Instant Karma

I honestly had no idea what to expect when I pre-ordered this book, but since it’s by Marissa Meyer I figured it had to at least be decent.The real issue I have with so much YA romance is that it’s too wrapped up in itself. This is not a book suffers from that issue. The romance doesn’t even really start till almost halfway in. The characters have goals that do not remotely relate to having or getting a romantic partner and they genuinely care about and are passionate about things other than falling in love.I became invested in Prudence and her life quickly and wanted to know more and more. The last third of the book had me on edge the whole time and I couldn’t stop reading it. And the end? I was grinning like an idiot and incredibly satisfied.5/5 stars. I loved this book and I hope you read it too.

This is a little bit of a departure from the author's usual fantasy/sci-fi YA lit. Which is fine. Good for her for trying something different, but I miss the creativity of her world building and the unique situations the characters find themselves in. Even in plots that we would all be familiar with (like the stories of well-known fairy tales), she would put an interesting twist on them so that although you ultimately knew how things would turn out, it was still a fun ride to get there. That's not the case with this book, unfortunately. I'm not sure if it was not having the creative opportunities by setting it in the real world or that even the small fantasy element she included was vastly underutilized or the unlikeability of the main character, but I found it to be kind of boring and incredibly predictable. I devoured her previous books, but this one I felt like I had to slog through. The eventual conflict setup was really obvious, but a lot of nothing happened leading up to it, to the point that I started skimming a little bit just to get there. I'm actually kind of annoyed that I pre-ordered it for full price. And yes I know I'm not the target YA audience, but my teenage daughter is and she feels the same way about it, if not even more negatively. I'm rating it as 3 stars, but it's probably more of a 2.5 for us.

3 1/2 starsPrudence "Pru" Barnett is an overachiever. She likes to organize things, she does not like to settle for subpar, She is a perfectionist who does not trust that anyone can do things to her standards. Especially not Quint Erickson, her lab partner in Biology in their sophomore year. Quint is her mortal enemy. He is a slacker, who is always late. When they receive their grade on the last day of school for their final project, Pru is not happy they got a C as their group grade, and that Quint got a higher mark than her for their individual grades.Her teacher will let them redo the paper, but it has to be a group effort. So Pru has to convince Quint to agree to redo the paper with her. But Quint is happy with his grade. But does agree to work with her again if she spends 6 weeks volunteering at the Fortuna Beach Sea Animal Rescue Center, that his mother runs. Reluctantly Pru agrees and she soon discovers that Quint is not what she first thought.The "instant karma" that Pru can now dish out really takes a back seat in the story. While there were quiet a few times that we saw Pru use her new power, to me this was more of a coming of age story of Prudence. I will say I was a bit disappointed at first. I was expecting a more laugh out loud read as Pru handed out her karma. But then the further I got in the book, the more my disappoint disappeared as the story evolved and I couldn't get enough of Pru and Quint.I loved the back and forth banter between Pru and Quint as they discover the other is not really as bad as they thought. As well as the banter between them and their friends Ari, Ezra and Jude(Pru's twin brother).I also really liked all the information on the rescuing and rehabilitation of the sea animals. It was very sad and also heart warming to read. It really made me think.I have to say I was not a fan of Pru at the beginning of the story, she was very judgmental of people without knowing their circumstances. But as she grew as they story went on I warmed up to her. Though I have to say Quint was my favorite lolAnd if you are a fan of Jaws and The Beatles you are going to like this: Quint is named for Quint in Jaws And Prudence and all her siblings are named for Beatles songs -"dear" Prudence, "Hey" Jude, Lucy "in the sky with diamonds", Penny "lane", Eleanor "rigby"

I couldnt even finish this book, What a dull, sook of a main character, I loved Marissa Meyer' Lunar chronicles, this is beyond readable,what I thought would be more grown up age people, its a teenage girl who literally stomps her foot when her younger sister eats the last banana....get a grip and its so clear that Quint has alot more he deals with at home than this little Muppet can comprehend. Don't bother with this one!

[pt/en]Começou bom, aí no meio enrolou enrolou enrolou e acabou virando 3 estrelas no máximo, quase que dava menos..It started out good, very promising, then in the middle it got a little boring and ended up becoming 3 stars, almost 2.5 stars

Great book and quick delivery