Sublime Karma

Peyton
Garver
Genre: 
Young Adult

In an effort to make a new start, Brie and her family move to a new town — but things do not turn out as planned. Brie is targeted by jealous girls at her new school, and the only seat on the school bus happens to be next to Jake who, although she has no idea why, finds her offensive and doesn’t want to have anything to do with her. A humiliating article about Brie appears in the online school journal, and in the aftermath, Jake finally reaches out to her. It’s the beginning of a friendship, but could it be something more? 

Jake too is hiding some secrets that return and cause havoc in Jake’s life. Will he able to overcome mistakes of the past, and create a future for himself with Brie? 

Brie is an intriguing character, and shows a lot of depth and strength as the book progressed. The mean girls are rather stereotypical, however, and in fact most of the characters besides Brie and Jake were one-dimensional and could have used more depth and personality to make the book more realistic.

The book explores several tough topics and doesn’t shy away from the harsher realities of life. The main topic is still high school drama, but despite that, the characters’ emotions feel real and raw, and very authentic. A gritty novel for teens, who will form an emotional attachment to the main characters. An older audience will enjoy it too. 

Majanka Verstraete