I started reading this book before I realized it was book 2 in a series. I was so taken with the initial chapter, and also so confused about what was going on, that I stopped reading it and promptly read book 1, Sal and Gabi Break the Universe. I really enjoyed it and was all ready to dive back into Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe, so I read it and was a little let down.

You definitely need to read book 1 in order to understand book 2. It's a plus if you understand some Spanish, because there are lines of dialogue that are not translated and sometimes the author didn't offer any comprehension clues. There are a few terms I could have done without in both books - calling someone (or yourself) 'a sandwich,' for example. It got a little distracting and didn't add to the story.

This story seemed to take a long time to get off the ground, and by the time it did, you could see the ending coming a mile away. I still like the characters and I'm so glad that diverse characters are being represented. I just wish this book had a little more going for it.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the first Sal and Gabi book, so my hopes were high when I saw there was a sequel! I'm pleased to say my hopes were not disappointed. Sal and Gabi are back and they're both as charming as ever, as are all the other Gabis and Sals and Papis and various other universe versions of various characters we meet. The humor in this book is spot on and I love how well it mixes science fiction and real world problems, weaving them seamlessly into an adventure that is exciting enough for the most hardcore scifi nerd while still deeply relatable and emotionally touching. I love these characters, and I'll follow them to any other universe they travel to.

Fun and engaging characters and plot, but it doesn't quite measure up to the first book. Personally, I think the duet would have worked better as one longer (better edited) book rather than two separate titles. I genuinely loved the first book. However, by the time I was 2/3's of the way finished with the sequel I wanted to know how the story ended (since it really was the ending of the whole story) but I was not getting much new character growth, jokes, or substance. I was just skimming to get the main plot.

A joyful continuation of the Sal & Gabi universe, but one that doesn't live up to the original. Pacing felt rushed, and it was hard to follow even as a reader familiar with the events of Book 1.

I received an electronic ARC from Disney Book Group through NetGalley.
Hernandez brings us back to Culeco to see what Sal and Gabi are up to after saving Iggy and "breaking" barriers in the multiverse. Now Sal's Papi has created a machine that will seal up all holes between the universes. He's determined to prevent Sal from continuing to see Mami's in other worlds. This balances against a Gabi in another world that has been destroyed by the Gustavo in that universe so she is trying to completely destroy the membrane among the universes. Sal and Gabi are caught in the middle trying to get ready for a full theater experience for parent-teacher conferences. Culeco is putting on a full production of Alice in Wonderland for the families. Conflicts and last minute changes abound to create humorous situations throughout.
Middle grade readers will enjoy the wild ride through this fantasy adventure. Definite hint of a third book to come in the very last sentence.
The story begins slowly and wanders heavily into excessive details but rights itself and moves forward with action and story hooks to pull the reader in.

I found the first Sal and Gabi book really winning, and this one had some of those same elements (Sal as a smart, good-hearted, sometimes troublemaking protaganist, the portrayal of his stepmother and their relationship, Sal's relationship with his own medical condition/disability, the interweaving of Spanish and Cuban culture with a sci-fi story). Still, the writing and narrative here were a bit too frantic and overwhelming for me. Things did tie together a bit toward the end, but for most of the book it felt as if there were several not quite fleshed out plotlines dangling. I definitely think it will have middle grade appeal (I was a pretty teacher's pet type kid, so I might never have had a period of thinking that toilet or vomit jokes are funny, but if I did, I'm long past it now) and maybe the racing type energy will work for others, so I might just not have been the ideal reader for this book. Certainly a solid read that I'm happy to recommend, though.

Aw man, I liked this one even more than the first one! The main difference is that I read this one, while I listened to the other. And while the narrator did an excellent job with the first one, my Spanish is just not good enough for me to follow all the Spanish sentences that were incorporated into the story. While I could usually figure out the meaning from context, it was much easier with this one for me read the sentences carefully and parse out the meaning, or look up the sentences on Google translate when I couldn't quite figure it out. This story was a lot of fun and basically picked up where the other one left off, although the last one did not leave you hanging. It just continues the story. In this one, Sal's dad builds a rembranator, in an effort to patch the holes that Sal was creating in the previous book, but that results in all sorts of unforeseen effects. I really enjoy the author's combination of humor and science fiction in weaving a tale that middle school kids can really get drawn into. And his imagination of Culeco is wonderful! I seriously would love to visit a school like that! I love all the characters he includes in this chaos, especially the Real family and all the various dads. What he did with Yasmany totally made me tear up, and the various AI characters (Sweeps and Voragine in particular, but also Bonita and Brana) cracked me up. While some of the humor is low-brow and middle schoolish, and definitely punny, I really enjoyed it. I can see this being perfect for some of my students! I will definitely be recommending this to some of them.

