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Karma: First Edition Paperback – January 5, 2012

3.3 3.3 out of 5 stars 23 ratings

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It is 1984, and fifteen-year-old Maya is on her way to India with her father. She carries with her the ashes of her mother, who recently committed suicide, and arrives in Delhi on the eve of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination.

Maya is separated from her father and must rely upon the mysterious, kindhearted Sandeep to safely reunite them. As her love for Sandeep begins to blossom, Maya must face the truth about her painful adolescence...if she's ever to imagine her future.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

  • "A riveting, historically accurate coming-of-age tale of gutsy survival, self-sacrifice, and love." - *Booklist
  • "Karma is a spectacular, sophisticated tale that will stick with readers long after they're done considering its last lines." - *School Library Journal
  • "A beautiful and breathtaking glimpse into one girl's tragedy and perseverance. - *BCCB
  • "This is wonderful historical fiction." - VOYA
  • "Epic and almost surreal in scope ... a fast-paced whirlwind of startling images, action and heartfelt emotion. - NPR

From the Author

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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Young Readers Group; Reprint edition (January 5, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 544 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 159514384X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1595143846
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 - 17 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL400L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.23 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.3 3.3 out of 5 stars 23 ratings

About the author

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Cathy Ostlere
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Cathy Ostlere grew up in a Canadian Air Force family with two brothers and a sister. She recalls a childhood of making up stories while staring out the car window on long drives across the country. Her first book, LOST: A MEMOIR (2008), began as a series of poems and essays. Her writing has been short-listed for the National Magazine Awards, Western Magazine Awards, and the CBC Literary Awards. LOST: A MEMOIR was a finalist for the 2009 Edna Staebler Creative Non-fiction Award. In 2010, LOST: A MEMOIR was developed into a 90 minute one-woman play that has been touring Canada and the U.S. Her first YA novel, KARMA: a novel in verse, was released in 2011 by Penguin/Razorbill.

Awards for KARMA -- South Asia Book Award (SABA), Highly Commended Book, 2012; BOOKLIST, Editor's Choice, Best Books for Young Adults, 2012; Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award, Honour Book, 2012; YALSA, Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2012; Alberta Literary Awards Winner - R. Ross Annett Children's Award, 2012; City of Calgary, W.O. Mitchell Award, shortlist, 2012; Ontario Library Association Best Bets List, Honourable Mention, 2012

Customer reviews

3.3 out of 5 stars
23 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and enjoyable. They appreciate the prose writing style and emotional content, which is inspiring and captivating.

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6 customers mention "Readability"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read. They say it's beautifully written in prose. The book is a quick and intriguing read on a topic they were unfamiliar with.

"...We both loved it. It is written in prose. Very beautiful. Its a fairly quick read but intriguing and provides knowledge of recent Sikh history." Read more

"...I actually enjoyed the read and think even those who don not quite enjoy verse or poetry will enjoy it just as much!..." Read more

"The subject is a little heavy, but it reads very well in diary form...." Read more

"A seriously amazing book on a topic I knew nothing about. Please don't shy away from it because it's free verse...." Read more

3 customers mention "Emotional content"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the emotional content inspiring and captivating. The fragmented emotions and descriptions help explain things better.

"...book by Ms Osltlere was very much inspiring, captivating and extremely emotional...." Read more

"...The fragments, the clipped emotions and descriptions, somehow explain things better then a couple pages of flowing prose...." Read more

"...So realistic and I got quite emotional. I will highly recommend this book for all readers!" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2013
    I bought this book for my niece but I ended up reading it myself too. We both loved it. It is written in prose. Very beautiful. Its a fairly quick read but intriguing and provides knowledge of recent Sikh history.
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2011
    We read this book for our South Asian reading group as part of a collection of books themed around the 1984 Sikh genocide in India. I'm not one for verse or freewriting, but this book by Ms Osltlere was very much inspiring, captivating and extremely emotional. I actually enjoyed the read and think even those who don not quite enjoy verse or poetry will enjoy it just as much! If you're interested in what happened to this minority group of Sikhs in 1984 I would definitely add this book to the list, along with the other books we read (Night of the Widows by Eli Mann, All Indian Justice Committee by Grace Kaur, A Feast for Lambs by Jesse Thind, When a Tree Shook Deli by HS Phoolka). What I find astonishing is that after having done some research I don't think the Indian government has officially apologized for what they did to the Sikhs in 1984.

    Night of the Widows
    All Indian Justice Committee (Volume 3)
    When a Tree Shook Delhi: The 1984 Carnage and its Aftermath
    A Feast for Lambs
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2011
    The subject is a little heavy, but it reads very well in diary form. Page after page of wanting to know what was to come next, I could not put it down. I read it in less than 2 days!
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2011
    A seriously amazing book on a topic I knew nothing about. Please don't shy away from it because it's free verse. The fragments, the clipped emotions and descriptions, somehow explain things better then a couple pages of flowing prose. It gives you that sense of urgency and fear that the characters are experiencing. The rush of emotions they are unused to. It doesn't hide behind anything.

    I do feel the main character acts/speaks a little older than her age at times, she was raised differently than I and then goes through this horrid experience, so I can look past such a thing.

    I hope the lack of reviews does not mirror how this book as sold, because it deserves to be read and shared with others. Pick it up. You won't be disappointed.
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2013
    It kind of took you all over the place and just couldn't quite get into it. For me it wasn't my cup of tea.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2013
    This book was very good and easy to read but very sad and depressing and kinda long but still very good and you'll want to know how it ends.
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2014
    This book truly captures India and it's beauty and the story was just extraordinary! So realistic and I got quite emotional. I will highly recommend this book for all readers!
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2012
    Maya has lived in Canada with her Indian parents all her life. Now, her and her father are making their way back to India with her mother's ashes. When they arrive in India though, the assassination of Indira Ghandi has things in an uproar. They end up having to go their separate ways just to survive. Sandeep saw Maya, and knew that he would love her. Though she wasn't speaking, he would be her voice and hopefully bring her back where she belongs.

    What a heartbreaking novel. I always hate people killing people for no reason other than they are part of a group that the killers don't like. The people were killed in a barbaric way, and the country ignored that it was happening. Unfortunately I know this happens all the time. Maya was an interesting character, even if her thoughts were absent throughout the middle of this story. In the middle Sandeep fills in with his observations of the elusive girl. I found this to be an interesting way to tell the story. Sandeep seemed to have a lot more to say and wonder about than Maya did at that point in time. It seemed as though Maya was too filled with grief to think different thoughts. She probably just had the same horrifying images playing again and again through her mind; while this is understandable, it doesn't make for very exciting reading. Sandeep was a very kind person. He helped Maya and never left her, even when he knew the outcome would not be in his favor.

    I really liked the verse and the diary style writing for this novel. It made it feel intimate and urgent. At times I felt the story focused on the light side of things too much, but I think it helped leave the reader not completely depressed. The last few chapters were even better than I had thought they would be, which is always nice. Love seems to be a big theme in this novel, despite all the war and chaos. This was a fantastic historical fiction that will make your heart ache but will leave you satisfied.

    First Line:
    "How to begin."

    Favorite Line:
    "Bapu says her death is due architecture.[..]Because the gold was tarnished with blood. Because of hate. Prejudice. Intolerance."

Top reviews from other countries

  • TM
    5.0 out of 5 stars This has made it into one of my favourite books of all time
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2018
    This has made it into one of my favourite books of all time. It's so beautifully written and I fell in love with every page. It so rich and I actually felt like I had fallen into India. Honestly, I recommend it.