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74th out of 186 books
—
267 voters
Karma for Beginners
Fourteen-year-old Tessa has never had a normal life. Her mother, a frustrated hippie with awful taste in men, has seen to that. But when her mom pulls her out of school to live at an ashram in the Catskills, Tessa goes from being a freak among normal people to being an outcast among freaks. Freaks who worship an orange robe-wearing guru. And while her mom is buzzing with s...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
August 18th 2009
by Disney-Hyperion
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Firstly, thank you to Nicole with The Book Report Network for sending me a copy of this book! Simply from reading the synopsis, I thought it sounded like an interesting premise and a promising story. Upon starting the book, I realized it was set in the 80's, which I also found to be a nice change from the modern setting that is usually depicted in stories lately. While I initially found the relationship between Tessa and her mother (and their move to an ashram) intriguing, ultimately the story f...more
Tessa's single, free-spirit mom, Sarah, is moving them again--but this time it's to an ashram in the Catskills! Once they get there, her mom becomes even more distant and absorbed in her own "spiritual growth", leaving Tessa nearly constantly alone, both physically and emotionally.
I really liked this--I thought that Tessa's voice was very real, and that Blank really captured the magic of a first love/sexual relationship (even though it's pretty dysfunctional--he's six years older than Tessa, and...more
I really liked this--I thought that Tessa's voice was very real, and that Blank really captured the magic of a first love/sexual relationship (even though it's pretty dysfunctional--he's six years older than Tessa, and...more
I wasn't sure about this one, but since it was a free ARC from the ALA conference, I thought I might as well give it a shot. Right off the bat, I liked that the book was set in the mid-1980s instead of current day. Tessa is fourteen and lives with her flaky mom, who pulls up stakes and moves them around pretty often. This time, they move to an ashram near the Catskills, where Tessa feels out of control and out of place. Her mom becomes even less interested in her as she becomes creepily close to...more
This is a book of abandonment. It's a story that so many girls can identify with: Raised by a single mother with no father in the picture, seeking a father's love, the fear that everyone will abandon you as he did, and a selfish and emotionally-distant mother to boot.
Tessa's mother is totally self-absorbed. I know women like this. My best friend's mother was quite a bit like this. Her needs came first instead of that of her children. Tessa is always second-place in her mother's life (or third or...more
Tessa's mother is totally self-absorbed. I know women like this. My best friend's mother was quite a bit like this. Her needs came first instead of that of her children. Tessa is always second-place in her mother's life (or third or...more
14-year-old Tess lives with her mom in....well that's kind of the problem. They move around A LOT. Some people might call Tess's mom, Sarah, a freak, but she'd prefer to be called a free spirit. It's Sarah's quest for happiness and personal fulfillment at lands the two of them at a compound for an off beat spiritual group (read: cult). While Sarah feels she's finally found where she belongs, Tess feels more lost than ever. The only person who makes her feel grounded is 20-year-old Colin. Tess st...more
Jessica Blank's writing style is straight forward and bare to the bone. With the first sentence, I was hooked enough to want to read the book straight through. The story is told through the eyes of a fourteen year old girl, Tess, who was abandoned by her father and living with her mother who had not grown up herself. They were on and off the road for most of the girl’s life. Her mother was drawn to living in an ashram. I don’t know if this was a true picture of what life is like in ashram but I...more
Tessa is tired of always packing up and moving at the whim of her mother, but since she’s only 14, she doesn’t have much choice. This time around, her single, free-spirited hippie mom takes her to an ashram, where she doesn’t have to go to school, but does have to do seva (chores), and doesn’t know anyone. While her mom goes on a spiritual journey, Tessa falls for an older guy (he’s 20) and starts to sneak off with him when they’re done fixing buses. She’s tried to reach out to her dad, who’s in...more
This was an interesting read. I debated on giving it four stars or three... I went with three, just for overall tone. Had Tessa and Colin been closer in age, or had each been five years older, Tessa 20 and Colin 25, I 'may' have liked the overall book more. I enjoyed all the music references, to some of the my very favorite music from the 70's and 80's. I have always wondered what it was like to be on an acid trip... The author, Jennifer Blank, did a very good job of writing what its like, 'visu...more
Sep 10, 2009
Jess (The Cozy Reader) Kennedy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Older Teens: 14 and up!