Thanks to #CarlosHernandez for another great book, and to #NetGalley, #RickRiordan, and #DisneyBookGroup for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book chaotic and confusing, something that I honestly feared would happen. My very hazy memory of the first book in this series was that it was frenetic but not particularly memorable, which meant being dropped into the middle of the story with virtually no recollection of what happened in the last volume left me feeling disoriented and then, shortly thereafter, annoyed and disinterested. I suspect this book would be MUCH better if read back to back with volume one.

Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe picks up a few weeks after the chaos of the first book. I love Sal and Gabi so much. This book was just as much fun as the first one! I loved the friendship and adventures they have together. I adored that they were able to have meaningful conversations in a middle grade story, while still being a funny book. This is one of the best middle grades series out there right now!

This is the second installment of the Sal and Gabi series by Carlos Hernandez. The story resumes three weeks after Sal and Gabi managed to save the life of Iggy, Gabi's baby brother by tearing a whole in the space-time continuum. A rogue Gabi is now on the loose, jumping into different universes trying to stop Sal's physicist dad from sealing up all the holes that Sal had created by accidentally bringing back versions his deceased mother.

Carlos Hernandez ups the ante in writing sizzling prose that stimulates all five senses while spinning a fantastical yarn that will have kids hanging on every word. How do I know this? Many of my tutoring students devoured the first book and this one is even better. Confession: I read the first chapter to one of my students and the response was silence followed by the request (read polite demand) that this is at the top of the list when published.

Creative writing teachers take note of kid-oriented figurative language such as when characters "Scooby walk" rather than sneak past the adults.

There is not a wasted word.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney for lending me this digital ARC.

This is definitely on my To Buy list.

I was excited to see a second Sal and Gabi book. There are many things I like about these stories; Sal and Gabi are unique and adventurous. They are extremely brilliant, and they come from diverse backgrounds, but there is no diversity about them. The pair attend the perfect-for-them private school in Miami. It is alternative education at it's best. A firm, but quirky principal, steadfast and loyal friends, parents; artificial intelligence they can rely on. Sal and Gabi have it all. It's a fantasy based fictionalized story of family, life, and growing up.

In the previous book we learn that Sal has the ability to tear the universe and travel to other universe's; multiverse, as he calls them. When he and Gabi meet Sal is searching in vain for his deceased mother, and Gabi is seeking to come to terms with the health of her baby brother, Iggy. In this story, Gabi from another universe comes to see Sal, and warns him that his Papi is actually going to destroy the world. Sal isn't sure he believes her, but he is determined to find a solution. Plus, Brana, his AI-9 has recently become sentient, and FixGabi from the multiverse warns him about what will happen. Together, once again, Gabi and Sal have to seek solutions and keep all of their friends and family safe.

There are a few things about the story that will limit the audience, I believe. The author uses a lot of humor to tell the story, and a lot of sarcasm. Sometimes the dialect and comparisons get in the way of the actual story; the descriptive language, while I believe it is meant to be fun, can get in the way of the actual story and it is hard to hold on to and follow the thread.of thought.. There is a lot of Spanish dialect, which is good, but it also becomes again, hard to follow. The Cuban phrases are written, in Spanish, but also rewritten in English, which can be a bit distracting too. I'd like to think that any child could pick up these books and read them easily, but I wonder if the audience is a bit more specific than general. That said, I like the diversity and the attempt to show more about Cuban culture; I am just not certain that the average audience for which this intended will understand what the author is attempting.

The story of Sal and Gabi is so unique, and so fun. I'd love to see it succeed, because I really like the ideas presented in both of these books! I do like the attempt at diversity, and a look at what it is like to be Cuban in modern day Miami. I also like the message that being a nerd is truly a fun, unique thing to be, and I especially love the message that family can be whatever it needs to be; that there is no such thing anymore about what makes up a traditional, modern family. What matters most is being loved and accepted for being oneself.

Fantastic follow-up to Sal and Gabi Break the Universe. Hernandez has created a main character with an absolutely captivating, unique, and hilarious voice. Young readers will be completely enthralled and immersed in Sal’s adventure. As a Cuban-American, the representation in this book made me so happy- to see the vibrancy and hope embedded in my culture was wonderful. I highly recommend this book!

