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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
4 stars. This book is bonkers but it somehow works really well. I read book one about a month ago and was charmed by its wacky mix of heart, science, and jokes. I think I like book two slightly (marginally) less, but there’s still a lot to like. This is not a plot heavy book, though it seems like it would be. Nothing much “happens”, but the journey is so fun you don’t really notice. I kind of want to live in this world (and go to Culeco or at least live in the Real village) it’s so full of colors, hilarity and positivity. I absolutely love Sal, but I think my favorite characters were the handful of spunky and friendly Class Nine (and Eight) AIs. It’s a little hard to categorize because it’s obviously science fiction, but I feel like it would appeal more to young readers who like funny books more than science fiction. I hope Hernandez writes more because this world and the characters are just so fun!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this free E ARC.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this free E ARC.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Just as imaginative, sweet, and laugh-out-loud funny as the first book. What more can I say? This series is a treasure.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wish I could have loved this, but unfortunately it just didn't work for me.
The story started off slow, and I actually found myself getting bored in the first half. I went into this thinking the sci-fi elements might be more overt than in the first one, but that wasn't really the case. For most of the first half, the sci-fi elements were mostly absent, and this felt more like a contemporary, which was not what I was expecting. I don't think the story is bad, just that it sets up the expectations for it to be something other than what it is. Honestly, the plot doesn't really start to take off until close to the 50% mark. It felt like there was too much going on and the book was too long for what it was, and the pacing was too slow. I did still enjoy the characters, but it felt like it was taking me forever to slog through this. By the time I got to the 75% mark I was ready to be done and move on.
I also felt that there were two competing plotlines that didn't mesh well, because it felt like we were jumping to one while dropping the thing we were on and then jumping back and dropping that for a little bit. The two storylines just didn't feel like they were intertwined and working together until toward the end. I felt tat at times the Rompenoche stuff took over the plot too much, when the synopsis made it seem more like we would be dealing more with "evil" Gabi and the consequences of her actions. I kind of wish the synopsis didn't already tell us she is basically evil, because I would have liked to have figured that out for myself. I actually find that the synopsis is pretty misleading, as it mentions a plot point of Yasmany being missing, but he was missing for all of five minutes. It's not a big part of the plot, which I was expecting it to be because it was hinted at in the synopsis. It's not like Sal and Gabi have to go through other universes throughout the book looking for him.
Overall I don't have much to say about this, I'm just glad to be done at this point and I want to put this behind me. There were definitely some sweet and funny moments in this, but I didn't enjoy reading this as much as I expected because I found the plot to be lackluster. I did find the fart jokes/potty humor got to be a bit much sometimes, but I guess it makes sense if this is targeted at preteens, who probably would find them funnier than I did.
I did really like Cuelco as a school and I wish all schools were like that, where kids are excited to learn and learn things that are actually helpful to them and their future careers. Learning should be fun, not a drag, and I loved the supportive atmosphere of Cuelco and how it seemed all the teachers were very encouraging.
Spoilers
I did enjoy the characters, though I still find it hard to believe that none of the adults would question why Iggy miraculously got better at the end of the last book. They were basically preparing to say goodbye to him but then he is miraculously better and there's nothing wrong with him? The scene of their "return" was cut from the last book, but I still find it hard to believe there wasn't any sort of conversation about this at any point.
I did like Voragine, Brana, and Sweeps, though I felt like having Voragine and Sweeps get married was a bit unnecessary. I didn't think it really added anything to the story, other than acting as a way to bring FixGabi's Sal back.
I wish the confrontation between Sal and FixGabi was a bit stronger. Everything built up to this, but I felt like the whole thing was resolved too easily. I understand she was bitter because of what happened to her own universe, but it seemed she changed her opinions far too easily. She essentially just gave up at the end.
The story started off slow, and I actually found myself getting bored in the first half. I went into this thinking the sci-fi elements might be more overt than in the first one, but that wasn't really the case. For most of the first half, the sci-fi elements were mostly absent, and this felt more like a contemporary, which was not what I was expecting. I don't think the story is bad, just that it sets up the expectations for it to be something other than what it is. Honestly, the plot doesn't really start to take off until close to the 50% mark. It felt like there was too much going on and the book was too long for what it was, and the pacing was too slow. I did still enjoy the characters, but it felt like it was taking me forever to slog through this. By the time I got to the 75% mark I was ready to be done and move on.
