Fourteen-year-old Mona isn’t like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can’t control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt’s bakery making gingerbread men dance.
But Mona’s life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona’s city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of Mona’s worries…
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.
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.
Review of "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A 14 year old whose magic only works with baking. Her accidentally-created familiars, a bucket of sapient sourdough starter called Bob, and an animated gingerbread man. A city being undermined from within by totalitarian forces and under attack from the outside. And the army and other wizards unavailable...
T. Kingfisher is my favourite author discovery of this year, and since I do a lot of baking myself I couldn't wait to read this one. It's a YA book, no matter what her publishers think; yes, it starts with the discovery of a dead body, but have you ever read the original Brothers Grimm fairy tales? Kids love that dark stuff. It's in the same tone as "Minor Mage" (possibly in the same universe but it's hard to tell, they don't directly relate at all). Whether Kingfisher's characters are adult or teen, they always have a very down-to-earth and practical view …
A 14 year old whose magic only works with baking. Her accidentally-created familiars, a bucket of sapient sourdough starter called Bob, and an animated gingerbread man. A city being undermined from within by totalitarian forces and under attack from the outside. And the army and other wizards unavailable...
T. Kingfisher is my favourite author discovery of this year, and since I do a lot of baking myself I couldn't wait to read this one. It's a YA book, no matter what her publishers think; yes, it starts with the discovery of a dead body, but have you ever read the original Brothers Grimm fairy tales? Kids love that dark stuff. It's in the same tone as "Minor Mage" (possibly in the same universe but it's hard to tell, they don't directly relate at all). Whether Kingfisher's characters are adult or teen, they always have a very down-to-earth and practical view of the situation that I greatly appreciate. They generally have heroism thrust upon them, rather than starting out or viewing themselves as the heroes of the story, and are just trying to get through things a step at a time. So as Mona, 14 year old baking wizard, finds herself caught up in political plots after finding the body of a murdered girl in her aunt's bakery, she becomes involved very much against her will and has to think up novel ways that baking magic might be used to protect her and her loved ones and maybe even the city itself.
I particularly enjoyed the sapient sourdough starter Bob, and since the whole world seems to have made a sourdough starter during this pandemic year, the book is particularly amusing. I never named mine but I think it may now become known as Bob also ... although hopefully it will remain a little less intelligent! Highly recommend this book for any fantasy lovers, baking lovers, and teen readers in your life. And hey, support your local bookstore and order a few copies from them for Christmas presents this year!
