Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment.
Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure.
But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated!
Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever.
But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.
My Review:
My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody is a fun read. Dramatic but simple, it is very engaging and fast-paced. Just like The Karma Club (another book by Jessica Brody), it is one of those books that'll make you laugh out loud! I gave it an 8/10 because it was missing a huge chunk of the story. The whole conflict between Brooklyn and Shayne was explained, but only briefly. It makes the book feels incomplete.
Brooklyn Pierce's life has been filled with bad judgments; so she made a blog and let her readers makes decisions for her. It's a crazy choice to do this--her followers made Brooklyn tried out for the girls' Rugby team, but they also made sure she stayed out of trouble. When "Red" (Brook uses code names on her blog) appears and shows interest on Brooklyn, her reader told her to stay away from Red and keep talking to the other guy whom she never noticed before.
Good: Fun, funny. I kept laughing the whole time, seriously.
Bad: Again, the conflict between Brooklyn and Shayne (her best friend) wasn't explained thoroughly. It wasn't enough...
Jessica Brody wrote The Karma Club (read my review of The Karma Clubhere!!!). This book received a 10/10 rating from me and it's such a fun book to read! I've been so glad to be able to interview her! :)
1. Thank you so much for letting me interview you. What inspired you to write The Karma Club?
Thanks for the interview! The Karma Club was definitely one of those ideas that just “came” to me. A friend of mine had told me some horrendous story about how a boy dumped her (I don’t even remember the story, I just remember it was infuriating!) and the entire time she was talking, I kept thinking, “Someone needs to do that right back to him. He can’t just get away with that. He needs a taste of Karma!” And then boom, the idea came to me. A secret society of girls who help each other out, dosing out Karma to those who deserve it when the universe is slow to do it on its own. And thus THE KARMA CLUB was born. Of course, as soon as the idea came to me, I also knew that my characters would never be able to get away with it. Karma is a tricky thing. And you definitely don’t want to meddle with the universe!
2. Could you tell me how you can relate to Maddy when you were in high school?
Out of all the characters in all my books, I’m most similar to Maddy. I definitely modeled her after myself when I was in high school. We’re both very organized, studious, and like to be in control at all times. The fact that she concocts a plan to take Karma into her own hands because she doesn’t think it’s doing a good enough job on its own is something I totally would do! I’m a bit of a control freak. I never trust anyone to do anything for me. I always insist on doing it myself. So I suppose that would also apply to mystical forces of the universe!
3. What was the most difficult part about writing The Karma Club?
Great question. The most difficult part for me was coming up with the various revenge schemes that the Karma Club girls do. Which is funny because I thought this would be the easiest and most fun part of the book. But in reality it was near impossible! I wanted to find payback treatments that “fit the crime” so to speak but that also would fit into the story later when Karma came back to bite the girls in the butt. Each revenge scheme in the book had to be very thoroughly planned out because they each come back into play later. The only one I had in mind going into writing the book was the Crisco swap. I’ve always loved that idea and secretly wished it on a few people (although I won’t name any names!) The rest of them took a long time to concoct!
4. Have you ever...you know, tried to make karma pays instantly and not over time?
LOL. If you’re asking if I’ve ever sought revenge on someone the answer is no. Although I have thought about it many a times. I’m not as courageous as my main character. I would have never had the guts to do the things she did!
5. I noticed that you're working on another YA novel, called My Life Undecided which would be out in the Spring of 2011 (where sadly I'll be in Japan and not in US...). Could you tell me more about the book?
Of course! I’m SO excited about this book. I think it actually might be my favorite yet (but don’t tell any of my other books that!) My Life Undecided is about a fifteen year-old girl who is notorious for making terrible decision and so she starts an anonymous blog and posts every decision she comes across in the form of an online poll and vows to do whatever her blog readers decide for her! Obviously problems and hilarity ensue! The official U.S. release date is now set for June 2011. Hopefully you’ll be able to pick up a copy in Japan!
6. I have been a follower of Free Book Friday (the teens one), and I love how you interviewed the authors right away to promote their book. What made you create Free Book Friday?
Oh great! I’m so glad you like the site! I got the idea for Free Book Friday because I noticed that every time I hosted a giveaway on my own site, my web traffic would spike significantly. So I just thought, why not host a giveaway every week. Almost instantly the name “Free Book Friday” popped into my head. I searched for the domain name and it was available so I snatched it up and launched the site! That was over two years ago and it’s grown tremendously since then. We’ve hosted some fantastic super star authors like P.C. Cast, Alyson Noël, Scott Westerfeld and tons of others!
