3.5 rounded up for this fun YA contemporary. I really enjoy magical realism, and the way it was done in this was so cute. I enjoyed the information about animal activism as well. This enemies to friends to couple (won't call them lovers because they are 15/16ish) tale was well plotted and enjoyable to read. The negative for me was the pacing. It felt like things dragged on in certain spots and there was unnecessary filler. A solid read. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

I usually spend a rather inordinate amount of time praising Marissa Meyer's books, so in a way I suppose it's not surprising that I <em>loved</em> her newest book, <em>Instant Karma</em>. But, in my defense, there's actually a <em>lot</em> to love about this one. I usually enter Marissa's books with pretty high expectations, too, since I'm often riding off how much I love and appreciate <em>The Lunar Chroincles</em>. And if nothing else, <em>Instant Karma</em>, is an <em>excellent</em> example of having a wonderfully developed main character.

<b>To Be Type A</b>

Prudence, or Pru, is basically your typical Type A personality. She's a chronic overachiever, is very aggressive in her passion for work and getting things done <em>her </em>way. She has a hard time surrendering control with pretty much everything and is quick to take over if she feels like something won't be completed to standard. Of course, this makes it easy to domineer over others. And it's kind of hilarious since Pru also wants others to do their share of the work.

When she's partnered with Quint Erickson for a biology project, she is quick to determine and judge him for his apparent slacker tendencies and assumes from the start that not only will he not do the work but that his work will be extremely subpar. It doesn't help that he's almost always late to class. When the big day arises for their presentation and it's immediately clear that they did not work on it as a team, their grade suffers.

As Pru is thoroughly incapable of accepting a C for any project with her name on it, she convinces her Biology teacher to give her a re-try. The only problem? She has to convince Quint to complete it with her.

Thus begins a wild summer in which Pru suddenly has to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about Quint Erickson.

<b>A Path Toward Self-Improvement</b>

Honestly, I'm a <em>huge</em> fan of Marissa Meyer's writing style. The other thing I'm a massive fan of is the way she develops her characters. I've generally been massively impressed with the flawed sort of characters who have a long path toward growing up or finding redemption and actually get there. This sort of development has Prudence's name written <em>all</em> over it. In retrospect, Pru's development is hands down the best thing about this entire book.

I can't say I blame some readers for finding her downright unlikable. At times, she genuinely is. But the great thing about Pru's character is that she questions herself over the course of the novel. Sure, Prue begins as a judgmental girl. She starts off certain to her core that she is right in casting aspersions on those around her. But as the story progresses, she re-examines herself and her preconceived beliefs. She takes the time to realize that her early opinions were not entirely founded.

I <em>loved</em> this about Pru. Sure, she starts out very self-righteous and positive that she can't possibly be or do wrong. She begins feeling superior and deserving of this newfound power to enact karma upon those around her. But later? Later, Pru realizes many of her errors. She recognizes her faults, realizes where she was wrong, and takes efforts to right all harms she inflicted. That sort of development and self-reflection is <em>amazing</em> to see in a novel.

I feel like a great many teenagers can relate to this. And I'm sure there are many out there who need to see the importance of self-reflection and improvement.

<u>Mutual Growth</u>

Instrumental to Pru's development is the adorable and kind Quint Erickson. Though we can easily guess, it turns out that Pru doesn't know Quint as well as she thinks she does. When she sets out to convince him to re-do their final project, she finds herself suddenly volunteering at his mother's Animal Rescue Center. And the more time she spends with Quint, the more she grows as a person.

Quint, himself, doesn't have a long path to follow in his journey to self-improvement. Sure, he has to re-evaluate what he knows of Pru and what he thinks of her, but that's mainly it. The rather predictable moment of conflict between them is entirely reasonable, as far as I'm concerned. And, yes, it's definitely a hurdle he has to tackle. But the events that lead up to it, particularly the counting moment, do justify the reaction a bit.

Also important are the wonderfully cute sea creatures that the Animal Rescue Center is dedicated to caring for. Soon Pru and Quint spark a deal: she will help out at the Center in exchange for his participation re-doing their project. But the more time she spends there, the more volunteering becomes about helping the center than about getting a better grade.

<b>Enacting Karma</b>

Honestly, the karma plot was the weakest point of this novel. The central conflict, while quite predictable for me, made sense for the novel. I, personally, wish it was harder to figure out the big issue and who was really at fault. But, at the same time, I can't fault Meyer for the plot. It was a decent, if a little cliché, one.

What I can fault her for, however, is the fact that Pru's karma powers were not used <em>at all</em> in resolving this conflict. In fact, barring the guilt Pru would feel later when she realized the karma she'd enacted had not been fair, her karmic powers were genuinely useless to the plot. They added to her development, sure. But I wanted more. If Meyer was really going to take advantage of this plot point, it <em>needed</em> to play a role in the conflict resolution.

