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jasmyn9's review against another edition
4.0
As Franny gets ready for the first day of school, she is convinced that her life sucks. She's managed to dye her hair orange, her parents are getting divorced, her two best friends aren't talking to each other, and to top it all off, her crazy grandmother has moved in. Grandma happens to have a few tricks up her sleeves to try and help Franny, but they are only to be used when there are no other options left.
Franny gets her hands on Grandma's trick, a magic box that provides recipes to fix things for you. Franny dives right in and attempts to fix all the things she thinks are wrong with her life, only making things worse. Franny needs to put things back quick, but will she be able to?
This book was just about perfect. The only thing that I really disliked was the way some of the sentences were presented. The characters, especially grandmother, are priceless and unforgettable. The story shows us that sometimes things that seem to be wrong are really what's best in the long run. A great read for teenagers.
3.5/5
Franny gets her hands on Grandma's trick, a magic box that provides recipes to fix things for you. Franny dives right in and attempts to fix all the things she thinks are wrong with her life, only making things worse. Franny needs to put things back quick, but will she be able to?
This book was just about perfect. The only thing that I really disliked was the way some of the sentences were presented. The characters, especially grandmother, are priceless and unforgettable. The story shows us that sometimes things that seem to be wrong are really what's best in the long run. A great read for teenagers.
3.5/5
dukesangel002's review against another edition
4.0
This book was hilarious! I was cracking up from the beginning to the end! My family kept looking at me like I was crazy every time I would start cackling. This may be a middle grade novel, but it is one I enjoyed just as much reading as an adult! It really reminded me of those awful middle school days, and those are undoubtedly the worst years of my life, as I'm sure it was for many of you!
Franny was smart, funny, and resourceful. She really got herself in some major trouble messing with the universe, but who could blame her! If I had a box full of magical recipes when I was in middle school I'm sure I would have done a lot more damage! Who could resist making the cafeteria food taste better, or making your teacher go easier on you? Although she thought everything was going to work out, it ended up biting her in the butt, and it was all a downhill, laugh a minute from there.
My absolute favorite part of the book had to be Granny. She was the funniest character (reminded me very much of the crazy granny from the Stephanie Plum series, although she was a little more sane...hehe). She was quirky and a complete individual, but she loved her granddaughter and was there for her in any way she could be. Made me miss both of my grandmothers something crazy!
Overall, I recommend this book to all of you. We all need to laugh, it's healthy for you after all, and this book is just what the doctor ordered! So go fill your prescription!
Franny was smart, funny, and resourceful. She really got herself in some major trouble messing with the universe, but who could blame her! If I had a box full of magical recipes when I was in middle school I'm sure I would have done a lot more damage! Who could resist making the cafeteria food taste better, or making your teacher go easier on you? Although she thought everything was going to work out, it ended up biting her in the butt, and it was all a downhill, laugh a minute from there.
My absolute favorite part of the book had to be Granny. She was the funniest character (reminded me very much of the crazy granny from the Stephanie Plum series, although she was a little more sane...hehe). She was quirky and a complete individual, but she loved her granddaughter and was there for her in any way she could be. Made me miss both of my grandmothers something crazy!
Overall, I recommend this book to all of you. We all need to laugh, it's healthy for you after all, and this book is just what the doctor ordered! So go fill your prescription!
andye_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Karma Bites was a really cute book for middle grade girls, about a girl who tries to do the right thing, but in all the wrong ways. It was so entertaining to read about Franny, even as you can see that her choices are going to make her entire world spiral out of control. But, even though Franny makes some stupid decisions, you can tell that she just wants what's best for her friends, her school, and the world in general.
Unfortunately, Franny seemed like the only one with half a brain in the whole book! She was a sweet, witty, funny girl in a sea of total morons. I felt so sorry for Franny, having to deal with the stupidity and/or cruelty of the friends and other schoolmates around her. Her only ally was her New-Age Grandma. "Franny's Granny" was so funny! And she was a great friend and grandma to Franny.
Karma Bites is full of magical recipes (like the "Sensually Sexy Smoothie"), humorous chapter names (like "Justin Timberlake knows my name"), words of the day, Peaks, Geeks, Blogs, a Buddhist Monk, and a Moose. If you're a Middle Grade girl who likes Chic Lit, this book is for you!
~Andye (http://readingteen.net/)
asphaltcowgrrl's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so cute and funny that I couldn't stop reading it! I love it when a book can give a kid a lesson and still entertain them. A must read for anyone who loves a little magic in their lives.
hdbblog's review against another edition
4.0
When I first started reading Karma Bites my first thoughts were as follows.
Do kids in middle school really talk like this?
Wow, who knew they could be so mean?
Pom? What on Earth is a Pom? Beek? Peek?
Obviously I had a very different middle school experience than most, although I didn't realize it until now. Then again I'm sure that growing up in a tiny town will do that to you. Honestly I had no idea that middle schoolers could be so mean to one another! The caste system that was set up in Franny's school was most definitely intense, and I felt the strain that went with it. That being said, Franny was quite a brave soul to be doing as well as she was in that setting!
On to Franny herself. Hers is a character that I really and truly adored! She was cute, spunky and really funny. Her demeanor made her seem like she was so older than her actual 12 years. Although Franny did end up making some poor decisions, I was impressed with the wisdom with which she made them. I don't recall myself ever being as pure of thought as she was at her age! Perhaps it was her crazy and brilliant Grandmother's inspiration, but Franny is currently my favorite middle grade character.
