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Title | Sal & Gabi Break the Universe
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Author | Carlos Hernandez
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Cover Art | Guilherme Asthma
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Publisher | Disney Hyperion - 2019
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First Printing | Disney Hyperion - 2020
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Title | Sal & Gabi Fix the Universe
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Author | Carlos Hernandez
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Cover Art | Phil Buchanan & Shelby Kahr
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Publisher | Disney Hyperion - 2020
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First Printing | Disney Hyperion - 2021
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Category | Middle Grade
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Warnings | None
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Main Characters | Sal, Gabi, Yasmany, and a whole pile of "Dads"
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Main Elements | Robots, parallel universes, A.I.
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Website | ---
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 Sal & Gabi Break the Universe
How did a raw chicken get inside Yasmany's locker?
When Sal Vidon meets Gabi Real for the first time, it isn't under the best of circumstances. Sal is in the principal's office for the third time in three days, and it's still the first week of school. Gabi, student council president and editor of the school paper, is there to support her friend Yasmany, who just picked a fight with Sal. She is determined to prove that somehow, Sal planted a raw chicken in Yasmany's locker, even though nobody saw him do it and the bloody poultry has since mysteriously disappeared.
Sal prides himself on being an excellent magician, but for this sleight of hand, he relied on a talent no one would guess . . . except maybe Gabi, whose sharp eyes never miss a trick. When Gabi learns that he's capable of conjuring things much bigger than a chicken--including his dead mother--and she takes it all in stride, Sal knows that she is someone he can work with. There's only one slight problem: their manipulation of time and space could put the entire universe at risk.
A sassy entropy sweeper, a documentary about wedgies, a principal who wears a Venetian bauta mask, and heaping platefuls of Cuban food are just some of the delights that await in this mind-blowing novel gift-wrapped in love and laughter.
Sal & Gabi Fix the Universe
Will Sal's Papi destroy the universe?
Papi, a calamity physicist, believes he has made a breakthrough
I love Riordan's books, they are funny but also serious, but I wasn't sure what to expect from a different author, even though Riordan gave his stamp of approval. Well I need not have worried, I LOVED this duology.
Sal wants to grow up to be a stage magician, so he's got his pockets full of regular tricks, but he also has the power to reach into other universes and pull things through...like raw chickens to get back a bullies...but also his mom who passed away from diabetes. See Sal has diabetes too (so this book isn't all snarks and giggles), so we learn what it's like to live with that.
Well I thought I would continue with the summary but really there's so much stuffed into two books! There the school Sal attends, for artists and dancers, producers and costume designers (and now one magician), a place where even the teachers dress up to go to school, an amazingly wild place...did I mention the level nine AI toilet that will talk to you? Yes, while Sal is a kind of magician everything is else is kind of science-y, so decided to group these books under science fiction, maybe there's a scientific reason Sal can do what he does too? There are robots, AI's and calamity physicists who want to fix the world but my unintentionally destroy all universes. Hummingbird drones and crystal balls to carry babies in. I decided that whatever universe this takes place it, it isn't ours, but doesn't mean there isn't a Sal & Gabi running around somewhere in our 'verse.
And since this is a school there are a lot of different students, some who have a wonderful home life like Sal, others not so much. Sometimes people will say the wrong thing and then you have to put it right. There are bullies, overachievers and the quiet ones that can surprise you. And sometimes everyone is just having fun. And making fart jokes, but as Sal pointed out he's a boy in grade 7, he spends several hours a day considering fart jokes (and the space station scene...most epic fart scene ever).
I only wish I could read Spanish. Of course where it was important it would get translated but generally you had to guess what the person said. I've read books that treated French the same way and I know I get a little smidge of pleasure knowing I understood every word while other readers had to guess (or google), but here I was in that other group scratching their heads. But I don't think Hernandez should have done it differently, challenging your readers a little is not a bad thing. Cuban American slang, the food, the culture, the people, the only thing I felt this was missing in a Riordan themed series was delving into Cuban/Spanish mythology/folklore.
But the laughs and wonderful characters made up for it. I laughed...a lot. Highly recommend this series.
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