I also felt that there were two competing plotlines that didn't mesh well, because it felt like we were jumping to one while dropping the thing we were on and then jumping back and dropping that for a little bit. The two storylines just didn't feel like they were intertwined and working together until toward the end. I felt tat at times the Rompenoche stuff took over the plot too much, when the synopsis made it seem more like we would be dealing more with "evil" Gabi and the consequences of her actions. I kind of wish the synopsis didn't already tell us she is basically evil, because I would have liked to have figured that out for myself. I actually find that the synopsis is pretty misleading, as it mentions a plot point of Yasmany being missing, but he was missing for all of five minutes. It's not a big part of the plot, which I was expecting it to be because it was hinted at in the synopsis. It's not like Sal and Gabi have to go through other universes throughout the book looking for him.
Overall I don't have much to say about this, I'm just glad to be done at this point and I want to put this behind me. There were definitely some sweet and funny moments in this, but I didn't enjoy reading this as much as I expected because I found the plot to be lackluster. I did find the fart jokes/potty humor got to be a bit much sometimes, but I guess it makes sense if this is targeted at preteens, who probably would find them funnier than I did.
I did really like Cuelco as a school and I wish all schools were like that, where kids are excited to learn and learn things that are actually helpful to them and their future careers. Learning should be fun, not a drag, and I loved the supportive atmosphere of Cuelco and how it seemed all the teachers were very encouraging.
Spoilers
I did enjoy the characters, though I still find it hard to believe that none of the adults would question why Iggy miraculously got better at the end of the last book. They were basically preparing to say goodbye to him but then he is miraculously better and there's nothing wrong with him? The scene of their "return" was cut from the last book, but I still find it hard to believe there wasn't any sort of conversation about this at any point.
I did like Voragine, Brana, and Sweeps, though I felt like having Voragine and Sweeps get married was a bit unnecessary. I didn't think it really added anything to the story, other than acting as a way to bring FixGabi's Sal back.
I wish the confrontation between Sal and FixGabi was a bit stronger. Everything built up to this, but I felt like the whole thing was resolved too easily. I understand she was bitter because of what happened to her own universe, but it seemed she changed her opinions far too easily. She essentially just gave up at the end.
I found the first Sal and Gabi book really winning, and this one had some of those same elements (Sal as a smart, good-hearted, sometimes troublemaking protaganist, the portrayal of his stepmother and their relationship, Sal's relationship with his own medical condition/disability, the interweaving of Spanish and Cuban culture with a sci-fi story). Still, the writing and narrative here were a bit too frantic and overwhelming for me. Things did tie together a bit toward the end, but for most of the book it felt as if there were several not quite fleshed out plotlines dangling. I definitely think it will have middle grade appeal (I was a pretty teacher's pet type kid, so I might never have had a period of thinking that toilet or vomit jokes are funny, but if I did, I'm long past it now) and maybe the racing type energy will work for others, so I might just not have been the ideal reader for this book. Certainly a solid read that I'm happy to recommend, though.
4 stars
I would give anything to spend another book with Sal and Gabi because reading about them brings so much joy to my life. Reading this duology was genuinely one of the best reading experiences I've had in a while and I can't recommend it enough.
The writing style in this one does a really great job with establishing the voice of the MC, which had me invested in the story within the first few pages because I absolutely adored the main character. Again, Sal goes through so much growth in this book and I loved seeing all of his friendships develop. I especially loved the development of his friendship with Yasmany because I really appreciated the way it was paced and just the way it was handled as a whole. Of course, Sal's friendship with Gabi is also really fun to read about in this book and I loved how the fact that it had already been established in the previous book really allowed the author to explore it in this one.
I also think it would be amiss of me to not mention the family dynamics in this book because not only are family dynamics one of my absolute favorite things to read about in middle grade, but also the ones in this series are just so well-established and so fun to read about and I just... adore them with my entire heart. Sal's and Gabi's relationships with their families were such a joy to read about and I appreciated every second we got to spend reading about them. We also got to know Gabi's dads a lot better in this one, which I really appreciated because I wished we had seen more of them in book one.
Speaking of characters I absolutely loved reading about, I also can't help but want to mention all of the AI in this book because?? they actually had really well-developed personalities?? and also they were hilarious?? I laughed out-loud multiple times while reading their dialogue and I honestly love them?? They just brought so much to the story when I definitely wasn't expecting it from them, so it was a welcome surprise.
