MARCH 2018 - AudioFile
Listeners will delight in this fun debut, the first installment in a planned series. Leonora is an 11-year-old Tejano girl who has recently discovered that her family’s tradition of baking is rooted in brujería—witchcraft. Narrator Kyla Garcia switches deftly from an English narration to a Spanish recitation of the magical recipes in Leo’s family’s old cookbook. Leo isn’t fluent in Spanish, so she uses a dictionary to translate the recipes, ensuring that listeners who don’t know Spanish will still understand the essential ingredients. The diverse supporting characters are well developed, aided by Garcia’s exceptional narration. Each character gets their own voice that fits their personality. These ingredients imbue the audiobook with a little magic of its own, sure to create loyal fans of the new series. S.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
11/13/2017
In this effervescent kickoff to the Love Sugar Magic series, Leonora “Leo” Logroño is tired of being the baby of the family: her four older sisters all speak Spanish and get to help out at the family bakery, especially as they prepare for Diá de los Muertos. Then Leo discovers that her mother and sisters are actually brujas, able to bake magic spells into their pastries. “Our power comes from the magic of sweetness,” explains one sister. “Sweetness from love and sweetness from sugar.” Leo will be initiated at age 15, but she can’t wait to try her hand at magic, resulting in a love spell that goes horribly wrong. Meriano’s first novel is steeped in Mexican culture, family lore, and delicious baked goods. Readers who don’t speak Spanish will share in Leo’s confusion (the magical recipes are all written in Spanish), and those who do will enjoy being in on the family’s secrets. A warmhearted read that will satisfy readers and leave them eager for a second helping. Art not seen by PW. A Cake Literary property. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Literary. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
★ “Meriano builds a wonderful contemporary world in small-town Texas, full of diverse characters, where magic feels right at home and muggles will feel equally welcome. A series opener that’s proof that windows and mirrors can be magical ingredients.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★ “A delectable debut with wide appeal.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
★ “Full of spirit and humor, A Dash of Trouble truly is love, sugar and magic.” — Shelf Awareness (starred review)
“The power of friendship and family bonds, as well as how good intentions can end badly, are strong themes that will resonate with middle-grade readers. Leo is a funny, lovable protagonist, and readers will feel right at home in this cozy series starter.” — ALA Booklist
“Meriano sets up a promising premise for a sweetly joyful series.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Chock full of humor, magic, friendship and sisterhood, Anna Meriano’s debut launches a new series that celebrates Mexican-American culture and traditions.” — BookPage
Shelf Awareness (starred review)
★ “Full of spirit and humor, A Dash of Trouble truly is love, sugar and magic.
ALA Booklist
The power of friendship and family bonds, as well as how good intentions can end badly, are strong themes that will resonate with middle-grade readers. Leo is a funny, lovable protagonist, and readers will feel right at home in this cozy series starter.
BookPage
Chock full of humor, magic, friendship and sisterhood, Anna Meriano’s debut launches a new series that celebrates Mexican-American culture and traditions.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Meriano sets up a promising premise for a sweetly joyful series.
School Library Journal
★ 11/01/2017
Gr 3–6—Amor y Azúcar Panadería (Love and Sugar Bakery) is bustling on the eve of Dia de los Muertos, and all Leonora Logroño wants to do is help. But as the youngest of five sisters, Leo is repeatedly told she is too young to participate in the family business. Leo resorts to sneaking, and discovers that Mama, Tia, and her sisters are brujas, and there is more to their baked goods than just sugar and flour. Anxious to explore her own potential abilities, Leo steals a book of magical recipes and begins experimenting, leading to various mishaps. Tradition is a prominent theme in this debut, but instead of leading to conflict, Meriano depicts a family that is open and accepting of change, while still honoring long-standing family customs. Leo, despite feeling left out, has very supportive older sisters who guide her misadventures, and ultimately, along with the elder women (even Abuela, whose ghost keeps an eye on the family), shape Leo's magical development. Spell recipes are included in the text entirely in Spanish, which Leo, as a nonspeaker, must decipher using a bilingual dictionary. Back matter includes additional nonmagical recipes for pan de muerto and amaranth bars that should keep readers busy until the next installment in the series. VERDICT A delectable debut with wide appeal, and a must-have for middle grade fiction collections.—Jessica Agudelo, New York Public Library
MARCH 2018 - AudioFile
Listeners will delight in this fun debut, the first installment in a planned series. Leonora is an 11-year-old Tejano girl who has recently discovered that her family’s tradition of baking is rooted in brujería—witchcraft. Narrator Kyla Garcia switches deftly from an English narration to a Spanish recitation of the magical recipes in Leo’s family’s old cookbook. Leo isn’t fluent in Spanish, so she uses a dictionary to translate the recipes, ensuring that listeners who don’t know Spanish will still understand the essential ingredients. The diverse supporting characters are well developed, aided by Garcia’s exceptional narration. Each character gets their own voice that fits their personality. These ingredients imbue the audiobook with a little magic of its own, sure to create loyal fans of the new series. S.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2017-10-01
In the small town of Rose Hill, Texas, the Logroño family runs a truly magical bakery in Meriano's debut.Leo, short for Leonora, is the youngest of five sisters in a Mexican-American family. Leo feels left out as the older girls step up to help run the family bakery while she watches from the sidelines. Convinced that secrets are being kept from her, Leo skips school to do some reconnaissance and stumbles upon, first, the other women of the family participating in a mysterious ceremony and then, later, an old book titled Recetas de amor, azúcar, y magia, or Recipes of Love, Sugar, and Magic. When eldest sister Isabel discovers Leo with the book, she confirms Leo's suspicions that something is being kept from her: the women of her family are brujas, or witches. Though Isabel warns her against it, Leo decides to pursue her magical training independently, guided by the enigmatic recipe book, and uses the recipes to help her friends out of sticky situations. When things inevitably misfire, Leo finds she is on her own to right her magical mistakes. In this weave of Mexican, Texan, and American cultures, readers are sure to find mirrors to their own experiences and windows onto others, all wrapped in a fantastical bow. Scrupulously avoiding tokenism, Meriano builds a wonderful contemporary world in small-town Texas, full of diverse characters, where magic feels right at home and muggles will feel equally welcome.A series opener that's proof that windows and mirrors can be magical ingredients. (Fantasy. 8-12)
