Fourteen year old Mona is a baker but she is also a not-very-powerful wizard - her medium of choice is dough. She can make pastries dance and bread light and fluffy - nothing extreme or dangerous. But when someone starts killing off all the wizards her minor wizard status doesn't matter and she has to run or be killed. But the people killing off the wizards have to be stopped and Mona doesn't let her lowly abilities stop her - a wizard's got to do what a wizard's got to do.
This was a quick and fun story that I think would appeal to young readers. The plot was straightforward and clearly explained: a bit too clearly for my tastes, with heavy-handed social commentary, but then I’m certainly not young! I liked that Mona had a good relationship with her aunt and uncle. She did came across as younger than her stated 14, especially in the medieval-ish setting. She struck me more as an observer and pushed around by circumstances (and other people’s actions/decisions) than having her own agency, which added to the “young” feel. The gingerbread man was fun.
With an immortal carnivorous sourdough starter named Bob (who may or may not count as a familiar).
In case that's not enough to convince you:
Teenage assistant baker Mona's only magic talent is with bread. She can make it staler or fresher, keep it from burning, make gingerbread men dance, and occasionally something more dramatic like Bob. (Bob was an accident, but he's quite handy around the bakery.) She wasn't prepared to be suspect number one in a rash of wizard murders, live on the run, or to protect the city from a threat as its only remaining mage.
Fun characters, fun concepts, and a quest that runs through the city's worst slums to the palace. Mona has to navigate both from her comfortable shopkeeper's life, learning what happens when the system she relied on to protect her is turned against her. And how the system can be manipulated against …
With an immortal carnivorous sourdough starter named Bob (who may or may not count as a familiar).
In case that's not enough to convince you:
Teenage assistant baker Mona's only magic talent is with bread. She can make it staler or fresher, keep it from burning, make gingerbread men dance, and occasionally something more dramatic like Bob. (Bob was an accident, but he's quite handy around the bakery.) She wasn't prepared to be suspect number one in a rash of wizard murders, live on the run, or to protect the city from a threat as its only remaining mage.
Fun characters, fun concepts, and a quest that runs through the city's worst slums to the palace. Mona has to navigate both from her comfortable shopkeeper's life, learning what happens when the system she relied on to protect her is turned against her. And how the system can be manipulated against itself. She makes mistakes in the process -- sometimes annoying mistakes, but the kind that makes sense for a teenager to make.
Also: Lots of creative uses of very specific magic abilities. One mage can only work with water...but they can use it to make two surfaces vibrate in sync to transmit sound. Another can only work with air...but is able to use smell and gases to strong effect. Another can only reanimate dead horses.
My 12-year-old son loved it, so of course I had to read it too. Definitely recommended!
Review of "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
4.0 A nice little narrative with engaging characters that avoids hero worshipping. It's a little predictable with the character deaths and the worldbuilding is quite basic, except for the magic, but overall it's very enjoyable. The main thing that annoyed me is the disparity between the city descriotions in the first and second half. First it's all canals and open waterways, then it seems like a traditional kind of city with a big wall all around. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with a couple of sentences, but I really wanted to see some difficulties with transporting the "baked goods" to the gates.
Review of "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
Starts out as fairly generic whimsical fantasy YA, then takes a Pratchett-esque turn, and becomes a different, but still enjoyable story. One that involves a carnivorous sourdough starter named Bob.
Review of "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Mona is a young baker with magical talent who suddenly finds herself with the fate of her entire cities (and an animated gingerbread man) on her shoulder. Fun YA fantasy novel from an author I hadn't read before, but definitely will seek out more.
Do not be bound by what seems foolish or impossible. In magic, creativity is as important as knowledge.
This was exactly what I expect from a T. Kingfisher book: something equal parts creepy and cozy, with a mix of really nice people doing their best in a world that is pretty dark when you look at it. I really liked the magic system here (although now I'm a bit afraid of that sourdough starter in my kitchen). The plot was fun and engrossing. A lot of the characters here are fun and memorable—my favorites are probably Spindle and Aunt Tabitha.
Funnily enough, the one character I had trouble connecting to was Mona, the MC/narrator of the story. Or rather, it's not that I had trouble connecting to her; it's that I kept thinking she'd be better off far away from all this main character business. I don't mind reluctant protagonists, …
Do not be bound by what seems foolish or impossible. In magic, creativity is as important as knowledge.
This was exactly what I expect from a T. Kingfisher book: something equal parts creepy and cozy, with a mix of really nice people doing their best in a world that is pretty dark when you look at it. I really liked the magic system here (although now I'm a bit afraid of that sourdough starter in my kitchen). The plot was fun and engrossing. A lot of the characters here are fun and memorable—my favorites are probably Spindle and Aunt Tabitha.
Funnily enough, the one character I had trouble connecting to was Mona, the MC/narrator of the story. Or rather, it's not that I had trouble connecting to her; it's that I kept thinking she'd be better off far away from all this main character business. I don't mind reluctant protagonists, and the combination of her age, personality and the magnitude of the events she was facing, it made sense that she remained pretty timid throughout the book. But I guess for some reason I expected an MC who grows a bit more assertive and bold for this kind of story? I don't know. It's just me.
Overall, I liked this book less than some other middle grade novels by the same author, such as Castle Hangnail or Minor Mage, but it was still really enjoyable and interesting.
Review of "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
5/5
Absolutely great book! I loved the idea of the various types of minor magic and clever uses of them throughout the story. The main character’s magic is just so cute and well done. Absolutely loved how she uses it to make cookies dance and the pet sourdough starter was amazing! It was a great comforting read and highly recommended.
Review of "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This is probably closer to a 3.5 for me. I did mostly enjoy it but there were two things that bothered me: 1) the Duchess is essentially the monarch of the land and when the kids tell her there's a possible plot to overthrow her, she bursts out crying; 2) During the middle of a battle, the aunt - who the author has gone to great pains to make clear that this is a hefty no-nonsense woman - stands around wringing her hands. Literally wringing her hands.
Why?
This was written by a woman and features a 14 year old girl as a protagonist. Why have the two most important women in this girl's life be USELESS in times of stress? From the author's note, I see that maybe this wasn't really intended to be a children's book, but as a woman I don't understand why you'd portray a powerful …
This is probably closer to a 3.5 for me. I did mostly enjoy it but there were two things that bothered me: 1) the Duchess is essentially the monarch of the land and when the kids tell her there's a possible plot to overthrow her, she bursts out crying; 2) During the middle of a battle, the aunt - who the author has gone to great pains to make clear that this is a hefty no-nonsense woman - stands around wringing her hands. Literally wringing her hands.
Why?
This was written by a woman and features a 14 year old girl as a protagonist. Why have the two most important women in this girl's life be USELESS in times of stress? From the author's note, I see that maybe this wasn't really intended to be a children's book, but as a woman I don't understand why you'd portray a powerful woman that way with respect to the Duchess. I'm not saying she can't have feelings, I just don't think that's a realistic - or frankly, helpful - response for someone who's the most powerful person in the land.
Review of "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Great book and a fun read. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is it badly needs an editor/proof reader.
SPOILERS BELOW
There are parts where the author obviously changed Uncle Albert's name but it never got corrected. There are times where the golems are referred to as cookies when they aren't. Just little things like that. The story is fantastic and fun, but just little English major nitpicking really.
