Anna Meriano

Narrated by Kyla Garcia. As the youngest sister in the family, Leo suspects her sisters and mother are hiding something from her during the Día de los Muertos celebrations. She sneaks around the family bakery trying to find out and learns from her favorite sister Isabel that the women in their family have been brujas (witches) and that Leo has to be 15 before she is initiated and can practice spells and magic. Leo's too impatient to wait however and when she uses magic to help Caroline with show more a boy problem, the spell backfires. Trying to reverse the spell makes an even bigger mess. Leo comes off as a realistically-portrayed baby of the family, determined to prove herself while getting in over her head. Nice to seea fantasy novel for kids that features Hispanic characters and weaves the culture with the magical elements. Narrator Garcia is adept with the portrayals of the females in the family and the Spanish is flawless. show less

Leonora is the youngest of 5 girls and is frustrated when her mother won't let her help in the bakery to prepare for Dia de los Muertos -- she sneaks in and discovers that the women in her family are brujas, and that she has magic of her own. Exploring by herself causes all kinds of misadventures, but with her grieving friend Caroline at her side and the help of all of her sisters, Leo finds a way to make things right.

I love the heavy Latinx heritage, the bakery setting (in Rose Hill, show more Texas), the way the older sisters decide to help rather than turn Leo in when they figure out what she's been doing. Looking forward to finding out what Leo's powers are and how the family will handle what is sure to be a handful of a situation going forward. Clever, fun, funny. show less

When eleven year old Leo determines that she’s from a long line of witches, she refuses to wait until she’s the right age and dives into spellcasting (without her mom’s knowledge).

I kind of wish the big spell Leo attempts had been about something a little more emotional and personal for her, but it did take some fun turns and also I liked that throughout the story Leo’s shown to be fumbling her way through rather than immediately adept at magic which is more realistic and relatable show more to read about than a character who is just instantaneously skilled at something.

I loved that so much of Leo’s Latinx culture is woven into the book, Dia De Los Muertos, the baking, the Spanish (and Leo’s insecurities about not being fluent) sprinkled throughout, but most of all I loved the sisters and how they interact with one another, they may not see things from exactly the same point of view yet they totally have their littlest sister’s back whenever she needed them. As much as I adored the flying pig cookies, for me, the true magic was in those sisterly bonds. show less

Reseña en español: https://boisde-merveilles.blogspot.com/2018/07/a-dash-of-trouble-love-sugar-magi...

I won this book in a giveaway, I had three options and I chose this one because the main
character is a Latina girl. When I was growing up, all the characters I read in books were white, so I had this weird idea in my mind that people like me couldn’t go on adventure or be the protagonists of their stories, always side or minor characters, so I was eager to read a book that portrayed show more people like me.

There are so many things I liked about this book, but the main one is the family theme it has. I’m pretty sure you’ve noticed that most YA or Middle Grade books usually lack parents. The main characters are always orphan or have terrible parents, but it’s different in this book. Family has a big weight in the story. The relationship Leonora has with her sisters is the most real portrayal of sisterhood I’ve ever read, (or at least the closest to the relationship I have with my siblings) it felt real and not perfect or forced as I’ve read in other stories. Also, Leonora’s parents are very present in her life and they felt realistic and reminded me of my own parents, kind but strict.

The Day of the Dead is my favorite Mexican tradition, I spend one day of the dead in Oaxaca many years ago and I loved it, here in Baja California is not a big deal and mostly people who comes from the south celebrates it. I liked the portrayal of that celebration in this book; although obviously is an Americanized version of the celebration.

The magic in the book was a pretty original concept, Leonora’s family uses their magic while baking, so they make magic bread and cookies or other recipes, but mostly baking. At the end of the book it was hinted that there are other families with magic, but it wasn’t specified if they can do the same or have other type of magic.

Leonora was a good main character, she felt like a realistic kid and not like an adult trapped in the body of a kid as I always feel in middle grade books.

I think that what didn’t convince me at all was that the whole trouble revolved around a boy, and the boy Leonora’s friend likes, not even Leonora’s crush. Talking about Leonora’s friend, I liked the friendship portrayed in this book, it was really sweet and I also enjoyed the changes pre-adolescents go through, it was relatable.

A Dash of Trouble is a book I would have loved as a child, and I really enjoyed as an adult. A book with an original magic system and a realistic portrayal of friendship and family relationships. Really entertaining, I will definitely read the second installment. show less