---
“Do your worst, multiverse,” I told my reflection. “I’m ready for you.”
---
I love Rick Riordan’s books so I was super excited about the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. This was actually my first read in the imprint and I loved it! I was extra excited because I myself am Hispanic and I don’t read very many books by Hispanic authors/with Hispanic protagonists, so this was awesome! And it was a lot of fun! From the first page I knew I would love this—it was so funny! The characters find themselves in wacky situations, and just the fact that the multiverse is a thing is SO cool!
---
“We don't know what calamitrons will do to human tissue. They could act like radiation and make you sick, or worse.”
“Or maybe they'll give me superpowers!”
“Dude,” Gabi cacaseca’ed, “you can steal stuff from other universes. You're good on superpowers.”
---
One fun thing about Sal is that he’s a magician (he’s a manipulative little punk and it’s kinda great 😂). It’s funny cause he also has the ability to pull things from other dimensions, which is a different kind of magic altogether! Speaking of which, we never really find out WHY he is able to do this. Maybe it’s just me, but this is something I would like to know. I’m curious, okay! Lol. But this ability is super cool! The one thing we do know is that he was struggling with his mother’s death, and that’s sort of when this all began.
And speaking of his mom, his stepmom is pretty cool. I love that they have such a healthy relationship. The cliché of the kids not getting along with their stepparent is boring and old, but Sal and his stepmom get along really well and I loved that. And then Sal’s dad is a physicist!
As for feisty Gabby, I also loved her! One thing that confused me was that she had a lot of dads? I’m not sure what that was all about and it was never explained. I’m sure I’m missing something there, but I don’t know 😅
One relationship that was very surprising and intriguing was Sal and Gabi’s relationship with Yasmany, a bully. The relationship and even character development here was great! He has his own terrible issues going on at home, and we saw what a good friend Gabi is . She is just so caring and I love that about her 🥰
Another thing I loved was learning about Cuban culture. I’m Hispanic, as I mentioned, but I’m Mexican American. I am not very familiar with Cuban culture, but I presumed there were a lot of similarities. And there were! But there were also a lot of interesting differences and some phrases and sayings I had never heard before. So yeah, that was very fun! And speaking of that, there was quite a bit of Spanish in here, which I appreciated, and the book did a good job of translating without it feeling like it was hitting you over the head with it. There was also a lot of Spanglish which I loved because I myself speak Spanglish 😂
The book starts off with a chicken in a locker. Sal accidentally brings it from another universe, but as a cover he claims it was just a magic trick since, you know, he’s a magician. BUT because of this “trick,” he is called a ‘brujo’ at school, which is basically a witch. Now, I personally think witches are cool—they are one of my favorite supernatural creatures, BUT in my culture, brujeria ALWAYS has a negative connotation attached to it. Always. And apparently this is also the case in Cuban culture, which totally sucks for Sal. But I thought that was really interesting just seeing all these similarities between Mexican and Cuban cultures. Another similarity I hardcore related to was this:
---
"Like any proper Cuban gathering, it took the adults another forty-five minutes of conversation to actually say good-bye."
---
YES! This is my mom at every family gathering EVER! 🤣 Also the whole thing with the food... There was one part when Sal meets Gabi’s family and they feed him a heaping plate of food. At a Hispanic party, I promise you you will never go hungry. And they will feed you even if you’re not hungry. Just take the food, don’t refuse it... it’s the best thing you can do for yourself 😂 (Again, my mom, literally 🤣)
Suffice to say, I really loved this! I was a little surprised because as I was reading this I found that this book was more character-driven, not plot-driven, which is what I’m used to/prefer. But it’s a good thing I loved these characters and their relationships with one another. I also loved the setting and the culture and the multiverses and the wacky situations the characters found themselves in... It was such a great book! And that ending was intense! I’m interested to see how they’re gonna, you know, fix the universe 😉
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Frequently bought together
$7.86
Get it as soon as Friday, May 10
In Stock
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Similar items that may ship from close to you
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the Publisher
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of the Plague God | Paola Santiago and the River of Tears | Race to the Sun | The Storm Runner | Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky | The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities | |
| Customer Reviews |
670
|
627
|
784
|
1,902
|
3,043
|
539
|
| Price | $11.00 | $11.97 | $7.90 | $7.69 | $8.99 | $10.14 |
| Discover More Myths, Magic, and Mayhem from Rick Riordan Presents! | A son of Iraqi immigrants has to team up with the hero Gilgamesh in order to defeat the god of plagues in this adventure based on Mesopotamian mythology. | Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents author Tehlor Kay Mejia and her thrilling fantasy adventure based on the Mexican legend of La Llorona (the Crying Woman). | New York Times best-selling indigenous fantasy author Rebecca Roanhorse presents a thrilling adventure about a Navajo girl who discovers she's a monsterslayer. | New York Times best-selling J. C. Cervantes presents a contemporary adventure based on Maya mythology. How can one boy with a limp stop the Maya god of death, disaster, and darkness from destroying the world? | Discover Best-selling author Kwame Mbalia's epic fantasy, a middle grade American Gods set in a richly-imagined world populated with African American folk heroes and West African gods. | Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents ten new stories--including one of his own--about beloved heroes that sprang from the imaginations of some of the best middle grade authors working today. |
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