Recommended to Jess (The Cozy Reader) by:
Publisher Requested review
Shelves:
reviewed
See my blog for active links!
http://bookreviewsbyjess.blogspot.com...
Plot: 3
Setting: 5
Writing: 3
Originality: 5
Characters: 5
Passion: 3
Overall: 24/30 = 80% = B
Cover/Title Bonus: 5
I received this for review from Disney-Hyperion.
Please note that this will be a long review. This book had some details that I want to focus on a bit. It also hit home on a few topics, so it’s a bit of a personal review too.
Summary (Amazon.com):
Fourteen-year-old Tessa has never had a normal life. Her mother, a frustrated...more
http://bookreviewsbyjess.blogspot.com...
Plot: 3
Setting: 5
Writing: 3
Originality: 5
Characters: 5
Passion: 3
Overall: 24/30 = 80% = B
Cover/Title Bonus: 5
I received this for review from Disney-Hyperion.
Please note that this will be a long review. This book had some details that I want to focus on a bit. It also hit home on a few topics, so it’s a bit of a personal review too.
Summary (Amazon.com):
Fourteen-year-old Tessa has never had a normal life. Her mother, a frustrated...more
When i read the blurb of the book, i thought it was going to be a love story between Tess and Colin. What the story is really about is herself, and the relationship of her parents. i liked the ending, the story had a nice plot, and a sort of mystery to it. Other than that it was okay, the character was great and the supporting characters too.
The relationship between her parents is like this, her mother is a free spirit, who later in the story becomes distant from Tess, which she has her up and...more
The relationship between her parents is like this, her mother is a free spirit, who later in the story becomes distant from Tess, which she has her up and...more
Nov 09, 2009
Anne Broyles
added it
Although I felt empathy for Tessa, the protagonist, a fifteen year-old who is drug from place to place by a would-be hippie mom, I never clicked with either her or her mother. The ashram to which they move is an interesting setting, but felt somewhat caricatured. And Tessa's feelings about the spiritual life her mother seeks bounce from total disinterest to scorn to fascination. That fuzziness, combined with a love/hate relationship with her mother made it hard for me to care what happened to an...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
It has taken me a while to pick up Karma for Beginners, and I'm really not sure why. It has a pretty cover, an interesting premise and setting, and some great praise, so after some thought I decided to give it a chance.
So, here's the question: am I glad I did or not? Well, I certainly am because it was a empowering and enlightening book, that I flew right through easily; one read that I could see myself reading again someday, even though it wasn't an absolute favorite of mine.
Tessa was a chara...more
So, here's the question: am I glad I did or not? Well, I certainly am because it was a empowering and enlightening book, that I flew right through easily; one read that I could see myself reading again someday, even though it wasn't an absolute favorite of mine.
Tessa was a chara...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book was amazing. I feel like in a way I connected with her because she was faced with numerous desicions she had to make and it was intesting seeing it. I tend to like books about peoples lives and this book showed a very intresting life. This book was really good in the beggining and you see the first half comming and slowly as you get to the end there is a crazy twist. I feel the theme of the book was most definetly speaking up and self discovery. This book was well written with a really...more
I did not like this book its about a girl who is a vegan wants to know her dad moves to a hippy camp i liked this part but the thing i did not like is that she is a 14 year old girl who goes and sleeps around with a 20 year old smokes pot drinks and the author included this sex in practically every chapter
I liked this book because the author wasn't afraid of hiding the truth about these specific situations. It was a very deep, intense, and heavy novel. This book was so detailed I was close to tears. A good summer read, but be prepared for a horrific ending.
It was extremely predictable. I fast-forwarded through a major portion of the middle and was not lost at all.
That being said, however, I think that this will appeal to girls who are reluctant readers and want realistic fiction.
That being said, however, I think that this will appeal to girls who are reluctant readers and want realistic fiction.
Book was alright, the ending kind of sucked it happened way to fast with not enough details. Even though it was predictable.
Interesting character study that had me at the beginning, but really lost me at the end.
It was freaking weird and I might have actually hated it.
started out a little slow, but about 20 pages in i couldn't put it down.
Way to rush the ending!
It was okay.
It was slow at first, but became interesting and real good later on. A bit sad ending though.
Did not Finish. :(
I've had this book forever. Just finished the first chapter.
I was really liking this book, but I seem to have lost it!?!?!?!?!? I really hope I find it again.
Jun 14, 2013
Josefa
marked it as to-read
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