A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

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I was really sad at the end this was a standalone novel since I loved being in this world with a wizard who learned how baking could help to save a kingdom.

He was steadying himself with a hank of hair in one hand, and with the other he reached up and caught the tears I hadn’t known I was crying. This book was the kind of story I wish I had when I was a teen—just the right amount of sarcasm and dark humor mixed with incredible worldbuilding and a nonstop storyline.But uh, the secondary character I might have developed a really bad crush on was head of the guard Joshua. You won’t find world building on the scale of an epic fantasy here, but what you will get is a surprisingly touching and exciting plot in which the magic system plays a vital role. She accidentally made a sourdough starter familiar when she was terrified and now it is sorta alive, burbles at her when she comes to feed it or grab some material off it to make bread and she has named it Bob. What I do hate quite very much indeed—and with a murderous vengeance—is crap stuff like this, crap stuff like this and crap stuff like this.

But that is just the start of her troubles because there is a killer in the city and this assassin seems to be targeting magicas - minor ones like Mona. She is a sensible 14-year-old girl who makes for a great protagonist, not only because she is relatable (as much as a wizard can be, I guess) but because her concerns are so very normal. Story gets told, ideas get presented, world gets saved, and just keep the sourdough starter firmly in place or it'll get weird ideas.Think of all the scenes in Shrek that involve gingerbread people and you have a glimpse into this absurdly entertaining, totally charming novel.

Determined to save her city and also just wanting to go back to normal so she can be an apprentice baker in her aunt’s bakery again.

Disclaimer: I don’t bake (unless burning something to a crisp can be considered baking), and apparently neither does T. For the most part while I read this book I thought I only really cared about Mona, but woe the day when somebody threatens Bob or Mona’s aunt Tabitha. The story is abominably fluffy at times, but it is quite marvellously darkly dark for the most part. She has been nominated for the World Fantasy and the Eisner, and has won the Hugo, Sequoyah, Nebula, Alfie, WSFA, Coyotl and Ursa Major awards, as well as a half-dozen Junior Library Guild selections.

It’s worse when the city inquisitor decides to accuse you of the murder, for no particularly good reason.I think it would be okay for some intermediate/middle school students who like a little bit of dark but not scary humour.