YA Book Review | Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer
Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer is the perfect summer beach read
If you love all things seaside summer like me, you’re going to love diving into the deep end of the pool with Prudence and Quint.
Pru is an overachieving perfectionist. Frankly, as the novel starts, she’s a downright pain in the ass. On one hand, I feel her pain when her lazy, no-good, school-project partner Quint blows off their big presentation. He arrives late, unprepared, and earns them a C, instead of the customary A Pru is expecting. But wait! Was the grade Quint’s fault or did Pru misunderstand the assignment?
Pru is so used to being right she can’t see her fault in the situation and undertakes a campaign of harassment to convince their teacher to give her a second chance and Quint to redo the assignment.
Meanwhile, in a freak karaoke accident, Pru falls and bumps her head, but not before Quint is spellbound by her performance. When she wakes up, Pru discovers that she has a new ability… dispensing instant karma on the rude residents of her town. Bad driver? Bam! Fender bender. Talking smack about her brother? Bam! You just lost your diamond earring on the beach.
Unfortunately, Quint is the exception the rule where Pru’s karmic justice is concerned. No matter how much he infuriates her, her powers don’t work on him.
To earn extra credit and redeem her grade, Pru volunteers at the local sea life rescue center (run by Quint’s mom). As Pru learns more about the fragile ecosystem in the seaside community she’s always taken for granted, she begins to see a more appealing side of Quint. For instance, he’s deeply devoted to the animals at the center and to the environment. Pru and Quint’s animosity starts to melt, giving way to friendship and flirtation over buckets of chopped of fish (fed to the rescue seals of course).
Having grown more concerned about the residents of the rescue center than her grades, Pru throws herself into fundraising. She plans a gala as a way to raise enough money to save the center and enlists Quint as well as the rest of the volunteers to help.
Through a series of twists and turns, Pru ends up on the wrong side of everyone, including Quint who she’s developed serious feelings for. I’m not going to spoil anything, but the big question is, will Pru end up the victim of her own karmic repercussions?
Bookish thoughts…
I love the idea of having a superpower like dispensing karma. However, what a big sword that is to wield. It’s easy to make assumptions and judgements about people and situations but one misunderstanding… BAM! You’ve punished an undeserving person. This theme sets up some fantastic instant tension for the book.
I also enjoyed the way the author incorporated music into the entire novel, in particular the Beatles. The book title, the main character and her sibling’s names, and many of the songs in the karaoke scenes pay homage to the Beatles. It was a clever addition to the story.
I loved Pru’s ennergy. She’s Type A, like me. People like Pru get shit done. I appreciate that. But… sometimes (mostly in the beginning of the book) Pru was a little grating on the nerves, even for me. I think the author needed Pru to be an A+++ Type so that she could mellow down to just plain old Type A in her character arc.
However, overall Pru was a very likeable person. I admire the way she let her inhibitions fly and belted out the karaoke tune (which inevitably led to her head injury). Pru’s attitude is if you’re going to do it- do it well or don’t do it at all. So, she sang, strutted, and danced her way into Quint’s astonished heart. Another cool girl moment? Despite feeling wildly self-conscious, Pru stripped down to her bathing suit on a “first date” because she wasn’t about to miss out on a snorkel adventure. She didn’t let her waning confidence keep her from having a memorable experience. I wish I could go back in time and change a few moments where I chose the opposite.
Quint? Adorable. Noble. Funny. Disarming. LOVED him. Got a little mad at him at one point, but he redeemed himself.
I would have liked a little more character development with Pru’s brother and best friend. They were both interesting characters that I could have enjoyed hanging out with a little more.
Lastly, sea life! Rehabilitating orphaned seals? Sign me up! Every time! It was obvious the author did her due diligence researching every aspect of the rescue center and it was great how she wove the facts about the animals and their fragile environment into the story.
Recommendation
Recommend if you love a light read, dig the enemies to lovers trope, delight in a little magical realism, and care about the issues of wildlife and the health of our oceans.
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