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A review by purplemonkey
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
Wow! This was an interesting book to read without fully reading the description (the first and probably last time I'll do that).
I had actually picked out a different book with a disabled main character that was checked out at my library, so I was very pleasantly surprised to see representation in a disabled main character right at the beginning of the book, which was great, no complaints there. (edit: see bottom for why this was misleading)
The plot was unapologetically weird, which I found very enjoyable (although I was fairly disoriented when I stopped reading and returned to reality). Without reading the description, the mix of a comfortable setting of minimal white people in a school that actually cared about them, a world where simultaneously regular teenage nerds would build normal robots for fun and human-like robots and self-driving cars were commonplace, where multiverse science/superpowers were developing, and also while injustice in America continued to exist was completely different from the mythology I expected. I decided not to question it too much and honestly, the unexplained absurdity was enjoyable and refreshing. I think the reader's intrigue and character's ready acceptance of the unusual were propelling in a way that having all the answers would have prevented.
Very mild spoilers ahead
I will say that the ending took the weirdness and lack of question a little too far. The ending was incredibly abrupt and didn't allow the readers or characters to process any of the climactic events in a way that was confusing (it was especially hard to tell that the story ended since I was reading the ebook). I don't know what the resolution was supposed to be. I feel like the constant lack of normalcy made me anticipate a direction the book was going to go in but it was still in the place it started.
I thought the characters were very unique, enjoyable, and complex; however, they did not at all act or get treated like 12 or 13-year-olds. It said that they acted older than their age but with all the disconnect, I refuse to believe that they could be that young. (edit: every once in a while they would do something totally kiddish though so it was just confusing)
In general, I appreciated that the visual descriptions weren't excessive but provided the necessary information. One thing I didn't have the patience or spatial visualization skills to fully read or comprehend the costume-making scene descriptions which I slightly felt bad for, knowing that it looked carefully written and that the author consulted an expert on it.
TW: Ableism
My major complaint is that is I feel betrayed by the insensitivity towards mental illness/disability when the depiction and inclusion of physical disability (plus the fact that Sal is mentioned to have seen therapists and psychologists) promised me that ableism wasn't going to happen here, but it did.
It's one thing to repeatedly use commonplace but ableist words like cr*zy, ins*ne, idi*t, st*pid. (it is NOT HARD to Google their hurtful histories and alternatives. Disabled people have already compiled this information for you).
But it's pretty inexcusable to appropriate terms that describe significant portions of people's lives, not once, but twice. "I tiptoed over to the ... desk. Judging from it, Mr. Zacto was more OCD than I was." And later, "you're probably still suffering from post traumatic stress disorder from the death of your beautiful mother." Both were disorders that Sal is NOT SAID TO HAVE. It is NOT HARD AT ALL to avoid trivializing people's lives. (edit: I guess it might be implied that Sal has PTSD? If so, that was not at all clear and totally underdeveloped/unexplored)
This is EXACTLY what a thesaurus is for. You can't tell me you have the time to use the word "prestidigitation," but not find creative alternatives to ableist language. This was a huge turnoff that made everything else seem disingenuous. It greatly decreased my patience in trying to see how the complicated plot fit together.
I had actually picked out a different book with a disabled main character that was checked out at my library, so I was very pleasantly surprised to see representation in a disabled main character right at the beginning of the book, which was great, no complaints there. (edit: see bottom for why this was misleading)
The plot was unapologetically weird, which I found very enjoyable (although I was fairly disoriented when I stopped reading and returned to reality). Without reading the description, the mix of a comfortable setting of minimal white people in a school that actually cared about them, a world where simultaneously regular teenage nerds would build normal robots for fun and human-like robots and self-driving cars were commonplace, where multiverse science/superpowers were developing, and also while injustice in America continued to exist was completely different from the mythology I expected. I decided not to question it too much and honestly, the unexplained absurdity was enjoyable and refreshing. I think the reader's intrigue and character's ready acceptance of the unusual were propelling in a way that having all the answers would have prevented.
Very mild spoilers ahead
I will say that the ending took the weirdness and lack of question a little too far. The ending was incredibly abrupt and didn't allow the readers or characters to process any of the climactic events in a way that was confusing (it was especially hard to tell that the story ended since I was reading the ebook). I don't know what the resolution was supposed to be. I feel like the constant lack of normalcy made me anticipate a direction the book was going to go in but it was still in the place it started.
I thought the characters were very unique, enjoyable, and complex; however, they did not at all act or get treated like 12 or 13-year-olds. It said that they acted older than their age but with all the disconnect, I refuse to believe that they could be that young. (edit: every once in a while they would do something totally kiddish though so it was just confusing)
In general, I appreciated that the visual descriptions weren't excessive but provided the necessary information. One thing I didn't have the patience or spatial visualization skills to fully read or comprehend the costume-making scene descriptions which I slightly felt bad for, knowing that it looked carefully written and that the author consulted an expert on it.
TW: Ableism
My major complaint is that is I feel betrayed by the insensitivity towards mental illness/disability when the depiction and inclusion of physical disability (plus the fact that Sal is mentioned to have seen therapists and psychologists) promised me that ableism wasn't going to happen here, but it did.
It's one thing to repeatedly use commonplace but ableist words like cr*zy, ins*ne, idi*t, st*pid. (it is NOT HARD to Google their hurtful histories and alternatives. Disabled people have already compiled this information for you).
But it's pretty inexcusable to appropriate terms that describe significant portions of people's lives, not once, but twice. "I tiptoed over to the ... desk. Judging from it, Mr. Zacto was more OCD than I was." And later, "you're probably still suffering from post traumatic stress disorder from the death of your beautiful mother." Both were disorders that Sal is NOT SAID TO HAVE. It is NOT HARD AT ALL to avoid trivializing people's lives. (edit: I guess it might be implied that Sal has PTSD? If so, that was not at all clear and totally underdeveloped/unexplored)
This is EXACTLY what a thesaurus is for. You can't tell me you have the time to use the word "prestidigitation," but not find creative alternatives to ableist language. This was a huge turnoff that made everything else seem disingenuous. It greatly decreased my patience in trying to see how the complicated plot fit together.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism