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The Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher was published by Argyll Productions, a teensy spec-fic publisher.
This was a cute, cozy book. Mona was a capable protagonist, and a blend of mature and sheltered that felt very 14 to me. I loved all the baking stuff (although I wanted more descriptions of food), and the way magic was done in the world was cool.
One repeated idea I really enjoyed was the idea that kids shouldn't have to be saving the day- that no one should, really, and being a 'hero' often means you've been put into a terrible situation, but that kids especially shouldn't. I liked that Mona was angry about that through the end.
Despite the fact that there was a rash of murders in the book, though, and the threat hanging over the whole city, the book felt very low-stakes, which was frustrating at times. I liked that it felt cute and cozy, but that feeling was kind of at odds with some of the events happening. It had some awesome ideas, but the execution didn't quite line up.
This was a cute, cozy book. Mona was a capable protagonist, and a blend of mature and sheltered that felt very 14 to me. I loved all the baking stuff (although I wanted more descriptions of food), and the way magic was done in the world was cool.
One repeated idea I really enjoyed was the idea that kids shouldn't have to be saving the day- that no one should, really, and being a 'hero' often means you've been put into a terrible situation, but that kids especially shouldn't. I liked that Mona was angry about that through the end.
Despite the fact that there was a rash of murders in the book, though, and the threat hanging over the whole city, the book felt very low-stakes, which was frustrating at times. I liked that it felt cute and cozy, but that feeling was kind of at odds with some of the events happening. It had some awesome ideas, but the execution didn't quite line up.
