You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
This series brings me great joy.
Merged review:
This series brings me great joy.
Merged review:
This series brings me great joy.
Aw man, I liked this one even more than the first one! The main difference is that I read this one, while I listened to the other. And while the narrator did an excellent job with the first one, my Spanish is just not good enough for me to follow all the Spanish sentences that were incorporated into the story. While I could usually figure out the meaning from context, it was much easier with this one for me read the sentences carefully and parse out the meaning, or look up the sentences on Google translate when I couldn't quite figure it out. This story was a lot of fun and basically picked up where the other one left off, although the last one did not leave you hanging. It just continues the story. In this one, Sal's dad builds a rembranator, in an effort to patch the holes that Sal was creating in the previous book, but that results in all sorts of unforeseen effects. I really enjoy the author's combination of humor and science fiction in weaving a tale that middle school kids can really get drawn into. And his imagination of Culeco is wonderful! I seriously would love to visit a school like that! I love all the characters he includes in this chaos, especially the Real family and all the various dads. What he did with Yasmany totally made me tear up, and the various AI characters (Sweeps and Voragine in particular, but also Bonita and Brana) cracked me up. While some of the humor is low-brow and middle schoolish, and definitely punny, I really enjoyed it. I can see this being perfect for some of my students! I will definitely be recommending this to some of them.
Thanks to #CarlosHernandez for another great book, and to #NetGalley, #RickRiordan, and #DisneyBookGroup for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to #CarlosHernandez for another great book, and to #NetGalley, #RickRiordan, and #DisneyBookGroup for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a very nice sequel! It features a lot more of the family, friends, food, and fun that filled the first book, plus the humor and sassy tech that brought a light-hearted element to the story. It was also quite intriguing to learn more about how the multiverse works and how Sal's abilities and actions affect it. The cat is such a fun touch too; it feels very apropos to the book.
There's nothing like a humorous middle-grade book to cheer up kids at home from school during a pandemic and the second installment of the adventures of Sal and Gabi is likely to provoke plenty of laughter. Remember how Sal came up with a clever plan to help Gabi's baby brother Iggy? Well, plans like that in the multiverse come with plenty of complications. And nothing is as complicated as more Sals and more Gabis showing up and creating confusion. Why just Fix Gabi (an ectoplasmic Gabi) and Extra Gabi alone are a handful. But Stupid Sal? Whoa.
While I am sure that middle graders are going to have fun with this one, I felt that the novel's plotting was overly complicated and I have to say that there were things in the novel that just bothered me. The dash of Spanglish for ethnic color would be better if the Spanish was actually correct. Witness "cacaseca" which is two words in Castillian Spanish or just about any other brand of Spanish. We see more of this, like "rompenoche" instead of rompe noche, and basically, I feel like the Spanish is being reduced to hashtags, which is troubling. I had listened to the audiobook of the first book in the series (Break the Universe) so I went back and looked at the print edition and this is indeed the spelling that is being presented in the finished novel. I was also distressed to have Type 1 Diabetes mislabeled an autoimmune deficiency, which is really not correct. It can be a feature of some immunodysregulation syndromes but it is, strictly speaking, an autoimmune disease in which antibodies destroy islets of Langerhans cells in the pancreas. That is not an "autoimmune deficiency."
The audiobook is narrated by Anthony Rey Perez, who did a smashing job on the first book in the series.
P.S. Did love the shout out to Roshani Chokshi's Aru Shah series, though.
I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Merged review:
There's nothing like a humorous middle-grade book to cheer up kids at home from school during a pandemic and the second installment of the adventures of Sal and Gabi is likely to provoke plenty of laughter. Remember how Sal came up with a clever plan to help Gabi's baby brother Iggy? Well, plans like that in the multiverse come with plenty of complications. And nothing is as complicated as more Sals and more Gabis showing up and creating confusion. Why just Fix Gabi (an ectoplasmic Gabi) and Extra Gabi alone are a handful. But Stupid Sal? Whoa.
While I am sure that middle graders are going to have fun with this one, I felt that the novel's plotting was overly complicated and I have to say that there were things in the novel that just bothered me. The dash of Spanglish for ethnic color would be better if the Spanish was actually correct. Witness "cacaseca" which is two words in Castillian Spanish or just about any other brand of Spanish. We see more of this, like "rompenoche" instead of rompe noche, and basically, I feel like the Spanish is being reduced to hashtags, which is troubling. I had listened to the audiobook of the first book in the series (Break the Universe) so I went back and looked at the print edition and this is indeed the spelling that is being presented in the finished novel. I was also distressed to have Type 1 Diabetes mislabeled an autoimmune deficiency, which is really not correct. It can be a feature of some immunodysregulation syndromes but it is, strictly speaking, an autoimmune disease in which antibodies destroy islets of Langerhans cells in the pancreas. That is not an "autoimmune deficiency."