This is a fun adventure about a middle-school student named Sal, who is able to independently travel to other universes; he doesn't do much multiverse traveling in this volume, but its clear from the text that he did travel fairly extensively in a previous book. Sal, who has diabetes, has some interesting friends, all of whom are likewise unique in some way - Gabi, who shares his adventures and has an incredibly full head of hair, Yasmany, who is a ballet dancer, and Aventura, who makes costumes in preference to acting in the scholl's play. Sal's father is a calamity physicist who is trying to save the universe - but is his plan going to destroy it instead? Will Sal and his friends be able to stop him in time? You'll have to read the book to find out!

4 stars. This book is bonkers but it somehow works really well. I read book one about a month ago and was charmed by its wacky mix of heart, science, and jokes. I think I like book two slightly (marginally) less, but there’s still a lot to like. This is not a plot heavy book, though it seems like it would be. Nothing much “happens”, but the journey is so fun you don’t really notice. I kind of want to live in this world (and go to Culeco or at least live in the Real village) it’s so full of colors, hilarity and positivity. I absolutely love Sal, but I think my favorite characters were the handful of spunky and friendly Class Nine (and Eight) AIs. It’s a little hard to categorize because it’s obviously science fiction, but I feel like it would appeal more to young readers who like funny books more than science fiction. I hope Hernandez writes more because this world and the characters are just so fun!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this free E ARC.

Link to post on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3212069443

Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe, while an entertaining sequel, also has a lot to recommend in its own right as a story.

You'll recall that Sal Vidón, one of the titular characters, is able to pull objects through from other parallel worlds. In this follow-up adventure, he and Gabi Reál must contend with another version of Gabi from another world in the multiverse. She's gone from world to world, "saving" the Sal in each of these worlds from his father, Gustavo Vidón - who in every world is a calamity physicist trying to close-up all the holes that Sal has made between worlds.

The series is particularly enjoyable for its cast of rich characters and details: of how Gabi's family encompasses many people all recognized as her "dads." Sometimes this honor crosses gender, and even crosses species boundary; a large friendly cat, sort of in shared custody between the Reál family in two different worlds, has the honorific, "Meow-dad." One of the story's most touching scenes concerns the building of a house in the Reál family's tiny-home village for the newest addition among her "daddies."

Another enjoyable touch concerns the unique personalities of various A.I. machines.

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley and, while I understand that a pre-publication copy might need further editing, I was surprised at how often the beginnings of sentences, and the first letter of characters' names, were rendered in lowercase. One or two instances wouldn't have been worth commenting, but this went on throughout the book - and I had to wonder how and why the manuscript turned out this way.

Altogether, I think this book will be an enjoyable addition to young readers' collections in libraries.

Sal and Gabi return to Fix the Universe in this second book by Carlos Hernandez, which I believe is even better than the first book. If your students are into Sci-fi and Fantasy fiction that includes a bit of calamity physics, they will enjoy this book. Set in Florida, with a Cuban-American influence, and just a bit of pre-teen angst, this book will be sure to delight upper elementary and middle school readers.
#SalandGabiFixtheUniverseASalandGabiNovelBook2 #NetGalley

I grew up reading Rick Riordan and I'm so stoked to read the books published by Rick Riordan Presents. They're all funny, diverse, empathetic, and perfect for middle-grade children interested in mythology. I don't think SAL AND GABI FIX THE UNIVERSE works as a standalone, but it's fun nonetheless.

RTC near release day

hmmm I LOVED Sal and Gabi Break the Universe so I was stoked to get an ARC of the sequel on NetGalley. I get books on NetGalley regularly and I know these advance copies aren't yet ready for publication etc so I don't hold it against the final copy, but I have to note that this ARC was WILD in terms of capitalization, or lack thereof? Like almost no character's name was ever capitalized, which was distracting and made me wonder....does Carlos Hernadez just write his drafts entirely in lower case?? Are the characters all devotees of ee cummings and/or bell hooks??? Anyway presumably the final version will not have that but I just wanted to mention it.

ok anyway something that IS probably in the final version is just like a distracting gender issue, which is that their teacher Srx. Cosquillas makes a big deal about how he's using the gender neutral title "Srx" and in the future everyone will use "Srx" (instead of "Sr." or "Sra/Srta"). Fine, great, I'm on board BUT he also calls all of his students "dude" and "dudes" all the time? I would accept this if he made a mention of "I also believe dude is gender neutral" or something like that, an argument I've heard from others and would be fine with, but...he never mentions it and his self-described smart-aleck students never call out the contradiction.

ALSO Gabi has 7 dads, fine, this was lightly mentioned in the last book but in this book we spent more time with the dads and I just want to know why one of the dads is a woman? She has a mom and then 7 dads and one dad is a woman who does not seem to be gender non-conforming or anything along those lines. Is "Dad" a gender neutral term? Why can't she have 2 moms and 6 dads. Again, if "Cari-Dad" (the female dad) would give like a 1-sentence explanation of why she prefers to be a dad I would be fine with it but SHE NEVER DOES AND NO ONE DOES AND I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING A MOM???

anyway these are minor points that occupied a disproportionate amount of my thoughts while reading this. Is this why I liked it less than I liked the first one or is it genuinely also a weaker story? hard to say, hard to say. I still like these characters; I personally think this got a little carried away with an ambitious multiverse plot + literal talking toilet humor + a very large cast of characters? But still I think there's a lot to like here and most tween readers will probably be more into the toilet humor and less distracted by my above issues.

I love the whole idea of the Rick Riordan Presents books, and this one is even better than its predecessor in my opinion! Sal and Gabi are back at it trying to save the universe, but which Gabi is it? And what is even real? All of the favorite characters are back, and then on top of all the chaos of trying to save the universe, Culeco has a rotten egg of a shoe that Sal is tasked to help save. This book is just full of fun!

Gosh, I’ve been such a lucky reader lately. I was so excited to snag this ARC from Netgalley, and my expectations were more than met – I was blown away. I loved SAL AND GABI BREAK THE UNIVERSE, so I was super pumped to read the sequel. And it delivered! SAL AND GABI FIX THE UNIVERSE is another fantastic example of an author growing with their series; it delivers the same joyous romp through the multiverse as the first book, with the added bonus of getting to watch Carlos Hernandez look through his literary toolbox, turn it upside down, and shake it to see what comes out.

This book sidles sideways, teenager-like, into your brain. You think you’re reading a fun YA with charming characters, but suddenly you’re two-thirds of the way through and realize that you’re reading a well-developed science fiction world with rules for artificial intelligence and quantum physics. Whaaaaat? It casually takes on topics like the ultimate nature of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ while making fart jokes with a talking toilet. You think you’re reading about a school production (did I mention I adore the school in this book, and would like to sign up for my children to go there?), but then you realize that the school’s treatment of rompenoche is a literary tool, too – no spoilers, but it reflects the concept of the multiverse that grounds the entire series. Whoa. This book is the perfect teenaged blend of child and adult; serious stuff blends casually with humor in a unique outlook that whirls from magic tricks to metaphysics.

Hernandez also continues a trend I loved in the first book, which is that his teenaged characters approach inclusion with matter-of-fact sincerity; when someone suggests the prefix ‘senorx’ as a gender-neutral term, it’s adopted instantly within the entire narrative with very little comment (including the in-text use of the abbreviated ‘srx’). There’s casual reference to a character being aromantic; the principal’s spouse is nonbinary. None of this stuff gets or needs extra commentary or explanation; it’s just part of the world, the way it should be.

And then there’s the language. Languages, I should say. The narrative slips smoothly through seamless transitions – I don’t even know if you can call them transitions, because everything is so completely integrated – between two languages. I’ve long been a proponent of not italicizing non-english words, and this book is like a masterclass in why and how it works. Sal and his friends are bilingual at different levels – some characters speak both languages fluently, others are more halting, others are still learning one or the other. But we get to hear from all of them in their own unique voices, blending the two languages, and it’s so well done that even the most plodding English-speaker (yours truly, who speaks exactly zero words of Spanish) easily sails along with the narrative. Translations are done casually, in dialog or internal monologue, and they don’t break the flow at all because translating is also part of the story – someone is explaining something to another character, or thinking about what something means in a wider perspective. It’s so well done!

And finally, we get to the best part about this book. The voice. I LOVED Sal’s narrative in BREAK THE UNIVERSE; it gets even better in FIX THE UNIVERSE. There’s nothing awkward about Sal’s narrative in this book; we’re fully inhabiting his character and he’s a genuine delight. Some of this is because now we know him – there’s less need for backstory in a book two – but some of it is just that Hernandez has gotten even better at writing this unique voice. Sal’s banter is nonstop – and it’s not all out loud. He even banters with himself. It’s when he’s interacting with his beloved family and friends that he shines the most, though. There’s genuine emotion spilled everywhere in this book, and there’s even a new word for it. I still adore American Stepmom and her ‘phew babies,’ but a new term has vaulted into my lexicon: I’ll never stop smeeping.