★ 12/17/2018
In this charming middle grade romp, 13-year-old Sal Vidón, a type 1 diabetic and amateur magician with the inexplicable ability to open holes in the space-time continuum, adjusts to his new life at Miami’s Culeco Academy of the Arts. It’s not easy: the teachers are eccentric, his fellow students think he’s a brujo (a bad witch), and every so often Sal brings versions of his deceased mother—“Mami Muerta”—over from other dimensions, much to his father and stepmother’s consternation. Making friends with ambitious journalist Gabi Real and her unconventional family helps ease the transition. When Gabi’s hospitalized baby brother takes a turn for the worse, Sal’s power might just be the solution they need—unless it destroys the universe. This vibrant tale from Cuban-American Hernandez (The Assimilated Cuban’s Guide to Quantum Santeria for adults) is peppered with Spanish dialogue and slang, filled with mouthwatering plates of Cuban cuisine, and highly inclusive, featuring a sprawling, memorable cast, including Gabi’s collection of gender-spanning dads. A nonstop sense of wonder accompanies a genuinely heartwarming and humorous tone, and Sal and Gabi are clearly a fictional team destined for greatness. Ages 8–12. Agent: DongWon Song, Morhaim Literary. (Mar.)
"Sal and Gabi Break the Universe is beautiful, bonkers, and filled to the brim with a fiercely unstoppable joy."—William Alexander, National Book Award-winning author of A Properly Unhaunted Place
"An extraordinary adventure about family and friendship, pulled off with show-stopping style. If Harry Houdini, Mr. Rogers, and Dr. Stephen Hawking wrote a book together, it might come close to the wonder, magic, and metaphysics of Carlos Hernandez's Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, but only Hernandez can bring the magnificent Sal Vidon, the brilliant Gabi Real, their families, and fellow students at Culeco Academy of the Arts to life. This book is a delight and a must-read."—Fran Wilde, Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award Finalist; author of Updraft
"Artfully balancing sf antics with a meaningful exploration of grief, Hernandez fills his fast-paced novel with an intriguing blend of sf, folklore, and Cuban culture and populates it with delightfully well-rounded, clever, and exceptionally kind characters, all in a lively, distinctive voice. With a compelling cliff-hanger ending, this engrossing adventure is sure to leave readers excitedly anticipating the next installment."—Booklist (starred review)
"This book is good-hearted, funny, magical, and absolutely unputdownable. I fell in love with all the characters and want to keep reading about them forever."—Tina Connolly, author of the Seriously Wicked Series
"The story moves quickly, with lots of multiverse traffic, school hijinks, and strong, smart, diverse characters. Most are Cuban-American in various shades of brown, like Sal, Gabi, and Yasmany, and Hernandez effortlessly folds in multiple intersectionalities, including Sal's diabetes and Gabi's unusual, delightfully matter-of-fact family structure. Secondary characters receive as much care and love as the primary cast, and readers will find themselves laughing out loud and rooting for Sal, Gabi, and even Yasmany until the very end. This book, drenched in Cuban Spanish and personality, is a breath of fresh air."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"This vibrant tale from Cuban-American Hernandez (The Assimilated Cuban’s Guide to Quantum Santeria for adults) is peppered with Spanish dialogue and slang, filled with mouthwatering plates of Cuban cuisine, and highly inclusive, featuring a sprawling, memorable cast, including Gabi’s collection of gender-spanning dads. A nonstop sense of wonder accompanies a genuinely heartwarming and humorous tone, and Sal and Gabi are clearly a fictional team destined for greatness."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
*"Delightfully weird, this is unlike any other book in the middle grade canon. Hernandez has managed to include conflict and excitement into his first novel for young people . . . Fans who enjoyed Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and Rick Riordan’s works will love Sal and Gabi, as will readers looking for upbeat fiction with Spanish-speaking characters. Hernandez offers a rip-roaring and emotionally resonant sci-fi adventure. A must-have for middle school or upper elementary libraries . . ."—School Library Journal (starred review)
★ 02/01/2019
