Love Sugar Magic Conjures A Sweet, Enchanting Tale of Family and Friendship
In this delicious middle grade novel debut by Anna Meriano, Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble, sixth grader Leonora Logroño is the youngest of five sisters in a tight-knit Mexican-American family who owns a popular bakery in Rose Hill, Texas. Tired of feeling left out when her mother and aunt recruit all of Leo’s older sisters to help in the bakery, Leo takes things into her own hands and does some snooping to find out what secrets her family could possibly be keeping from her.
Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble
Hardcover $16.99
Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble
By
Anna Meriano
Illustrator
Mirelle Ortega
In Stock Online
Hardcover $16.99
What Leo discovers is even more complicated and tempting than her mother’s recipe for pan de muerto that she bakes every year for the town’s Day of the Dead celebration—but just as sweet and enchanting. So what’s the big secret? All of the women in Leo’s family are brujas—witches!—and they mix up their magic at the family bakery. Girls are initiated and begin learning spells at the age of 15, but Leo is determined to prove that she’s not a baby and is ready to join in the family business. There’s no way she’s waiting years to practice magic.
What Leo discovers is even more complicated and tempting than her mother’s recipe for pan de muerto that she bakes every year for the town’s Day of the Dead celebration—but just as sweet and enchanting. So what’s the big secret? All of the women in Leo’s family are brujas—witches!—and they mix up their magic at the family bakery. Girls are initiated and begin learning spells at the age of 15, but Leo is determined to prove that she’s not a baby and is ready to join in the family business. There’s no way she’s waiting years to practice magic.
Finding a book of the family’s spells entitled Recetas de amor, azúcar, y magia—Recipes of Love, Sugar, and Magic—gives her just enough information to potentially start some major trouble. She begins with a couple of simple, silly spells—whirling snowflakes made of flour and some flying pig cookies—but when her best friend, Caroline, returns to school following an extended absence after her mother’s death, Leo wants to use her magic to make her friend’s life a little easier. Caroline does want to make things better between her and her good friend, Brent, after a falling out, but she’s not so sure magic is the answer. Leo, however, has enough confidence in her newfound craft for the both of them.
Leo and Caroline soon realize they are in over their heads after a love spell goes awry and an attempt to undo it makes things even worse. How will the inexperienced new bruja unravel her misfired magic? Will her mother permanently revoke her ability to practice magic? Readers will quickly tear through this charming read interspersed with delicious descriptions of yummy baked goods and even a few (non-magical) recipes to try out themselves.
Middle graders who enjoy tales of magic and strong friendships will absolutely love this book. And luckily for them, it’s just the first book in a brand-new series sure to keep readers engaged and enthralled as they follow Leo on her journey of magical discovery. Leo is a spunky, determined, and likable girl who readers will be rooting for the whole way. And the warmth and love of her family—and their amazing bakery creations—jumps off the page and into readers’ minds and hearts. Fair warning, though: Do not read this book while hungry! Even with a full belly, you may be headed to the nearest bakery or the pantry to try to mix up your own batch of pan dulce or Abuelita’s Alegrias once you crack open this sweet new read.
What do you think of Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble?