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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
Yes
I absolutely love this family - hope we have even more in this series coming!
The magic and mayhem continues! Loved this sequel. A little more serious, but every bit as sweet as the first book. Excited to see what surprises await Leo and Caroline next!
adventurous
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:
Yes
I reviewed the first book last Day of the Dead (2020), but due to COVID it took a while for me to get this from my library.
It's not a Day of the Dead sequel, so I'm running this review in September this year (2021), for Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15-Oct. 15.
The story starts up close to Dia de los Reyes, Three Kings' Day, celebrated January 6. It's well after 12-year-old Leo's last baking magic fiasco resolved -- when she played with magic even though she wasn't an initiated bruja and first caused everyone at school to fall in love with a boy and then shrank him down to minuscule size.
With that prior record of causing magical calamity, you just know her next misadventure is going to be epic as well. Leo's spending more time in the bakery, and her family wants her to learn candle magic. But her best friend Caroline is feeling neglected, and a quick stop by the bakery makes it clear there's no room for Caroline in the Logrono family business.
As a result, Caroline pockets a candle for herself, but no one notices in the commotion.
The next thing Leo knows, she wakes up with her grandmother in her bedroom. The problem is, abuela is dead, muerta. Normally she appears as a ghost, but this time... she's solid. And wants some coffee.
At first Leo thinks she's come into her bruja powers, but no... this is, of course, bigger than that. This time, it's Caroline who's inadvertently called upon her family's santeria powers and resurrected -- no, not like brain-eating zombies, this is gentle middle grade misdirection, after all -- a bunch of people around town. Mrs. Leticia Morales, abuela's best friend, before they died. An old man named Old Jack, who just wants to get his garden back into shape. Mr. Nguyen, who wants to tune the piano he donated to the school.
Leo and sisters end up asking Mama for help, and Caroline stops by the bakery, and conspicuously, the one person not resurrected is Caroline's mother, who passed away and who she's been missing so much after a trip to Costa Rica without her mom.
I'll stop right there. Enjoy this mixed-up story, it's a lot of gentle, magical candle fun!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
It's not a Day of the Dead sequel, so I'm running this review in September this year (2021), for Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15-Oct. 15.
The story starts up close to Dia de los Reyes, Three Kings' Day, celebrated January 6. It's well after 12-year-old Leo's last baking magic fiasco resolved -- when she played with magic even though she wasn't an initiated bruja and first caused everyone at school to fall in love with a boy and then shrank him down to minuscule size.
With that prior record of causing magical calamity, you just know her next misadventure is going to be epic as well. Leo's spending more time in the bakery, and her family wants her to learn candle magic. But her best friend Caroline is feeling neglected, and a quick stop by the bakery makes it clear there's no room for Caroline in the Logrono family business.
As a result, Caroline pockets a candle for herself, but no one notices in the commotion.
The next thing Leo knows, she wakes up with her grandmother in her bedroom. The problem is, abuela is dead, muerta. Normally she appears as a ghost, but this time... she's solid. And wants some coffee.
At first Leo thinks she's come into her bruja powers, but no... this is, of course, bigger than that. This time, it's Caroline who's inadvertently called upon her family's santeria powers and resurrected -- no, not like brain-eating zombies, this is gentle middle grade misdirection, after all -- a bunch of people around town. Mrs. Leticia Morales, abuela's best friend, before they died. An old man named Old Jack, who just wants to get his garden back into shape. Mr. Nguyen, who wants to tune the piano he donated to the school.
Leo and sisters end up asking Mama for help, and Caroline stops by the bakery, and conspicuously, the one person not resurrected is Caroline's mother, who passed away and who she's been missing so much after a trip to Costa Rica without her mom.
I'll stop right there. Enjoy this mixed-up story, it's a lot of gentle, magical candle fun!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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:
Complicated
Anna Meriano’s A Sprinkle of Spirits is charming from start to finish. In A Dash of Trouble, Leo discovers that the women in her family are brujas and magic is one of the secret ingredients they use in their family bakery. In this sequel, Leo learns how to balance friendship and responsibility. Her training has taken up a lot of her time and as a result her friendship with her best friend Caroline has suffered. She doesn’t want to choose between Caroline and becoming the best bruja she can be, but she isn’t sure if she really has a choice. Leo’s older sisters, Isabel and Marisol, have taken opposite views, giving Leo conflicting advice on how to balance being a brujas and a “normal” girl. This, of course, confuses Leo even further. I love that Leo isn’t the only Logroño daughter who learns valuable lessons as its important for younger kids to recognize that everyone is still learning how to move in the world. I listened to the audiobook of this one narrated by the talented Kyla Garcia. She brings every character to life, lending a different voice to each character and at times it felt like a full cast recording. The second novel in the Love Sugar Magic series solidifies this MG as a must read for those looking to celebrate friendship, family, and a little magical mischief.
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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