Sal and Gabi break the universe

Title:

Author:

Hernandez, Carlos Alberto Pablo, 1971- author.

Personal Author:

Hernandez, Carlos Alberto Pablo, 1971- author.

ISBN:

9781368022828

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

382 pages ; 22 cm

General Note:

"Rick Riordan Presents."

Abstract:

In order to heal after his mother's death, Sal learned how to meditate. But no one expected him to be able to take it further and 'relax' things into existence. Turns out he can reach into time and space to retrieve things from other universes.

Reading Level:

8-12 years.

3-7.

Subject Term:

Cuban Americans -- Juvenile fiction.

Grief -- Juvenile fiction.

Cuban Americans -- Fiction.

Grief -- Fiction.

Science fiction.

Universe -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Universe -- Juvenile fiction.

Genre:

Fantasy fiction.

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Belmont	Book	JUV FICTION HERNAND	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Ginter Park	Book	JUV FICTION HERNAND	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Main Library	Book	JUV FICTION HERNAND	Searching... Unknown
Searching... West End	Book	JUV FICTION HERNAND	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Westover Hills	Book	JUV FICTION HERNAND	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents a brilliant sci-fi romp with Cuban influence by Carlos Hernandez, winner of the 2020 Pura Belpré Award.

"I love this book in every possible universe! With a surprise on every page and two of the most cosmically awesome, vividly unique heroes I've ever read, this sweet, hilarious book made me so happy."--Tui T. Sutherland, author of the New York Times best-selling Wings of Fire series

What would you do if you had the power to reach through time and space and retrieve anything you want, including your mother, who is no longer living (in this universe, anyway)?

When Sal Vidon meets Gabi Real for the first time, it isn't under the best of circumstances. Sal is in the principal's office for the third time in three days, and it's still the first week of school. Gabi, student council president and editor of the school paper, is there to support her friend Yasmany, who just picked a fight with Sal. She is determined to prove that somehow, Sal planted a raw chicken in Yasmany's locker, even though nobody saw him do it and the bloody poultry has since mysteriously disappeared.

Sal prides himself on being an excellent magician, but for this sleight of hand, he relied on a talent no one would guess . . . except maybe Gabi, whose sharp eyes never miss a trick. When Gabi learns that he's capable of conjuring things much bigger than a chicken--including his dead mother--and she takes it all in stride, Sal knows that she is someone he can work with. There's only one slight problem: their manipulation of time and space could put the entire universe at risk.

A sassy entropy sweeper, a documentary about wedgies, a principal who wears a Venetian bauta mask, and heaping platefuls of Cuban food are just some of the delights that await in his mind-blowing novel gift-wrapped in love and laughter.

Endorsed by Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, soon to be a series on Disney+.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

Salvador Vidn is the new kid at Miami's magnet school Culeco Academy of the Arts, but being at a special school doesn't protect Sal from trouble.Bullies are everywhere, but seventh-grader Sal knows just how to handle a difficult kid like Yasmany Robles. Obviously, you deal with a bully by opening a portal into another universe, taking a raw chicken from it, and planting it in the bully's locker. But you cannot just go opening portals into other universes without some consequences. For one, Sal gets sent to the principal on only his third day at Culeco and in the process meets Gabi Rel, who isn't buying Sal's innocent-magician act. The more pressing issue is that when Sal opens portals, sometimes his deceased mother comes through from alternate universes where she still existsMami Muerta, in Sal's words. But if you could bring your dead mother back, wouldn't you? The story moves quickly, with lots of multiverse traffic, school hijinks, and strong, smart, diverse characters. Most are Cuban-American in various shades of brown, like Sal, Gabi, and Yasmany, and Hernandez effortlessly folds in multiple intersectionalities, including Sal's diabetes and Gabi's unusual, delightfully matter-of-fact family structure. Secondary characters receive as much care and love as the primary cast, and readers will find themselves laughing out loud and rooting for Sal, Gabi, and even Yasmany until the very end.This book, drenched in Cuban Spanish and personality, is a breath of fresh air. (Science fiction. 10-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.