And it didn't. At all.

<b>Soler</b>

Rebecca Soler has <i>always</i>, to my knowledge, narrated Marissa Meyer's books. And it's frankly been a pretty brilliant move on their end. I kind of feel a sort of comfort now when listening to one of her audiobooks. It's like meeting an old friend. And I just <i>love</i> falling asleep while listening to one of her books. For me, there's little more soothing. And since I so heavily associate Soler's voice with my favorite book series, it's even easier to love it within another story with an entirely different cast of characters. She did a fantastic job capturing each character's voice.

<b>Real Writing</b>

In general, though, I loved this book. Quint was adorable, Pru's development was phenomenal, and the chemistry between them gives you <em>all the feels</em>. Their romance is definitely slow-burn and, unlike most hate-to-loves I've read, their initial hatred felt rather genuine. And that's the thing about Meyer as a writer: all of her characters feel <em>so real</em>. It's something I will always deeply appreciate her for. This is probably why she remains, to this day, an auto-buy author for me.

There may be moments in some of her books that don't work as well as I'd have liked, but at the end of the day, she is still a phenomenal writer. I adored <em>Instant Karma</em> and I hope you do, too.

Before I go, though, I have to give a quick shout-out to one of the funniest moments I've read in a while. The quick commentary on how landline phones still work during a power outage was <em>hilarious</em>. I can't help wondering how many young readers are going to come across this line and be utterly mind-blown by the information. I wonder how many are going to wait for the next power outage so they can try it out.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

This review will be live on the Reader Fox blog on October 25, 2020.

Ok so here is the thing, i am a huge marissa meyer fan! I’ve loved pretty much everything she has written, and ever since I started reading her books, I’ve longed for her to write a contemporary. I just knew she could potentially write an instant favorite for me! And I gotta say, the wait was worth it: I knew I was going to love this from the very first chapter!

Firstly, I want to begin by saying that as a Ravenclaw, I related to Prudence SO much! I loved her character. I feel like she might come off as judgmental to some readers in the beginning, but just hang in there, because I genuinely believe she grew so much as the story progressed. I also kind of understood some of her frustrations if I’m being honest, so I totally get why she behaved the way she did.

Quint was the sweetest damn male character EVER. Marissa Meyer is constantly making her male characters more swoon worthy. He was sweet, thoughtful, soft and charming all at once and such a genuinely nice character to read about. I have absolutely no complaints when it comes to him, he was just a true cinnamon roll of a character.

The Prudence and Quint interactions caught my attention from the very beginning. Their banter was hilarious and made me laugh out loud, and they just had so much chemistry. You wouldn’t think someone who is such a perfectionist and someone who is so laid back would work so good together but they really complimented one another in the best of ways. Their relationship is by far one of my favorite parts about Instant Karma, and I was flipping the pages waiting for them to kiss.

Which lead me to my other point. Although this is for sure a 5 star for me and a new fav, I do feel like it was very long! I loved it enough that it didn’t bother me, but when it comes to the romance, it is definitely a slow burn! Personally, I felt like I wouldn’t want it any other way. Marissa did a GREAT job with the development between the two main character and the progress from dislike to friendship to like was very organic and believable, and I think it’s what made me love them so much too... it was just so well done and realistic! And the build up just made me root for them even more.

I loved the plot, and the emphasis the authors makes on taking care of the environment. I feel like in the times we are facing, with the effects of global warming staring right at our faces, this is such a nice topic to include in a YA novel! Also, as a huge advocate for animal life I loved how much this book highlighted the importance of taking care of them. This was a surprising plot that ended up just making this even more amazing than it already was.


I listened to the audiobook and really recommend if you’re a fan of this format! The narrator was great and really added life to the characters and story!

Lastly, the side characters were great too. I would love for some of them to get books! Specially Jude, Prudence’s twin brother.


Overall, this was everything I wanted and more. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Marissa Meyer and also fans of The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson! If you are looking for more books that tackle environmental awareness and animal life, this might be a fun book to pick it up! It’s been a weird year where a lot of my most anticipated books didn’t hit the mark and left something to be desired for me, so it’s so nice to give 5 stars to a book I have been wanting for years by a favorite author of mine!

Book 224 towards my goal of 280! 4/5 stars for this YA Contemporary/ Magical Realism read. Such a cute cover! Narrator Rebecca Soler is amazing as always. Such a fun, beachy read. Great information about wildlife conservation as well. Had to dock a star because it did feel like it drug on in some bits. Absolutely recommend if you enjoy the genre!