Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Sal and Gabi Break the Universe

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez

15 reviews

sabrinazj's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Incredible! I needed a pick-me-up and picked up Sal and Gabi. Laugh out loud funny (and sob out loud). These kids are smart-alecs and plain smart. Very wholesome, with a unique framing and buckets of tenderness.

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hedyharper's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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caprivoyant's review against another edition

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Picked it up for the T1D rep and stayed for the fun writing and big feelings. 🥹 Very cute.

If you're here for the disability rep: I'm not 100% sure how the T1D rep was. That's not a life experience I have, personally. But as a chronically ill person, I did notice some ableist language peppered throughout the book.

One example was something like: "He's healthy, right? That's all that matters." And other mentions of a "broken" immune system and rather flippant use of the word "paralyzed."

Which, when coming from a chronically ill character, seems antithesis to the message that particular character was trying to convey.

While disappointing, that kind of rhetoric is not unexpected when able-bodied authors write disabled characters. Will continue to search for more novels with T1D rep written by authors with T1D.

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foampittroll's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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kjurewicz's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book! Silly and fast-paced while also addressing real-world issues. The vibe reminded me a lot of Amari and the Night Brothers. A great read for upper elementary/middle school!

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some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Kinda mid ngl. Couldn't connect even though Gabi was pretty much me when I was 13, both of us were simply too annoying. At least that means teenagers are portrayed accurately bc teenagers are cringe and annoying ig?

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dandelionsteph's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

3.0

This book was disappointing: its Rick Riordan Presents imprint suggested a different sort of book from the one I ended up reading. I Rick Riordan Presents books, from what I've read so far, tend to have stronger, more overt fantasy elements and a grander scope, in which the protagonist's journey involves multiple distinct far-flung places. City of the Plague God, for example, had locations in both the mundane world and the Sumerian afterlife, and Dragon Pearl had two planets and a spaceship. Rick Riordan Presents books, again based on what I've read, also have a villain that binds the plot together and some sense of mystery. This book, however, had none of those elements: it all takes place in one municipality in Florida, and not a particularly intriguing one, either. It doesn't really have a villain, and the protagonist already has operational knowledge of how his powers work. It's not an epic fantasy, and it doesn't even bring its very premise (of "breaking the universe") to the expected dramatic tension. Between its small scope in locations and plot, this is closer to a "Junie B. Jones: First Grader" book with science fantasy elements and a much longer length than Rick Riordan's own books.

I feel that this book should have ended 3/4s in: it just didn't have the scope to justify its length.

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intherightlight's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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nicolewhopickedthisbook's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Watch the livestream discussion
https://youtu.be/kTuAO7Z-pzs

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carolined314's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A book rich in humor, friendship, and universes. Full of Cuban culture, magician's sleight of hand, parallel universes, detention, and one very special NICU baby. Also a girl with many dads, one of whom is a female-presenting robot :)

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