The audiobook is narrated by Anthony Rey Perez, who did a smashing job on the first book in the series.
P.S. Did love the shout out to Roshani Chokshi's Aru Shah series, though.
I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
While I am sure that middle graders are going to have fun with this one, I felt that the novel's plotting was overly complicated and I have to say that there were things in the novel that just bothered me. The dash of Spanglish for ethnic color would be better if the Spanish was actually correct. Witness "cacaseca" which is two words in Castillian Spanish or just about any other brand of Spanish. We see more of this, like "rompenoche" instead of rompe noche, and basically, I feel like the Spanish is being reduced to hashtags, which is troubling. I had listened to the audiobook of the first book in the series (Break the Universe) so I went back and looked at the print edition and this is indeed the spelling that is being presented in the finished novel. I was also distressed to have Type 1 Diabetes mislabeled an autoimmune deficiency, which is really not correct. It can be a feature of some immunodysregulation syndromes but it is, strictly speaking, an autoimmune disease in which antibodies destroy islets of Langerhans cells in the pancreas. That is not an "autoimmune deficiency."
The audiobook is narrated by Anthony Rey Perez, who did a smashing job on the first book in the series.
P.S. Did love the shout out to Roshani Chokshi's Aru Shah series, though.
I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Merged review:
There's nothing like a humorous middle-grade book to cheer up kids at home from school during a pandemic and the second installment of the adventures of Sal and Gabi is likely to provoke plenty of laughter. Remember how Sal came up with a clever plan to help Gabi's baby brother Iggy? Well, plans like that in the multiverse come with plenty of complications. And nothing is as complicated as more Sals and more Gabis showing up and creating confusion. Why just Fix Gabi (an ectoplasmic Gabi) and Extra Gabi alone are a handful. But Stupid Sal? Whoa.
While I am sure that middle graders are going to have fun with this one, I felt that the novel's plotting was overly complicated and I have to say that there were things in the novel that just bothered me. The dash of Spanglish for ethnic color would be better if the Spanish was actually correct. Witness "cacaseca" which is two words in Castillian Spanish or just about any other brand of Spanish. We see more of this, like "rompenoche" instead of rompe noche, and basically, I feel like the Spanish is being reduced to hashtags, which is troubling. I had listened to the audiobook of the first book in the series (Break the Universe) so I went back and looked at the print edition and this is indeed the spelling that is being presented in the finished novel. I was also distressed to have Type 1 Diabetes mislabeled an autoimmune deficiency, which is really not correct. It can be a feature of some immunodysregulation syndromes but it is, strictly speaking, an autoimmune disease in which antibodies destroy islets of Langerhans cells in the pancreas. That is not an "autoimmune deficiency."
The audiobook is narrated by Anthony Rey Perez, who did a smashing job on the first book in the series.
P.S. Did love the shout out to Roshani Chokshi's Aru Shah series, though.
I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Star Rating: 4 stars
Note: This is the 2nd and final book in the Sal and Gabi dualogy so this will not be an in-depth review.
After loving the 1st book in this dualogy, Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, I was very excited to read book 2, Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe. Although it did have some slight problems which caused me to knock it down a star, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. This volume tells the ending of Sal and Gabi and their myriad group of friends’ story as they try to recover and move on from the escapades of the 1st book.
The best thing about this book is the topics it introduces its young readers to. For instance, characters are allowed to express themselves in whatever way feels comfortable to them, and if people judge them for it, they get called out. There are conversions about not assuming anything about another person without asking- what someone’s pronouns are, what their personal boundaries may be (Gabi asks Sal if he feels comfortable being hugged or touched before she does so), and when you are viewing someone’s else work (be it art, literature, or some other form of expression), you should research or ask to see what may have influenced their work before you make an opinion on it (Be an informed viewer so that you don’t cause accidental offense!!!). Not only did I love that these issues/concerns were being addressed, but that they were handled with finesse. Characters, especially adults, showed us how to be good, open-minded, world-aware human beings through their actions and reactions, allowing the readers to see why they should act a certain way, without accusing them of acting wrong in the past.
Speaking of issues, this book dealt with some heavy but important ones. For instance, one of the characters has lost someone very important to them and has to come to terms with their grief over the course of this series and this book in particular. There are also two characters who are dealing with chronic illness and we see their struggles brought to life on the page. (Sal has type one diabetes and I have to say, as a type one diabetic myself, the representation was spot on.) Since this book features a largely Hispanic cast, immigration come up, although it isn’t at the forefront like some of these other issues (Gabi has multiple “dads” and although it is never stated on the page, I think her mom is assisting them with their immigration process and providing a safe place for them to learn and adapt to their new country.) Finally, one of the characters in this book is suffering from major abuse/neglect and readers get to see how this affects this individual, leaving physical, mental, and emotional scars, and how they recover from it.
