged down in too many side plots. Instant Karma is best when it illustrates how people can learn from each other, grow, and become more empathetic. Prudence's a tough character to like for much of the book. She's argumentative, rigid, and judgmental. Even though she learns how to deal with these issues, she's hard to take a lot of the time. The notion of a person who's so judgmental getting the power of bestowing karmic justice on others is interesting. Prudence revels in it at first, but she eventually learns that all actions have consequences, and some of those consequences can be serious. The romance angle works well enough. Prudence and Quint have the classic opposites-attract vibe going on, but their squabbles get old, as they have the same arguments over and over. Author Marissa Meyer includes lots of detail on the workings of the marine animal rescue center. It's a fascinating part of the book and will be informative for lots of readers. Overall, this story is built for lovers of sweet, light romance, if they can look past the long, twisting, unnecessary side plots.

Book Details

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