Love Sugar Magic: A Sprinkle of Spirits

by Anna Meriano

Intermediate    Walden Pond/HarperCollins    320 pp.

2/19    978-0-06-249849-6    $16.99

Following her discovery in Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble (rev. 3/18) that she (like all the females in her family) is a bruja, Leonora Logroño is busy learning about potions and spells while working in the family’s bakery, Amor y Azúcar Panaderia. Such intense study, however, locks out her BFF Caroline, so Caroline (who acquired a little knowledge of spells in the earlier book), decides to try a little brujería on her own. She manages to bungle a spell to see her recently deceased mother once again, summoning a gang of spirits from el Otro Lado. A wide-ranging cast of characters (fully introduced in the first volume, but perhaps confusing for those new to the series) tries to contain the spirits and send them back; the result is pure slapstick, conjuring up images of the Keystone Cops playing Whac-A-Mole. Meriano smoothly incorporates universal pre-adolescent issues of friendship and family relationships throughout, as well as including a poignant scene in which the spirit of Caroline’s mother discusses the grieving process. With an intriguing epilogue, it appears that the Logroño family may be cooking up yet another volume in the series. Buen provecho!

From the July/August 2019 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.