I also once again feel the need to mention just how much I adored Sal's school. And I already talked about this in my review of the first book, but oh my god!! It just feels like such a safe and welcoming environment and I absolutely adored reading about?? The principal and all the teachers are so supportive and just do the best they can for their students and I wish more schools irl were like this.
Moving on and talking about the plot of this story, I think what this book does really well is that it really feels like a sequel. So much of the things that happen in this book are directly connected to things that happened in book one and those things are constantly referenced and that really made this book feel like a part of a series, which I feel like doesn't tend to happen often with the sequels I read. But I also think this book did a good job of establishing its own plot and still having those plot essentials while remaining connected to the first book. I also adored the ending of this one!
I really loved how much more exploration of the world we got in this installment as well. I think it really developed on the whole concept of the multiverse really well and introduced a lot of cool new concepts that would be a lot of fun to explore! That said, though, there were so many things that this book introduced that didn't really get to be explored properly, which I feel like is a missed opportunity, so in conclusion, I am respectfully asking for a third book in the Sal and Gabi series because I'm not ready to let these characters go yet.
Overall, though, this series reminded me just how much fun middle grade can really be and why I love it so much. It's filled to the brim with themes of friendship and familial love and you can really tell just how much care went into crafting this story. Absolutely cannot recommend this one enough.
I would give anything to spend another book with Sal and Gabi because reading about them brings so much joy to my life. Reading this duology was genuinely one of the best reading experiences I've had in a while and I can't recommend it enough.
The writing style in this one does a really great job with establishing the voice of the MC, which had me invested in the story within the first few pages because I absolutely adored the main character. Again, Sal goes through so much growth in this book and I loved seeing all of his friendships develop. I especially loved the development of his friendship with Yasmany because I really appreciated the way it was paced and just the way it was handled as a whole. Of course, Sal's friendship with Gabi is also really fun to read about in this book and I loved how the fact that it had already been established in the previous book really allowed the author to explore it in this one.
I also think it would be amiss of me to not mention the family dynamics in this book because not only are family dynamics one of my absolute favorite things to read about in middle grade, but also the ones in this series are just so well-established and so fun to read about and I just... adore them with my entire heart. Sal's and Gabi's relationships with their families were such a joy to read about and I appreciated every second we got to spend reading about them. We also got to know Gabi's dads a lot better in this one, which I really appreciated because I wished we had seen more of them in book one.
Speaking of characters I absolutely loved reading about, I also can't help but want to mention all of the AI in this book because?? they actually had really well-developed personalities?? and also they were hilarious?? I laughed out-loud multiple times while reading their dialogue and I honestly love them?? They just brought so much to the story when I definitely wasn't expecting it from them, so it was a welcome surprise.
I also once again feel the need to mention just how much I adored Sal's school. And I already talked about this in my review of the first book, but oh my god!! It just feels like such a safe and welcoming environment and I absolutely adored reading about?? The principal and all the teachers are so supportive and just do the best they can for their students and I wish more schools irl were like this.
Moving on and talking about the plot of this story, I think what this book does really well is that it really feels like a sequel. So much of the things that happen in this book are directly connected to things that happened in book one and those things are constantly referenced and that really made this book feel like a part of a series, which I feel like doesn't tend to happen often with the sequels I read. But I also think this book did a good job of establishing its own plot and still having those plot essentials while remaining connected to the first book. I also adored the ending of this one!
I really loved how much more exploration of the world we got in this installment as well. I think it really developed on the whole concept of the multiverse really well and introduced a lot of cool new concepts that would be a lot of fun to explore! That said, though, there were so many things that this book introduced that didn't really get to be explored properly, which I feel like is a missed opportunity, so in conclusion, I am respectfully asking for a third book in the Sal and Gabi series because I'm not ready to let these characters go yet.
Overall, though, this series reminded me just how much fun middle grade can really be and why I love it so much. It's filled to the brim with themes of friendship and familial love and you can really tell just how much care went into crafting this story. Absolutely cannot recommend this one enough.
As with the first book in this duology, this is the rare Middle Grades book that kept me reading. It once again dealt with serious issues while also making me literally laugh out loud. I especially appreciated a certain toilet, and I enjoyed the Alice in Wonderland theme. The story also gets bonus points for a protagonist with a chronic illness (Type 1 Diabetes), and who also gets specifically identified as aromantic in a casual comment from another character.
Can't remember the last time I liked a book series this much.