Rick Riordan Presents the Mind-Bending Delight of Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, by Carlos Hernandez
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe is the most recent wild adventure from Rick Riordan Presents. It’s a bit of a departure for this line of books, in that the adventure isn’t rooted in the mythology of a particular culture. But it should more than satisfy Riordan fans, as it shares the humor, action, and great characters of all the other books, and is strongly tied to the Cuban-American culture of Miami.
It starts with new kid Sal trying to distract a bully in a rather unorthodox way—by bringing a dead chicken from an alternate universe and into his locker. It certainly grabs Yasmany’s attention, but it gets both of them sent to the principal’s office. Gabi, student council president and editor of the school paper, rushes in to defend Yasmany, determined to prove that Sal is responsible for the chicken, even though she has no idea how he did it. Sal’s an incredibly talented magician with a marvelous skill set, but Gabi senses that this is no ordinary illusion. The chicken disappears on its own, but unfortunately the hole in the fabric of time and space that Sal opened is still inside the locker…
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This is not the only distortion in reality Sal’s responsible for. Every time he bends the universe, he inadvertently brings alternate versions of his dead mother back into his life, which (depending on that particular mother) is tremendously bittersweet or traumatic, and even though all the Mama Muertes go back home eventually, this is rather stressful for his father and step-mother…And there’s an even bigger worry. Strange particles called calamitons build up every time this happens, and no one, not even Sal’s calamity physicist father, knows what damage they might cause to our reality.
This is not the only distortion in reality Sal’s responsible for. Every time he bends the universe, he inadvertently brings alternate versions of his dead mother back into his life, which (depending on that particular mother) is tremendously bittersweet or traumatic, and even though all the Mama Muertes go back home eventually, this is rather stressful for his father and step-mother…And there’s an even bigger worry. Strange particles called calamitons build up every time this happens, and no one, not even Sal’s calamity physicist father, knows what damage they might cause to our reality.
Sal has a lot on his plate; as well as being a new kid at school, where some of the kids have quickly become suspicious of his magic, and possibly breaking the universe, he has Type 1 diabetes. Realistically, this is something he can never forget, and though it takes a considerable amount of thought, it doesn’t overwhelm his life. Which is good, because Gabi, with her keen mind and insatiable curiosity, and the problem of the calamitons, both need a lot of attention too!
Eventually Sal takes Gabi into his confidence, and together with an entropy sweeper that’s a total smart-aleck, they set off to restore balance to the universe. Fortunately, the grown-ups (the school principal, and the assorted parents) are helpful and supportive, even if they don’t know all the details of what’s really happening. But Gabi has an even more desperate worry. Her baby brother is critically ill, and she would do anything to save him. Surely, in all the multiverses where other Gabi’s have baby brothers, Sal can find a way to keep her own brother alive.
Happily, everything works out in the end! Along the way, there are plenty of school highjinks, lots of Cuban food, lots of Spanglish and snark, lots of friendships being made amongst the great, diverse group of strong characters (including the original bully, Yasmany), and lots of really wacky distortions of reality (my favorite is when the angry poultry processor from the reality from whence the deceased chicken was transported pushes her way through the back of Yasmany’s locker in search of her chicken…).
If you have a young reader on hand who’s happy to swing along with a crazy version of the world, one slightly more technologically advanced than our own, give them this book. Not much is actually explained, but this science fiction extravaganza infused with Cuban-American culture is warm, funny, and memorable as all get out! Those who loved Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson books for the snark and the constant astonishment of all that keeps happening will love this one too.