Tuesday, January 15, 2019

A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano

Cover image for A dash of trouble
Leonora is the youngest of 5 daughters in a Hispanic family that runs a bakery.  Leonora is frustrated that her mother won't let her help when the rest of the family is busy getting ready for Dia de los Muertos.  She also senses that her family is hiding something from her.  As she begins to snoop around to find out what it is, she discovers that the women in her family are "brujas" with cooking magic.  Eager to learn more of her magical heritage, her secret experiments cause more than a little trouble for her friends at school.

This has a very similar premise to Bliss by Katherine Littlewood, with a little of the Disney movie, Coco, thrown in.  It got starred reviews last year, and is an interesting look into Hispanic Bruja folklore, but I must admit I didn't like it nearly as well as Bliss. Leonora comes across as whiny and immature.  I also thought Meriano missed a chance to have a lot more fun with the magical mistakes.  I think she was trying to make them funny, but they were mostly embarrassing.  I am guessing kids will like it, but I am pretty sure I won't worry about reading the sequels.  (310 p. 2018)


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