The only thing that brought this book down for me was the whole FixGabi/Sisterverse storyline. It wasn’t necessary to the plot for that storyline to be in there and as a result, it just felt like it was thrown in to create conflict/drama. This book/series is very character-driven and in my opinion, that was its strong suit. It didn’t need FIxGabi or the Sisterverse to accomplish what it was trying to do, and that is why I took a star off.
If this book sounds interesting to you at all, then I highly suggest you read it. It is one of my favorites to come from the Rick Riordan imprint so far. 4 stars!!!!!
Note: This is the 2nd and final book in the Sal and Gabi dualogy so this will not be an in-depth review.
After loving the 1st book in this dualogy, Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, I was very excited to read book 2, Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe. Although it did have some slight problems which caused me to knock it down a star, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. This volume tells the ending of Sal and Gabi and their myriad group of friends’ story as they try to recover and move on from the escapades of the 1st book.
The best thing about this book is the topics it introduces its young readers to. For instance, characters are allowed to express themselves in whatever way feels comfortable to them, and if people judge them for it, they get called out. There are conversions about not assuming anything about another person without asking- what someone’s pronouns are, what their personal boundaries may be (Gabi asks Sal if he feels comfortable being hugged or touched before she does so), and when you are viewing someone’s else work (be it art, literature, or some other form of expression), you should research or ask to see what may have influenced their work before you make an opinion on it (Be an informed viewer so that you don’t cause accidental offense!!!). Not only did I love that these issues/concerns were being addressed, but that they were handled with finesse. Characters, especially adults, showed us how to be good, open-minded, world-aware human beings through their actions and reactions, allowing the readers to see why they should act a certain way, without accusing them of acting wrong in the past.
Speaking of issues, this book dealt with some heavy but important ones. For instance, one of the characters has lost someone very important to them and has to come to terms with their grief over the course of this series and this book in particular. There are also two characters who are dealing with chronic illness and we see their struggles brought to life on the page. (Sal has type one diabetes and I have to say, as a type one diabetic myself, the representation was spot on.) Since this book features a largely Hispanic cast, immigration come up, although it isn’t at the forefront like some of these other issues (Gabi has multiple “dads” and although it is never stated on the page, I think her mom is assisting them with their immigration process and providing a safe place for them to learn and adapt to their new country.) Finally, one of the characters in this book is suffering from major abuse/neglect and readers get to see how this affects this individual, leaving physical, mental, and emotional scars, and how they recover from it.
The only thing that brought this book down for me was the whole FixGabi/Sisterverse storyline. It wasn’t necessary to the plot for that storyline to be in there and as a result, it just felt like it was thrown in to create conflict/drama. This book/series is very character-driven and in my opinion, that was its strong suit. It didn’t need FIxGabi or the Sisterverse to accomplish what it was trying to do, and that is why I took a star off.
If this book sounds interesting to you at all, then I highly suggest you read it. It is one of my favorites to come from the Rick Riordan imprint so far. 4 stars!!!!!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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:
No
This book was fun. The characters are over the top but that is what adds to the fun. All of the adults are super supportive and loving and the kids are almost too reasonable at times but the story was so cute. If you need a fun story where everything will be ok, read this. Also I want to go to this school. It sounds wild.
Merged review:
This book was fun. The characters are over the top but that is what adds to the fun. All of the adults are super supportive and loving and the kids are almost too reasonable at times but the story was so cute. If you need a fun story where everything will be ok, read this. Also I want to go to this school. It sounds wild.
Merged review:
This book was fun. The characters are over the top but that is what adds to the fun. All of the adults are super supportive and loving and the kids are almost too reasonable at times but the story was so cute. If you need a fun story where everything will be ok, read this. Also I want to go to this school. It sounds wild.
Oh, wow. WOW. A class 8 AI TOILET!?!? And that's just the beginning. There's also a remembranation machine named Brana, Sweeps the entropy sweeper, and Rompenoche, a.k.a. the ultimate parent teacher night. Oh, and you can't forget Casa Real. And I'm still confused about Bonita's house...... Oh, and three epilogues. THREE!!!!!
If you enjoyed the first one you'll enjoy this one. I love these books so much. The narrative voice is so fun and charming and full of heart. They make me laugh and cry and laugh some more and want to hug all my family and friends.