Sal Vidón is adjusting to his new life in Miami where he is attending Culeco Academy of the Arts. During his first few days of school, Sal deals with a bully in a rather unique way. He opens a portal to another universe and a dead chicken appears in the boy's locker. Partly because of student council president and journalist for the school paper, Gabi Real, all of his classmates think he is a brujo, a witch. Sal is struggling at home, as well, because his parents and American stepmom aren't too pleased that he can also bring his deceased mother over from another universe. Sal must manage his unexplainable powers before he destroys the universe, but they are much needed when Gabi's brother's life is in danger. The characters in this book are unique and diverse and there is lots of humor. The book is a lot of fun, but it's also one with heart. Fans of science fiction, especially, will enjoy this one.

This is a playful middle school romp that nonetheless deals with some serious topics such as death, bullying, and quantum physics. Having just started at a new school in Miami, 7th grader Sal is able to solve many of his problems by using magic, both normal and extraordinary. It's not long before he has befriended Gabi, the class president and newspaper editor, because amazingly enough she can understand and appreciate his super powers. There is laugh-out-loud comedy to offset the sadness of a dead mother and dying baby. Hernandez must have had fun dreaming up all the names of Gabi's dads, (such as Daditarium, Dada-dada-dada-Dadman, and Grizzly Dad'ums) and indeed he seems very fond of all his characters, even the adults and the bully. The first of a series, readers who enjoy zany characters and capers more than realism will be looking forward to the next installment

What a fun book!!! What can I say? The voice, the Spanglish, the characters, everything! It made me laugh so many times, and several times I'd look up from the page and have this glow in my heart. I'm so happy this book exists! Little me would have LOVED it!

I loved Sal and Gabi. What an amazing cast of characters!!

I have been excitedly keeping up with the Rick Riordan books and this one is my favorite so far. It has the strongest characters of all the books so far. You cannot help but fall in love with this cast and delight with them on all of their adventures.

Take Sal, he is a skilled magician, goofy, in touch with his feelings, manages his diabetes like a pro, and he and his Papi and American Stepmom just moved to a new town. In the new town, he gets to attend Cuelco, (I need to go to this school!!) an incredible art school full of wonderful courses and quirky teachers and students. Sal got into the school based on his magic skills, and part of the book is about how he adjusts to his school and as a new kid with his talents.

One of the friends he makes is Gabi, and she is going to rule the entire planet. She is also hilarious, brilliant (emotionally and academically), hard working, and has an incredibly loving family with some tough things going on. Gabi cannot really be described, but when you read and get to know Gabi, you’ll likely love her too. Gabi gets things done and she always gives Sal a run for his money.

This pair does it all together. They navigate some tough life moments, create art together, and oh yeah, they also need to save the universe. As some other reviewers have mentioned, I found some of the world building (of the more surrealist parts) could use some additional detail, but perhaps that was part of the point. Regardless, the lives and characters of this book were so rich that perhaps that was world building enough. I have to note that the strong Cuban American representation was great (and often made me hungry during food scenes !!) as well has different types of families representation. I feel like the characters are real and I badly want to be friends with them and join in at Cuelco and their adventures. I didn’t want this book to end because I loved these characters so much, and so I sincerely cant wait for book 2!!

*On note on age range— I would say that this book is probably for 5th grades or similarly strong readers. I wish I could pass it to my third graders, but realistically I just know they wouldn’t get a lot of it yet (not because it is inappropriate, just because of the moving layers of the story and reading level).*

This book is so much fun. Giggles abound yet this book doesn’t shy away from grief or tough issues either. You’ll love it.

Highly enjoyable, if at times a bit confusing due to a lack (intentionally, I believe) of clear world building/explanatory narrative, Sal and Gabi Break the Universe is the second sci-fi entry into the Rick Riordan Presents series. While I remain highly ambivalent about including sci-fi works in this series in general, I have to admit this particular book looks likely to be a huge hit with kids and I'm certainly looking forward to reading the second book in the series. Hernandez manages to hit notes of humor, hope, tragedy, and adventure with great skill and pitched perfectly for the recommended ages 8-12 audience.

I LOVED this book. So funny, clever, and moving with a hugely lovable cast of diverse characters. Another great offering from the Rick Riordan Presents line--truly follows through on its premise of providing great readalikes for the Percy Jackson et al books.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

I found this story to be highly entertaining, especially as it's infused with the irrepressible showmanship of Sal, a budding stage magician. One of the book’s unique touches is to share in great detail what it is like to be a Type-1 diabetic. I also appreciate the nuance that went into many of the story’s portrayals.

This books was SO fun. I read it aloud to my 8- and 12-year-old kids and we all laughed SO much. In fact, I'm not sure we've ever laughed so much while reading another book, and we read a LOT. It's got wonderful elements of family and friendship mixed in with a wild, fantastical elements and we cannot WAIT for the next one!