My absolute favorite part about this book had to be the witty humor that was thrown in. I found myself reading over something, then doing a double take and reading it again. A snicker would escape my mouth as I realized how perfect that joke was thrown into that sentence! Stacy and Valerie are masters of hidden and witty humor. I don't want to spoil things for you, but honestly I absolutely loved the Lama! The last half of the book had me laughing more than I thought was possible. What is amazing is that under all the wit there is a lesson to be learned. Karma bites my friends, oh yes it does.
Truly, this one of the sweetest and funniest books that I have read in a long time! It was the perfect follow up to reading Lindsay Faith Rech's It Started With a Dare and I'm smitten! Despite my initial confusion with the whole middle grade caste system, I finished this book with a smile. If you're looking for a light and airy read to get your mind off of things, I suggest picking this up!
Do kids in middle school really talk like this?
Wow, who knew they could be so mean?
Pom? What on Earth is a Pom? Beek? Peek?
Obviously I had a very different middle school experience than most, although I didn't realize it until now. Then again I'm sure that growing up in a tiny town will do that to you. Honestly I had no idea that middle schoolers could be so mean to one another! The caste system that was set up in Franny's school was most definitely intense, and I felt the strain that went with it. That being said, Franny was quite a brave soul to be doing as well as she was in that setting!
On to Franny herself. Hers is a character that I really and truly adored! She was cute, spunky and really funny. Her demeanor made her seem like she was so older than her actual 12 years. Although Franny did end up making some poor decisions, I was impressed with the wisdom with which she made them. I don't recall myself ever being as pure of thought as she was at her age! Perhaps it was her crazy and brilliant Grandmother's inspiration, but Franny is currently my favorite middle grade character.
My absolute favorite part about this book had to be the witty humor that was thrown in. I found myself reading over something, then doing a double take and reading it again. A snicker would escape my mouth as I realized how perfect that joke was thrown into that sentence! Stacy and Valerie are masters of hidden and witty humor. I don't want to spoil things for you, but honestly I absolutely loved the Lama! The last half of the book had me laughing more than I thought was possible. What is amazing is that under all the wit there is a lesson to be learned. Karma bites my friends, oh yes it does.
Truly, this one of the sweetest and funniest books that I have read in a long time! It was the perfect follow up to reading Lindsay Faith Rech's It Started With a Dare and I'm smitten! Despite my initial confusion with the whole middle grade caste system, I finished this book with a smile. If you're looking for a light and airy read to get your mind off of things, I suggest picking this up!
brizmus's review
3.0
Karma Bites was cute. Really cute. An absolutely adorable read for any middle grade reader, I think. I feel like the problem I have, a lot of times, with middle grade books, is that I am so far away from being that age that I'm just totally incapable of understanding the main character. Which leaves me finding them absolutely annoying and unsupportable. Franny Flanders, while slightly annoying at times, managed to escape the annoying middle grade main character stereotype.
She was funny and ballsy and ridiculous, and even though she often had absolutely nothing going for her, she managed to be just the right amount of OCD neurotic ridiculous (which is something, I must say, I can totally understand). And maybe that's why I almost ended up loving her at the end. She messed up EVERYTHING, but in that way that it's just messed up enough so that everything is okay. And this is something I also do regularly in my daily life. Which made her, despite our age difference, totally relate-to-able.
Franny Flanders aside, the rest of the characters, from the into the occult Granny with the magic box to Alden, the supposed love of Franny's life who once managed to touch her ear for a whole few seconds, to her two best friends who can't talk to each other, were all just the right amount of ridiculous. I loved reading about everything and everyone Franny managed to screw up.
Unfortunately, there were also times when this book lagged. Some things that were funny in the beginning just kept going on and on and on and on and on (and then on and on some more), when I really wished they would just end. The twists never really felt like twists, instead feeling more like inevitabilities. The plot was just too easy at times. And then, while I'm into magic and therefore loved that aspect of the book, I'm also tired of reading about stereotypical cliques, and without those, this book couldn't have existed.
Still, my final conclusion is that it was an overall pleasant and funny read, best read in one sitting.
She was funny and ballsy and ridiculous, and even though she often had absolutely nothing going for her, she managed to be just the right amount of OCD neurotic ridiculous (which is something, I must say, I can totally understand). And maybe that's why I almost ended up loving her at the end. She messed up EVERYTHING, but in that way that it's just messed up enough so that everything is okay. And this is something I also do regularly in my daily life. Which made her, despite our age difference, totally relate-to-able.
Franny Flanders aside, the rest of the characters, from the into the occult Granny with the magic box to Alden, the supposed love of Franny's life who once managed to touch her ear for a whole few seconds, to her two best friends who can't talk to each other, were all just the right amount of ridiculous. I loved reading about everything and everyone Franny managed to screw up.
Unfortunately, there were also times when this book lagged. Some things that were funny in the beginning just kept going on and on and on and on and on (and then on and on some more), when I really wished they would just end. The twists never really felt like twists, instead feeling more like inevitabilities. The plot was just too easy at times. And then, while I'm into magic and therefore loved that aspect of the book, I'm also tired of reading about stereotypical cliques, and without those, this book couldn't have existed.
Still, my final conclusion is that it was an overall pleasant and funny read, best read in one sitting.
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