Gr 4–8—Sal Vidón is attending a new school, with new bullies and new teachers who don't understand the needs of a student with Type 1 diabetes. He also causes rips in time and space by transporting objects from other universes. Sometimes he transports harmless prank items, but sometimes he goes home to find his long-dead mother cooking yucca in the kitchen. When Sal meets Gabi Reál, student body president and all-around firebrand, they begin a friendship that may break the universe—or save it. Delightfully weird, this is unlike any other book in the middle grade canon. Hernandez has managed to include conflict and excitement into his first novel for young people, without falling into the trap of unrealistic villainy. Every character is doing their best, even when that best doesn't turn out well. Readers need to be comfortable with a suspension of disbelief and accept unexplained backstories. Many elements of the story, like Sal's superpowers and Gabi's family dynamics (including a robot parent,) are left mostly unexplained. Fans who enjoyed Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and Rick Riordan's works will love Sal and Gabi, as will readers looking for upbeat fiction with Spanish-speaking characters. VERDICT Hernandez offers a rip-roaring and emotionally resonant sci-fi adventure. A must-have for middle school or upper elementary libraries, especially where there are science fiction and fantasy fans.—Jeri Murphy, C.F. Simmons Middle School, Aurora, IL
Narrator Anthony Rey Perez dives in and out of English and Spanish, giving this audiobook the ambiance of Cuban-American culture. He skillfully interprets the mix of realistic and fantastic events and maintains the fast pace of this compelling listen. He is outstanding at portraying hero Salvador Vidon, a magician with a secret. Since his mother died, Sal has created tears in the universe through which he brings in objects from other worlds and versions of his Mami. He finds friendship and partnership with sensitive Gabi Real, whom Perez depicts expertly, along with her large, strange family. Perez fully captures these two heroes, their growing regard for each other, and their creative collaborations. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2019 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Narrator Anthony Rey Perez dives in and out of English and Spanish, giving this audiobook the ambiance of Cuban-American culture. He skillfully interprets the mix of realistic and fantastic events and maintains the fast pace of this compelling listen. He is outstanding at portraying hero Salvador Vidon, a magician with a secret. Since his mother died, Sal has created tears in the universe through which he brings in objects from other worlds and versions of his Mami. He finds friendship and partnership with sensitive Gabi Real, whom Perez depicts expertly, along with her large, strange family. Perez fully captures these two heroes, their growing regard for each other, and their creative collaborations. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2019 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
★ 2018-12-16
Salvador Vidón is the new kid at Miami's magnet school Culeco Academy of the Arts, but being at a special school doesn't protect Sal from trouble.
Bullies are everywhere, but seventh-grader Sal knows just how to handle a difficult kid like Yasmany Robles. Obviously, you deal with a bully by opening a portal into another universe, taking a raw chicken from it, and planting it in the bully's locker. But you cannot just go opening portals into other universes without some consequences. For one, Sal gets sent to the principal on only his third day at Culeco and in the process meets Gabi Reál, who isn't buying Sal's innocent-magician act. The more pressing issue is that when Sal opens portals, sometimes his deceased mother comes through from alternate universes where she still exists—Mami Muerta, in Sal's words. But if you could bring your dead mother back, wouldn't you? The story moves quickly, with lots of multiverse traffic, school hijinks, and strong, smart, diverse characters. Most are Cuban-American in various shades of brown, like Sal, Gabi, and Yasmany, and Hernandez effortlessly folds in multiple intersectionalities, including Sal's diabetes and Gabi's unusual, delightfully matter-of-fact family structure. Secondary characters receive as much care and love as the primary cast, and readers will find themselves laughing out loud and rooting for Sal, Gabi, and even Yasmany until the very end.
This book, drenched in Cuban Spanish and personality, is a breath of fresh air. (Science fiction. 10-13)