7. What is(are) your favorite novel(s)?
Ooh! Hard question. I’ll give you my top 3 (as of today, 8/24/10, because it changes daily!):
1 ) Bridget Jones’s Diary – because it’s the reason I started writing my first novel. I was so entertained by that book, as soon as I read it, I knew I wanted to do the exact same thing: entertain people.
2 ) The Hunger Games – This was such an amazing concept and Suzanne Collins did such a tremendous job writing it. I lived this book. Meaning, it was in my dreams, my thoughts and pretty much every conversation I had for a good three weeks. That’s a remarkable thing for an author to do!
3 ) The Time Traveler’s Wife – This book was like magic to me. I’m obsessed with time travel and good love stories and this one did both…extremely well.
8. What would be your advice to the young writers who are struggling?
Well, first let me say that I, too, was a struggling young writer. As were ALL writers you read out there. So keep that in mind. We all had to start where you are. My best piece of advice is to write and write often. Regardless if you’re a bestselling author with twenty books under your belt or you’re just starting out, writing is a craft that needs to be constantly honed. Try to write every day. Even if the stuff that’s coming out reads like a third grade book report. Sometimes you have to get the crap out in order to get to the good stuff. And sometimes writing just to write is the only way to get a book done. Even if it means having to go back later and change it all! For every book I write I have about 50-75 pages of deleted text that never makes it into the final draft! But for some reason, it had to be written before I could move on.
9. Thank you so much for doing this interview. Is there anything else you'd like to say to the readers???
Thanks so much for having me! I hope everyone likes the book! Don’t forget to check out the movie-style book trailer I produced for The Karma Club featuring a cameo appearance by Deepak Chopra! It can be found on my website: www.jessicabrody.com. And also, stop by www.TheKarmaClub.org (a non-profit organization inspired by The Karma Club) to find ways to spread Good Karma in your community and around the world!
"'It's time to start balancing out the universe.'"
My Rating: 10/10
Publisher: Macmillan Publication: March 2010 ISBN: 978-0-374-33979-1 Page Count: 258 Age Range: Young Adult
Madison Kasparkova had always wanted to be popular and to hang out with the most popular girl in her high school; Heather Campbell. Then one day, she found a way (Well, not really--Angie, her friend was the one who found the article in the magazine, but still), she was the one who submitted her boyfriend's profile to Contempo Girl, the 'it' magazine.
Maddy was right--she was popular the next day. Jade even thinks they can get in the Loft because of Mason's (Maddy's boyfriend) increasing popularity. And they were, invited to the Loft by Heather Campbell personally.
Maddy saw the Mason who was staring at Heather and she asked it bluntly if Mason would want to date Heather if there's a chance to. Mason said no. Mason had said why would he want to date anyone else when he has Maddy, too. Maddy believed Mason.
Of course, only until she walked in on Heather and Mason making out on the bed on the Loft.
Then her mom dragged her to learn more about spiritual health, after witnessing her daughter's heart broken. Karma karma karma.
Maddy knows because of Jade (her other best friend) that karma is supposed to pay back people. Well, Maddy knows better than just to wait for karma to happen a decade or eons later; she wants it now NowNOW. Besides, Jade and Angie's ex boyfriends needed some reality call from their heavenly life anyway.
And, the Karma Club was born. The pact even promised that they wouldn't date anyone until their senior year is done (they are seniors, by the way).
Then Maddy met Spencer. Spencer Cooper is the rich and handsome guy whose parents owns the Loft that the popular kids hang out in. Somehow, just like The Great Gatsby, Spencer does not actually attend the parties. It's not his thing. More of his girlfriend.
Spencer actually isn't the rich snotty brat Maddy thinks he's supposed to be. In fact, he's sweet, really. So...there's Jenna LeRoux, Heather's best friend, Spencer's girlfriend.
Something happened and Jenna dumped Spencer, and Jenna founded the pink notebook of the Karma Club. Jenna will give it back, in exchange for the Karma Club to mess with Spencer's life.
What will Maddy do?
What I love about this book: It's funny and realistic. Hilarious. Seriously. This book makes you laugh from cover to cover, be it from Maddy's reaction to certain things or the way the Karma Club inflicts revenge to their targets. It's realistic in a way that anybody could relate to--got dumped, wanting revenge.
What I dislike about this book: I didn't dislike anything, it was fun reading this from beginning to end! :D
My rank: 8/10
